Numbers 4

The Kohathites

4The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ²“Take a census^l of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families. ³Count^m all the men from thirty to fifty years of ageⁿ who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.

⁴“This is the work^o of the Kohathites^p at the tent of meeting: the care of the most holy things.^{q 5}When the camp is to move,^r Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain^s and put it over the ark of the covenant law.^{t 6}Then they are to cover the curtain with a durable leather,^au spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles^v in place.

⁷“Over the table of the Presence^w they are to spread a blue cloth and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls, and the jars for drink offerings;^x the bread that is continually there^y is to remain on it. ⁸They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover that with the durable leather and put the poles^z in place.

⁹“They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand that is for light, together with its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays,^a and all its jars for the olive oil used to supply it. ¹⁰Then they are to wrap it and all its accessories in a covering of the durable leather and put it on a carrying frame.^b

¹¹“Over the gold altar^c they are to spread a blue cloth and cover that with the durable leather and put the poles^d in place.

¹²“They are to take all the articles^e used for ministering in the sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with the durable leather and put them on a carrying frame.^f

¹³“They are to remove the ashes^g from the bronze altar^h and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴Then they are to place on it all the utensilsⁱ used for ministering at the altar, including the firepans,^j meat forks,^k shovels^l and sprinkling bowls.^m Over it they are to spread a covering of the durable leather and put the polesⁿ in place.

¹⁵“After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move,^o only then are the Kohathites^p to come and do the carrying.^q But they must not touch the holy things^r or they will die.^s The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the tent of meeting.

¹⁶“Eleazar^t son of Aaron, the priest, is to have charge of the oil for the light,^u the fragrant incense,^v the regular grain offering^w and the anointing oil. He is to be in charge of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including its holy furnishings and articles.”

¹⁷The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ¹⁸“See that the Kohathite tribal clans are not destroyed from among the Levites. ¹⁹So that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things,^x do this for them: Aaron and his sons^y are to go into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work and what he is to carry.^{z 20}But the Kohathites must not go in to look^a at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die.”

The Gershonites

²¹The Lord said to Moses, ²²“Take a census also of the Gershonites by their families and clans. ²³Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age^b who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.

²⁴“This is the service of the Gershonite clans in their carrying and their other work: ²⁵They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle,^c that is, the tent of meeting,^d its covering^e and its outer covering of durable leather, the curtains for the entrance to the tent of meeting, ²⁶the curtains of the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar,^f the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard,^g the ropes and all the equipment^h used in the service of the tent. The Gershonites are to do all that needs to be done with these things. ²⁷All their service, whether carrying or doing other work, is to be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons.ⁱ You shall assign to them as their responsibility^j all they are to carry. ²⁸This is the service of the Gershonite clans^k at the tent of meeting. Their duties are to be under the direction of Ithamar^l son of Aaron, the priest.

The Merarites

²⁹“Count^m the Merarites by their clans and families.^{n 30}Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting. ³¹As part of all their service at the tent, they are to carry the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts and bases,^{o 32}as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, ropes,^p all their equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the specific things he is to carry. ³³This is the service of the Merarite clans as they work at the tent of meeting under the direction of Ithamar^q son of Aaron, the priest.”

The Numbering of the Levite Clans

³⁴Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the Kohathites^r by their clans and families. ³⁵All the men from thirty to fifty years of age^s who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, ³⁶counted by clans, were 2,750. ³⁷This was the total of all those in the Kohathite clans^t who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord’s command through Moses.

³⁸The Gershonites^u were counted by their clans and families. ³⁹All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, ⁴⁰counted by their clans and families, were 2,630. ⁴¹This was the total of those in the Gershonite clans who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord’s command.

⁴²The Merarites were counted by their clans and families. ⁴³All the men from thirty to fifty years of age^v who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴counted by their clans, were 3,200. ⁴⁵This was the total of those in the Merarite clans.^w Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord’s command through Moses.

⁴⁶So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted^x all the Levites by their clans and families. ⁴⁷All the men from thirty to fifty years of age^y who came to do the work of serving and carrying the tent of meeting ⁴⁸numbered 8,580.^{z 49}At the Lord’s command through Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry.

Thus they were counted,^a as the Lord commanded Moses.