¹² Then the Levites arose, Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;^(A)

¹³ while Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers assisting Conaniah and his brother Shimei, by the appointment of King Hezekiah and of Azariah the chief officer of the house of God.^(A)

⁷ The sons of Gershon^[a] were Ladan and Shimei. ⁸ The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, Zetham, and Joel, three. ⁹ The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of families of Ladan. ¹⁰ And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. ¹¹ Jahath was the chief and Zizah the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were enrolled as a single family.

¹² The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.^{(A) 13} The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to consecrate the most holy things, so that he and his sons forever should make offerings before the Lord and minister to him and pronounce blessings in his name forever,^{(B) 14} but as for Moses the man of God, his sons were to be reckoned among the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵ The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶ The son of Gershom: Shebuel the chief.^{(C) 17} The son of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief; Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous. ¹⁸ The son of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. ¹⁹ The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰ The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second.

²¹ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.^{(D) 22} Eleazar died having no sons but only daughters; their kindred, the sons of Kish, married them. ²³ The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

⁵ of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with one hundred twenty of his kindred; ⁶ of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with two hundred twenty of his kindred; ⁷ of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with one hundred thirty of his kindred;

⁴⁴ On the left were their kindred the sons of Merari: Ethan son of Kishi, son of Abdi, son of Malluch,

^16 [a]The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.^{(A) 17} These are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁸ The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ¹⁹ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their ancestry. ²⁰ Of Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son,^{(B) 21} Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeatherai his son.

² “Take a census of the Kohathites separate from the other Levites, by their clans and their ancestral houses, ³ from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who qualify to do work relating to the tent of meeting.^{(A) 4} The service of the Kohathites relating to the tent of meeting concerns the most holy things.

⁵ “When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the screening curtain and cover the ark of the covenant with it; ⁶ then they shall put on it a covering of fine leather^[a] and spread over that a cloth all of blue and put its poles in place.^{(B) 7} Over the table of the Presence they shall spread a blue cloth and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular bread also shall be on it;^{(C) 8} then they shall spread over them a crimson cloth and cover it with a covering of fine leather^[b] and put its poles in place. ⁹ They shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its snuffers, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied,^{(D) 10} and they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of fine leather^[c] and put it on the carrying frame. ¹¹ Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth and cover it with a covering of fine leather^[d] and put its poles in place,^{(E) 12} and they shall take all the utensils of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a blue cloth and cover them with a covering of fine leather^[e] and put them on the carrying frame. ¹³ They shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it, ¹⁴ and they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the firepans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar, and they shall spread on it a covering of fine leather^[f] and put its poles in place. ¹⁵ When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the Kohathites shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, or they will die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the Kohathites are to carry.^(F)

¹⁶ “Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle and all that is in it, in the sanctuary and in its utensils.”^(G)

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ¹⁸ “You must not let the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites. ¹⁹ This is how you shall deal with them in order that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each to a particular task or burden.^{(H) 20} But the Kohathites^[g] must not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, or they will die.”

¹⁹ The sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰ The sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites, by their ancestral houses.^(A)

¹⁷ These were the sons of Levi, by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.^(A)