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

¹⁷ Then the tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonites and the Merarites, who carried the tabernacle, set out.^(A)

⁹ But to the Kohathites he gave none, because they were charged with the care of the holy things that had to be carried on the shoulders.^(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.^{(A) 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;^{(B) 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,^{(C) 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,^{(D) 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.^(E)

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.”^(F)

¹² He said to them, “You are the heads of families of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your kindred, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it.^{(A) 13} Because you did not carry it^[a] the first time,^[b] the Lord our God burst out against us because we did not give it proper care.”^{(B) 14} So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel.^{(C) 15} And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.^(D)

² Then David commanded that no one but the Levites were to carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever.^(A)

²⁰ But the Kohathites^[a] must not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, or they will die.”

²⁷ To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites, the clan of the Izharites, the clan of the Hebronites, and the clan of the Uzzielites; these were the clans of the Kohathites.^{(A) 28} Counting all the males, from a month old and up, there were eight thousand six hundred performing the duties of the sanctuary. ²⁹ The clans of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle,^{(B) 30} with Elizaphan son of Uzziel as head of the ancestral house of the clans of the Kohathites. ³¹ Their responsibility was the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen—all the service pertaining to these. ³² Eleazar son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites and to have oversight of those who performed the duties of the sanctuary.

¹⁷ “The tent of meeting, with the camp of the Levites, shall set out in the center of the camps; they shall set out just as they camp, each in position, by their regiments.^(A)