Numbers 3:14-4:20

Common English Bible

¹⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert: ¹⁵ Enroll the Levites by their households and their clans. You will enroll all the males over one month old. ¹⁶ Moses enrolled them according to the Lord’s word as he was commanded. ¹⁷ These were Levi’s sons by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸ These were the names of Gershon’s sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹ Kohath’s sons by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰ Merari’s sons by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of Levi by their households.

²¹ To Gershon belonged the clans of Libni and Shimei. These were the clans of the Gershonites. ²² Their enrollment, according to the number of males over one month old, was 7,500. ²³ The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the dwelling on the west side. ²⁴ The chief of the household of the Gershonites was Eliasaph, Lael’s son. ²⁵ In the dwelling, the Gershonites were responsible for the meeting tent, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the meeting tent, ²⁶ the curtains of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance of the courtyard surrounding the meeting tent and the altar, and its cords—all these structures.

²⁷ To Kohath belonged the clans of the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and Uzzielites. These were the clans of the Kohathites. ²⁸ The number of males over one month old, who would perform duties for the sanctuary, was 8,600. ²⁹ The clans of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the dwelling. ³⁰ The chief of the household representing the clans of the Kohathites was Elizaphan, Uzziel’s son. ³¹ They were responsible for the chest, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the equipment of the sanctuary with which they would minister, and the screen—all these furnishings. ³² The head chief over the chiefs of the Levites was Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest. He was supervisor over those performing the duties of the sanctuary.

³³ To Merari belonged the clans of Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Merarites. ³⁴ Their enrollment, according to the number of males over one month old, was 6,200. ³⁵ The chief of the household representing the clans of the Merarites was Zuriel, Abihail’s son. They were to camp on the north side of the dwelling. ³⁶ The Merarites were assigned responsibility for the frames of the dwelling, its bars, pillars, bases, and all its equipment—all these items— ³⁷ and the pillars of the courtyard all around, their bases, pegs, and cords.

³⁸ Those camping in front of the dwelling eastward (that is, before the meeting tent on the east side) were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of the sanctuary as service for the Israelites. Anyone else who approached would be put to death. ³⁹ The total enrollment of the Levites, all the males over one month old whom Moses and Aaron enrolled by orders from the Lord, according to their clans, was 22,000.

Levites rescue the oldest male Israelites

⁴⁰ The Lord said to Moses: Enroll all the oldest males of the Israelites over one month of age and record their names. ⁴¹ Take the Levites for me, in place of all the oldest sons of the Israelites, for I am the Lord, and the cattle of the Levites in place of all the oldest cattle of the Israelites. ⁴² Moses enrolled all the oldest males of the Israelites as the Lord commanded. ⁴³ All the oldest males over one month old, recorded by name according to their enrollment, were 22,273.

⁴⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ⁴⁵ Take the Levites in place of all the oldest Israelites and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle. The Levites are mine; I am the Lord. ⁴⁶ To rescue the 273 remaining oldest Israelites over and above the number of Levites, ⁴⁷ you will receive five shekels each. You will receive them according to the sanctuary shekel of twenty gerahs to the shekel. ⁴⁸ You will give the money for their rescue to Aaron and his sons.

⁴⁹ So Moses took the money from those rescued over and above the ones rescued by the Levites. ⁵⁰ He took the money from the oldest of the Israelites, 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. ⁵¹ Moses gave the money for those rescued to Aaron and his sons according to the Lord’s word, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Second census and the Levites’ duties

The Kohathites’ duties

4 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ² Take a census of the Kohathites from among the Levites by their clans and their households, ³ from 30 to 50 years old, all who are eligible for service to do the work of the meeting tent. ⁴ These are the responsibilities of the Kohathites in the meeting tent: the most holy things.

⁵ When it’s time to break camp, Aaron and his sons will enter and take down the screening curtain, and they will cover the chest containing the covenant with it. ⁶ Then they will place a covering of fine leather^[a] on it. They will spread a whole cloth of blue over it, and they will set its poles in place. ⁷ They will spread a blue cloth on the presentation table and place on it the plates, the dishes, the bowls, and the container for the drink offering. The usual bread will be on it. ⁸ They will spread on them a red cloth, cover it with fine leather, and set its poles in place. ⁹ They will take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, its lamps, its extinguishers, its trays, and all the containers for oil that are used in its service. ¹⁰ They will place it and its equipment in a covering of fine leather, and then place it on the carrying frame. ¹¹ They will spread a blue cloth on the gold altar and cover it with fine leather. ¹² They will take all the service equipment used in the sanctuary, place it in a blue cloth, and cover it with fine leather. Then they will place it on the carrying frame. ¹³ They will remove the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth on it. ¹⁴ They will place on it all the equipment used for servicing it, the censers, the meat fork, the shovels, the bowls, all the equipment of the altar. They will spread a covering of fine leather over it and then set its poles in place.

¹⁵ Aaron and his sons will finish covering the sanctuary and all the equipment of the sanctuary when it is time to break camp. After that the Kohathites will enter to carry it, but they will not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These are the objects in the dwelling that the Kohathites are to carry. ¹⁶ But Eleazar son of Aaron the priest will have oversight of the oil for lighting, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, as well as oversight of the entire dwelling and everything in it related to the sanctuary and its equipment.

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ¹⁸ You must not let the tribe of the Kohathite clans be eliminated from the Levites. ¹⁹ This is what you must do for them so that they stay alive and don’t die when they approach the most holy things. Aaron and his sons will enter and assign each of them his work and his load. ²⁰ But they may not enter to look at the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die.