Numbers 4
Legacy Standard Bible
Duties of the Kohathites
4 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 “Take [a]a census of the [b]descendants of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ households, 3 from (A)thirty years and upward, even to fifty years old, all who enter the duty of doing the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, concerning the most holy things.
5 “And when the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and they shall take down (B)the veil of the screen and cover the (C)ark of the testimony with it; 6 and they shall put a (D)covering of porpoise skin on it and shall spread over it a cloth of pure [c]blue and shall insert its poles. 7 Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall also spread a cloth of [d]blue and put on it the dishes and the pans and the offering bowls and the jars for the drink offering, and (E)the continual bread shall be on it. 8 And they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet material and cover the same with a covering of porpoise skin, and they shall insert its poles. 9 Then they shall take a [e]blue cloth and cover the (F)lampstand for the light, (G)along with its lamps and its tongs, and its [f]trays and all its oil vessels, by which they minister in connection to it; 10 and they shall put it and all its utensils in a covering of porpoise skin and shall put it on the carrying bars. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a [g]blue cloth and cover it with a covering of porpoise skin and shall insert its poles; 12 and they shall take all the utensils of ministry, with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a [h]blue cloth and cover them with a covering of porpoise skin and put them on the carrying bars. 13 Then they shall take away the [i]ashes from the (H)altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 They shall also put on it all its utensils by which they minister in connection with it: the firepans, the flesh hooks and shovels and the bowls, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread a cover of porpoise skin over it and insert its poles. 15 When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them, so that they will not touch the holy objects (I)and die. These are the [j]things in the tent of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.
16 “And the assignment of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is (J)the oil for the light and the (K)fragrant incense and (L)the continual grain offering and (M)the anointing oil—the assignment of all the [k]tabernacle and of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.”
17 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 18 “Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites. 19 But do this to them that they may live and (N)not die when they approach the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons shall go in and set each of them to his service and to his load; 20 but (O)they shall not go in to see the holy objects even for a moment, or they will die.”
Duties of the Gershonites
21 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take [l]a census of the sons of Gershon [m]also, by their fathers’ households, by their families; 23 from (P)thirty years and upward to fifty years old, you shall [n]number them; all who enter to perform the duty of performing the service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in carrying: 25 they shall carry (Q)the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and (R)the covering of porpoise skin that is on top of it, and the screen for the doorway of the tent of meeting, 26 and (S)the hangings of the court, and the screen for the doorway of the gate of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service; and all that is to be done, [o]they shall perform. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their loads and in all their service, shall be performed at the [p]command of Aaron and his sons; and you shall assign to them as a responsibility all their loads. 28 This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their responsibilities shall be [q]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
Duties of the Merarites
29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families, by their fathers’ households; 30 from (T)thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, you shall number them, everyone who enters the duty of performing the service of the tent of meeting. 31 Now this is the responsibility of their loads, for all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle and its bars and its pillars and its bases, 32 and the pillars around the court and their bases and their pegs and their cords, with all their equipment and with all their service; and you shall assign each man by name the items of the responsibility of [r]his load. 33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the tent of meeting, [s]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”
34 So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families and by their fathers’ households, 35 from (U)thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the duty of service in the tent of meeting. 36 Their numbered men by their families were 2,750. 37 These are the numbered men of the Kohathite families, everyone who was serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the [t]commandment of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.
38 The numbered men of the sons of Gershon by their families and by their fathers’ households, 39 from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the duty of service in the tent of meeting, 40 their numbered men by their families, by their fathers’ households, were 2,630. 41 These are the numbered men of the families of the sons of Gershon, everyone who was serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the [u]commandment of Yahweh.
42 The numbered men of the families of the sons of Merari by their families, by their fathers’ households, 43 from (V)thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the duty of service in the tent of meeting, 44 their numbered men by their families were 3,200. 45 These are the numbered men of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the [v]commandment of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.
46 All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel numbered, by their families and by their fathers’ households, 47 from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter to perform the work of service and the service of carrying in the tent of meeting, 48 their numbered men were (W)8,580. 49 According to the [w]word of Yahweh by the hand of Moses, they (X)were numbered, everyone by his serving or carrying; thus these were his numbered men, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 4:2 Lit the sum
- Numbers 4:2 Lit sons
- Numbers 4:6 Or violet
- Numbers 4:7 Or violet
- Numbers 4:9 Or violet
- Numbers 4:9 Lit snuff dishes
- Numbers 4:11 Or violet
- Numbers 4:12 Or violet
- Numbers 4:13 Soaked with fat; or fat ashes
- Numbers 4:15 Lit burden...of the sons
- Numbers 4:16 Lit dwelling place, so in ch
- Numbers 4:22 Lit the sum
- Numbers 4:22 Lit also them
- Numbers 4:23 Lit muster, so in ch
- Numbers 4:26 Lit so they shall serve
- Numbers 4:27 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:28 Lit in the hand
- Numbers 4:32 Lit their
- Numbers 4:33 Lit in the hand
- Numbers 4:37 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:41 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:45 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:49 Lit mouth
Numbers 4
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 4
Delineation of Duties. 1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Count the number of the Kohathites from among the sons of Levi by their clans and their families. 3 Count all the men from thirty to fifty years old who go in to minister in the tent of meeting.[a]
4 “This is the ministry of the Kohathites in the tent of meeting: tending to the most holy things. 5 When the camp is being moved, Aaron and his sons will take down the veil and cover the Ark of Testimony with it. 6 They are then to put on the sheep skins, cover it with a blue cloth, and put the poles in place.[b] 7 They will spread a blue cloth over the table for the shewbread. On it they will place the dishes and spoons and bowls and jars for the drink offerings. The bread of offering will remain on it. 8 Over these they will spread a scarlet cloth and cover it with sheep skins. You will then put the poles in it. 9 They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for the light, its lamps, its tongs, its snuffers, and all of its oil dishes, all the things used in its ministry. 10 They will put it and all of its vessels within a hide of sheep skin and they will put it upon a litter. 11 They will spread a blue cloth upon the golden altar and cover it with a covering of sheep skins and put its poles in it.[c] 12 Then they are to take all the implements with which they minister in the sanctuary, and they are to cover them with a blue cloth and with a covering of sheep skin and put them on a litter. 13 They are to empty all the ashes[d] out from the altar and spread a purple cloth on it. 14 They are to put all the utensils with which they minister upon it, the censers, the forks, the shovels, and the basins. They are to take all of the utensils with which they minister and spread a sheep skin upon them. They will also put in its poles.
15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all of the vessels of the sanctuary, when the camp is ready to set out, the Kohathites will come forward to carry it, but they will not touch anything that is holy, lest they die. These things in the tent of meeting are the responsibility of the Kohathites.
16 “Eleazar, the son of Aaron, has the responsibility for the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the daily meat offering, and the oil for anointing. He shall also oversee care for the tabernacle and everything in it, the sanctuary and its vessels.”
17 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Do not let the clan of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites. 19 Do these things for them so that they may live. Otherwise they will die when they come near to the most holy things. Aaron and his sons will go and appoint each one of them to their ministry and their responsibilities, 20 only they are not to go in and watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die.”
21 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Count the number of the sons of Gershon by their clans and their families. 23 Count all the men from thirty to fifty years old who go in to minister in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the ministry of the clan of the Gershonites, their service and responsibility. 25 They will carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering, the covering of sheep skin that is over it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26 the curtains for the courtyard, the screen for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, their cords, and all of their accessories. They will do all that needs to be done with these things. 27 All the service of the Gershonites, what they are to carry and what they are to do, will be under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You are to assign them responsibility for what they are to carry. 28 These things in the tent of meeting are the responsibility of the families of the Gershonites. Their service will be under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.
29 “Count the number of the Merarites by their clans and their families. 30 Count all the men from thirty to fifty years old who go in to minister in the tent of meeting. 31 This is their responsibility and service for the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle with their bars, their pillars, their sockets, 32 the pillars surrounding the courtyard, their sockets, their pins, their cords, and all their accessories. You will assign the things that they are charged to carry by name. 33 This is the service of the clan of the Merarites. All of their service in the tent of meeting will be under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron, the priest.”
34 Counting the Adult Levites. Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the assembly counted the Kohathites by family and by clan, 35 those who were from thirty to fifty years old and who went in to minister in the service of the tent of meeting. 36 By families there were two thousand, seven hundred and fifty. 37 This was the number of those in the families of the Kohathites who ministered in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted, fulfilling the commandment of the Lord given to Moses.
38 The sons of Gershon were counted by families and clan 39 counting those who were from thirty years old to fifty years old and who went in to minister in the service of the tent of meeting. 40 Counted by family and clan, there were two thousand, six hundred and thirty of them. 41 This was the number of the families of the sons of Gershon, all of whom served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted, fulfilling the commandment of the Lord.
42 The Merarites were counted by families and clan, 43 those who were from thirty years old to fifty years old and who went in to minister in the service of the tent of meeting. 44 Counted by families, there were three thousand, two hundred of them. 45 This was the number of the families of the Merarites whom Moses and Aaron counted, fulfilling the commandment of the Lord given to Moses.
46 Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all of the Levites according to families and clans 47 who were from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who could enter to do the work of ministry and who served carrying the tent of meeting. 48 There were eight thousand, five hundred and eighty of them. 49 They were counted as the Lord had commanded Moses, counting all of those dedicated for service and carrying, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 4:3 This was the period during which the Levites served God in the temple of King David (see 1 Chr 23:3). The length of the period varies in different passages (see Num 8:24-25; Ezr 3:8). The institution certainly evolved.
- Numbers 4:6 For these objects used in worship, see Ex 35–38.
- Numbers 4:11 The gold altar is the altar of incense (Ex 30:1-10).
- Numbers 4:13 Empty all the ashes: the altar of holocausts. See Ex 27:1-8.
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