Numbers 4:21-5:10

Common English Bible

The Gershonites’ duties

²¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ²² Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their households and their clans. ²³ You will enroll those from 30 to 50 years old, all who are eligible for service to do work in the dwelling. ²⁴ This is the duty of the Gershonite clans for work and for carrying the load: ²⁵ They will carry the fabric of the dwelling, the meeting tent with its covering, the outer covering of fine leather, the screen for the entrance of the meeting tent, ²⁶ the curtains of the courtyard, the screen of the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the meeting tent and the altar, their cords, and all their equipment for their work. They will do everything that needs to be done with these objects.

²⁷ All the duties of the Gershonites for carrying their load and for their work will be at the command of Aaron and his sons. You will assign to them the responsibility to carry their load. ²⁸ This is the work of the Gershonite clans in the dwelling. Their responsibility will be under Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

The Merarites’ duties

²⁹ You will enroll the Merarites by their clans and their households. ³⁰ You will enroll those from 30 to 50 years old, all who are eligible for service to do work in the meeting tent. ³¹ This is what they are responsible to carry as their work in the meeting tent: the frames of the meeting tent, its bars, pillars, and bases; ³² the pillars of the courtyard all around, with their bases, pegs, cords, and all the equipment used with them. You will list by name the objects they are required to carry. ³³ This is the duty of the Merarite clans for all their work in the meeting tent under the supervision of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

Summary of the census

³⁴ So Moses, Aaron, and the chiefs of the community enrolled the Kohathites by their clans and their households, ³⁵ those from 30 to 50 years old who were eligible for work in the meeting tent. ³⁶ Their enrollment by their clans was 2,750. ³⁷ These are the enrolled of the Kohathite clans, all who worked in the meeting tent and whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the Lord’s command through Moses.

³⁸ The enrollment of the Gershonites by their clans and their households, ³⁹ those 30 to 50 years old who were eligible for work in the meeting tent: ⁴⁰ their enrollment by their clans and their households was 2,630. ⁴¹ These are the enrolled of the Gershonite clans, all who worked in the meeting tent, and whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the Lord’s command.

⁴² The enrollment of the Merarite clans by their clans and their households, ⁴³ those 30 to 50 years old who were eligible for work in the meeting tent: ⁴⁴ their enrollment by their clans was 3,200. ⁴⁵ These are the enrolled of the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the Lord’s command through Moses.

⁴⁶ All the enrolled Levites whom Moses, Aaron, and the chiefs of Israel enrolled by their clans and their households, ⁴⁷ those 30 to 50 years old who were eligible to do the work and to carry the load of the meeting tent: ⁴⁸ their enrollment was 8,580. ⁴⁹ Each was enrolled by the Lord’s command through Moses to work and to carry his load. Each was assigned just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Instructions about purity in the camp

5 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² Command the Israelites to send out from the camp anyone with a skin disease, an oozing discharge, or who has become unclean from contact with a corpse. ³ You must send out both male and female. You must send them outside the camp so that they will not make their camp, where I live among them, unclean.

⁴ The Israelites did so and sent them outside the camp. The Israelites did just what the Lord said to Moses.

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ Tell the Israelites: When a man or a woman commits any sin against anyone else, thus breaking faith with the Lord, that person becomes guilty. ⁷ Such persons will confess the sin they have done. Each will make payment for his guilt, add one-fifth more, and give it to the injured party. ⁸ If the person has no close relative to whom the payment can be made, then the compensation payment will go to the Lord for the priest. This is in addition to the ram of reconciliation by which the guilty party himself is reconciled. ⁹ Any gift offering from all the sacred donations that the Israelites offer will be the property of the priest. ¹⁰ The sacred donations belong to each person alone; whatever anyone gives to the priest will be his.