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,^(A) only then are the Kohathites^(B) to come and do the carrying.^(C) But they must not touch the holy things^(D) or they will die.^(E) The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the tent of meeting.

Public Reading of the Law

⁹ So Moses wrote^(A) down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carried^(B) the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.

³ giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant^(A) of the Lord your God, and the Levitical^(B) priests^(C) carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.

⁶ Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.

¹⁴ So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁵ And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded^(A) in accordance with the word of the Lord.^(B)