⁵¹ When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.^(A)

³⁸ Those who were to camp in front of the tabernacle on the east—in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise—were Moses and Aaron and Aaron’s sons, who were to perform the duties of the sanctuary, whatever had to be done for the Israelites, and any outsider who came near was to be put to death.^(A)

¹⁰ But you shall enroll Aaron and his descendants; it is they who shall attend to the priesthood, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”^(A)

⁷ The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him there,^[a] and he died there beside the ark of God.^(A)

The Ark at Kiriath-jearim

¹⁹ The descendants of Jeconiah did not rejoice with the people of Beth-shemesh when they greeted^[a] the ark of the Lord, and he killed seventy men of them.^[b] The people mourned because the Lord had made a great slaughter among the people.^(A)

²² From now on the Israelites shall no longer approach the tent of meeting, or else they will incur guilt and die.^(A)

⁴⁰ a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, shall approach to offer incense before the Lord, so as not to become like Korah and his congregation, just as the Lord had said to him through Moses.^(A)

¹⁷ Then the tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonites and the Merarites, who carried the tabernacle, set out.^{(A) 18} Next the standard of the camp of Reuben set out, company by company, and over the whole company was Elizur son of Shedeur.^{(B) 19} Over the company of the tribe of Simeon was Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, ²⁰ and over the company of the tribe of Gad was Eliasaph son of Deuel.

²¹ Then the Kohathites, who carried the holy things, set out, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival.^(C)

Departure from Sinai

¹¹ In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the covenant.^(A)

The Kohathites

4 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 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)