Bamidbar 4
Orthodox Jewish Bible
4 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe and unto Aharon, saying,
2 Take the census of the Bnei Kehat from among the Bnei Levi, after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot,
3 From shloshim shanah (thirty years old) and upward even until chamishim shanah (fifty years old), all that enter into the tz’va (holy militia of Hashem) to do the melachah (work) in the Ohel Mo’ed.
4 This shall be the Avodat Bnei Kehat in the Ohel Mo’ed: kodesh hakodashim (the most holy things);
5 And when the machaneh (camp) setteth forward, Aharon shall come, and his banim, and they shall take down the Parochet (veil) of the screen, and cover the Aron HaEdut (Ark of the Testimony) with it;
6 And shall put thereon the tachash hide covering, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly sky-blue violet, and shall put in the carrying poles thereof.
7 And upon the Shulchan HaPanim they shall spread a cloth of sky-blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the incense spoons, and the offering bowls, and kesot hanesekh (pitchers of the drink offering); and Lechem HaTamid (Perpetual Bread) shall be thereon;
8 And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a tachash hide covering, and shall put in the poles thereof.
9 And they shall take a cloth of sky-blue, and cover the Menorat HaMa’ohr (Menorah of Illumination), and its nerot (lamps), and its tongs, and its trays, and all the klei shemen (oil vessels) thereof, wherewith they prepare it for [holy] service;
10 And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a tachash hide covering, and shall put it upon the carrying frame.
11 And upon the Mizbach HaZahav they shall spread a cloth of sky-blue, and cover it a tachash hide covering, and shall put in place the poles thereof;
12 And they shall take all the Klei HaSharet (Utensils of Ministry), wherewith they minister in HaKodesh, and put them in a cloth of skyblue, and cover them with a tachash hide covering, and shall put them on the carrying frame;
13 And they shall take away the ashes from the Mizbe’ach, and spread a purple cloth thereon:
14 And they shall put upon it all the utensils thereof, wherewith they minister upon it, even the fire pans, the meathooks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the Klei HaMizbe’ach; and they shall spread upon it a tachash hide covering, and put in place its poles.
15 And when Aharon and his banim have made an end of covering HaKodesh, and all the Klei HaKodesh, as the machaneh (camp) is to set forward, after that, the Bnei Kehat shall come to bear it; but they shall not touch any kodesh, lest they die. These things are the massa (burden) of the Bnei Kehat in the Ohel Mo’ed.
16 And to the pekuddat (oversight, office) of Eleazar ben Aharon HaKohen pertaineth the Shemen HaMa’ohr (Oil of Illumination), and the incense spices, and the Minchat HaTamid (Continual Grain Offering), and the Shemen HaMishchah (Anointing Oil), and the Pekuddat Kol HaMishkan, and of all that therein is, in HaKodesh, and in the vessels thereof.
17 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe and unto Aharon saying,
18 Cut ye not off the shevet (tribe) of the mishpekhot of the Kehati from among the Levi’im;
19 But this do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto kodesh hakodashim (the most holy things): Aharon and his banim shall go in, and appoint them every one to his avodah (service, ministry) and to his massa (burden);
20 But they shall not go in to look for a single instant at hakodesh, lest they die.
[NASO]
21 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,
22 Take also the census of the Bnei Gershon, throughout the bais avot of them, by their mishpekhot;
23 From shloshim shanah (thirty years old) and upward until chamishim shanah (fifty years old) shalt thou number them; all that enter to serve the tz’va (holy militia service of Hashem), to labor in the Avodah in the Ohel Mo’ed.
24 This is the Avodat Mishpekhot Gershoni, as relates to service and massa (burden):
25 And they shall bear the curtains of the Mishkan, and the Ohel Mo’ed, its covering, and the tachash hide covering that is over the top of it, and the screen for the entrance of the Ohel Mo’ed,
26 And the hangings of the khatzer (court), and the hanging for the entrance of the sha’ar (gate) of the khatzer (court), which is around the Mishkan and around the Mizbe’ach, and their cords, and all the Klei Avodah (Utensils of Service, Ministry) of them, and all that is done for them; so shall they serve.
27 At the appointment of Aharon and his banim shall be all the Avodat Bnei Gershoni, in all their massa (burdens), and in all their avodah (service); and ye shall appoint unto them in mishmeret (guard duty responsibility) for all their massa (burdens).
28 This is the Avodat Mishpekhot Bnei Gershoni in the Ohel Mo’ed; and misheret (guard duty responsibility) shall be under the direction of Itamar ben Aharon HaKohen.
29 As for the Bnei Merari, thou shalt number them after their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot;
30 From shloshim shanah (thirty years old) and upward even until chamishim shanah (fifty years old) shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the tz’va (holy militia service of Hashem), to do the work of the Avodat Ohel Mo’ed.
31 And this is their mishmeret (guard) massa (burden), according to all their Avodah (Service, Ministry) in the Ohel Mo’ed; the frames of the Mishkan, and the crossbars thereof, and the posts thereof, and bases thereof,
32 And the posts surrounding the khatzer, and their bases, and their tent pegs, and their cords, with all their implements, and with all their service; and by shmot (names) ye shall assign the klei mishmeret (vessels of duty) massa (burdens).
33 This is the Avodat Mishpekhot Bnei Merari, according to all their service, in the Ohel Mo’ed under the direction of Itamar ben Aharon HaKohen.
34 And Moshe and Aharon and the Nasi’ei HaEdah (Leaders of the Congregation) counted the Bnei HaKehati after their mishpekhot, and after the bais of their avot,
35 From shloshim shanah (thirty years old) and upward even until chamishim shanah (fifty years old) shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the tz’va (holy militia service of Hashem), to do the work of the Avodah in the Ohel Mo’ed;
36 And those that were numbered of them by their mishpekhot were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.
37 These were they that were numbered of the mishpekhot HaKehati, all that might do service in the Ohel Mo’ed which Moshe and Aharon did number according to the command of Hashem by the hand of Moshe.
38 And those that were numbered of the Bnei Gershon, throughout their mishpekhot, and by the bais of their avot,
39 From shloshim shanah and upward even until chamishim shanah shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the tz’va (holy militia service of Hashem), to do the work of the Avodah in the Ohel Mo’ed,
40 Even those that were numbered of them, throughout their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.
41 These are they that were numbered of the Mishpekhot Bnei Gershon, of all that might do service in the Ohel Mo’ed whom Moshe and Aharon did number according to the command of Hashem.
42 And those that were numbered of the Mishpekhot Bnei Merari, throughout their mishpekhot, by the bais of their avot,
43 From shloshim shanah and upward even until chamishim shanah shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the tz’va, to do the work of the Avodah in the Ohel Mo’ed,
44 Even those that were numbered of them by their mishpekhot, were three thousand and two hundred.
45 These be those that were numbered of the Mishpekhot Bnei Merari, whom Moshe and Aharon numbered according to the command of Hashem by the hand of Moshe.
46 All those that were numbered of the Levi’im, whom Moshe and Aharon and the Nasi’ei Yisroel numbered, by their mishpekhot, and by the bais of their avot,
47 From shloshim shanah and upward even until chamishim shanah shalt thou number them, every one that entereth to do the Avodat Avodah (the Work of the Service, Ministry) and the Avodat Massa (Service, Ministry of the Burden) in the Ohel Mo’ed.
48 Even those that were numbered of them, were shmonat alafim vachamesh me’ot ushmonim (eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore),
49 According to the command of Hashem they were numbered by the hand of Moshe, every one according to his Avodah (Service), and according to his Massa (Burden); thus were they counted of him, as Hashem commanded Moshe.
Numbers 4
Complete Jewish Bible
4 (vii) Adonai said to Moshe and Aharon, 2 “Take a census of the descendants of K’hat, who are among the descendants of Levi, by clans and families, 3 all those from thirty to fifty years old; these will enter the corps doing the work in the tent of meeting.
4 “Here is how the descendants of K’hat are to serve in the tent of meeting and deal with the especially holy things: 5 when the time comes to break camp, Aharon is to go in with his sons, take down the curtain which serves as a screen, and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 On that they are to place a covering of fine leather, and on top of that spread an all-blue cloth. Then they are to insert the carrying-poles. 7 On the table of showbread they are to spread a blue cloth and place on it the dishes, incense pans, offering bowls and pitchers. The perpetual bread is to remain on the table. 8 They are to spread on these things a scarlet cloth, cover them with a covering of fine leather and insert the poles. 9 They are to take a blue cloth and cover the menorah for the light, its lamps, its tongs, its trays and the jars used to add oil to it. 10 They are to wrap it and all its accessories in fine leather and place them on a carrying-frame. 11 On the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with a covering of fine leather and insert its carrying-poles. 12 They are to take all the utensils they use when serving in the sanctuary and put them in a blue cloth, cover them with fine leather and place them on a carrying-frame. 13 After removing the greasy ashes from the altar, they are to spread a purple cloth over it 14 and place on it all the utensils required for their altar service — the fire pans, meat-hooks, shovels, basins and other utensils for the altar. Then they are to spread over it a fine leather covering and insert its carrying-poles. 15 When Aharon and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy utensils, when the camp is about to move forward, then the descendants of K’hat are to come and carry them. But they are not to touch the holy things, so that they won’t die. These things are the responsibility of the descendants of K’hat in the tent of meeting.
16 “El‘azar the son of Aharon the cohen is to be responsible for the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the continuing grain offering and the anointing oil. He is to be in charge of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including the sanctuary and its furnishings.”
(Maftir) 17 Adonai said to Moshe and Aharon, 18 “Do not cut off the clan of K’hat from among the L’vi’im; 19 rather, do this for them, so that they will live and not die: when they approach the especially holy things, Aharon and his sons are to go in — and you are to assign each one his task; 20 but the descendants of K’hat are not to go in and look at the holy things as they are being covered; if they do, they will die.”
Haftarah B’midbar: Hoshea (Hosea) 2:1(1:10)–2:22(20)
B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah B’midbar: Luke 2:1–7; 1 Corinthians 12:12–31
Parashah 35: Naso (Take) 4:21–7:89
21 Adonai said to Moshe, 22 “Take a census of the descendants of Gershon also, by clans and families; 23 count all those between thirty and fifty years old, all who will enter the corps doing the work of serving in the tent of meeting.
24 “The Gershon families are to be responsible for serving and for transporting loads. 25 They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, its covering, the fine leather covering above it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26 the tapestries for the courtyard, and the screen for the entrance to the courtyard by the tabernacle and around the altar, along with the ropes and all the utensils they need for their service; and they are to do the work connected with these things. 27 Aharon and his sons are to supervise all the work of the Gershon clan in transporting loads and serving, and to assign them who is to carry what. 28 This is how the Gershon families are to serve in the tent of meeting, and they are to be under the direction of Itamar the son of Aharon the cohen.
29 “As for the descendants of M’rari, take a census by clans and families 30 of all those between thirty and fifty years old, all who will be in the corps doing the work of serving in the tent of meeting.
31 “Their service for the tent of meeting will be to carry the frames, crossbars, posts and sockets of the tabernacle; 32 also the posts for the surrounding courtyard, with their sockets, tent pegs, ropes and other accessories, and everything having to do with their service. You are to assign particular loads to specific persons by name. 33 This is how the M’rari families are to serve in the tent of meeting, directed by Itamar the son of Aharon the cohen.”
(S: ii) 34 Moshe, Aharon and the community leaders took a census of the descendants of K’hat by their clans and families, 35 all those between thirty and fifty years old who were part of the corps serving in the tent of meeting. 36 Registered by their families, they numbered 2,750. 37 These are the ones counted from the K’hat families of all those serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moshe and Aharon enumerated, in keeping with the order given by Adonai through Moshe.
(A: ii) 38 The census of the descendants of Gershon, by their clans and families, 39 all those between thirty and fifty years old who were part of the corps serving in the tent of meeting, 40 yielded 2,630, registered by their clans and families. 41 These are the ones counted from the families of the descendants of Gershon of all those serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moshe and Aharon enumerated, in keeping with the order given by Adonai.
42 The census of the families of the descendants of M’rari, by their clans and families, 43 all those between thirty and fifty years old who were part of the corps serving in the tent of meeting, 44 yielded 3,200, registered by their families. 45 These are the ones counted from the families of the descendants of M’rari, whom Moshe and Aharon enumerated, in keeping with the order given by Adonai through Moshe.
46 The census of the L’vi’im, whom Moshe, Aharon and the leaders of Isra’el enumerated by their clans and families, 47 all those between thirty and fifty years old who were part of those working to serve and working to carry loads in the tent of meeting, 48 yielded a total of 8,580 persons.
49 According to Adonai’s order they were appointed by Moshe, each one to his specific service or work. They were also enumerated, as Adonai had ordered Moshe.
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