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Numbers 4:1-20
New King James Version
Numbers 4:1-20
New King James Version
Duties of the Sons of Kohath
4 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 “Take a census of the sons of (A)Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house, 3 (B)from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.
4 (C)“This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting, relating to (D)the most holy things: 5 When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down (E)the covering veil and cover the (F)ark of the Testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of (G)blue; and they shall insert (H)its poles.
7 “On the (I)table of showbread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the [a]pitchers for pouring; and the (J)showbread[b] shall be on it. 8 They shall spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. 9 And they shall take a blue cloth and cover the (K)lampstand of the light, (L)with its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it. 10 Then they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of badger skins, and put it on a carrying beam.
11 “Over (M)the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. 12 Then they shall take all the (N)utensils of service with which they minister in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of badger skins, and put them on a carrying beam. 13 Also they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 They shall put on it all its implements with which they minister there—the firepans, the forks, the shovels, the [c]basins, and all the utensils of the altar—and they shall spread on it a covering of badger skins, and insert its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then (O)the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; (P)but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.
“(Q)These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.
16 “The appointed duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is (R)the oil for the light, the (S)sweet incense, (T)the daily grain offering, the (U)anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.”
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 18 “Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; 19 but do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach (V)the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and [d]appoint each of them to his service and his task. 20 (W)But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 4:7 jars for the drink offering
- Numbers 4:7 Lit. continual bread
- Numbers 4:14 bowls
- Numbers 4:19 assign
Numbers 4:1-20
American Standard Version
Numbers 4:1-20
American Standard Version
4 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, 3 from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter upon the [a]service, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the [b]service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, about the most holy things: 5 when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall go in, and his sons, and they shall take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of the testimony with it, 6 and shall put thereon a covering of sealskin, and shall spread over it a cloth all of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof. 7 And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls and the cups wherewith to pour out; and the continual bread shall be thereon: 8 and they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in the staves thereof. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it: 10 and they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of sealskin, and shall put it upon [c]the frame. 11 And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in the staves thereof: 12 and they shall take all the vessels of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on the frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon: 14 and they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, the firepans, the flesh-hooks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of sealskin, and put in the staves thereof. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp is set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch the [d]sanctuary, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting. 16 And the charge of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the continual meal-offering, and the anointing oil, the charge of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, the sanctuary, and the furniture thereof.
17 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 18 Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; 19 but thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden; 20 but they shall not go in to see the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 4:3 Hebrew warfare, or host (and so in verses 35, 39, 43).
- Numbers 4:4 Or, work
- Numbers 4:10 Or, a bar
- Numbers 4:15 Or, holy things
Numbers 4:1-20
New International Version
Numbers 4:1-20
New International Version
The Kohathites
4 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “Take a census(A) of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families. 3 Count(B) all the men from thirty to fifty years of age(C) who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.
4 “This is the work(D) of the Kohathites(E) at the tent of meeting: the care of the most holy things.(F) 5 When the camp is to move,(G) Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain(H) and put it over the ark of the covenant law.(I) 6 Then they are to cover the curtain with a durable leather,[a](J) spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles(K) in place.
7 “Over the table of the Presence(L) they are to spread a blue cloth and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls, and the jars for drink offerings;(M) the bread that is continually there(N) is to remain on it. 8 They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover that with the durable leather and put the poles(O) in place.
9 “They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand that is for light, together with its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays,(P) and all its jars for the olive oil used to supply it. 10 Then they are to wrap it and all its accessories in a covering of the durable leather and put it on a carrying frame.(Q)
11 “Over the gold altar(R) they are to spread a blue cloth and cover that with the durable leather and put the poles(S) in place.
12 “They are to take all the articles(T) used for ministering in the sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with the durable leather and put them on a carrying frame.(U)
13 “They are to remove the ashes(V) from the bronze altar(W) and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 Then they are to place on it all the utensils(X) used for ministering at the altar, including the firepans,(Y) meat forks,(Z) shovels(AA) and sprinkling bowls.(AB) Over it they are to spread a covering of the durable leather and put the poles(AC) in place.
15 “After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move,(AD) only then are the Kohathites(AE) to come and do the carrying.(AF) But they must not touch the holy things(AG) or they will die.(AH) The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the tent of meeting.
16 “Eleazar(AI) son of Aaron, the priest, is to have charge of the oil for the light,(AJ) the fragrant incense,(AK) the regular grain offering(AL) and the anointing oil. He is to be in charge of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including its holy furnishings and articles.”
17 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 18 “See that the Kohathite tribal clans are not destroyed from among the Levites. 19 So that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things,(AM) do this for them: Aaron and his sons(AN) are to go into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work and what he is to carry.(AO) 20 But the Kohathites must not go in to look(AP) at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 4:6 Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals; also in verses 8, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 25
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
American Standard Version (ASV)
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New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.