Numbers 4
Christian Standard Bible
Duties of the Kohathites
4 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 “Among the Levites, take a census of the Kohathites(A) by their clans and their ancestral families,[a] 3 men from thirty years old to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified[b] to do work at the tent of meeting.
4 “The service of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting concerns the most holy objects.(B) 5 Whenever the camp is about to move on, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the screening curtain, and cover the ark of the testimony with it.(C) 6 They are to place over this a covering made of fine leather,[c](D) spread a solid blue cloth on top, and insert its poles.(E)
7 “They are to spread a blue cloth over the table of the Presence and place the plates and cups on it, as well as the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to be on it.(F) 8 They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with a covering made of fine leather, and insert the poles in the table.(G)
9 “They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand(H) used for light, with its lamps, snuffers, and firepans,(I) as well as its jars of oil by which they service it. 10 Then they are to place it with all its utensils inside a covering made of fine leather and put them on the carrying frame.
11 “They are to spread a blue cloth over the gold altar,(J) cover it with a covering made of fine leather, and insert its poles.(K) 12 They are to take all the serving utensils they use in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering made of fine leather, and put them on a carrying frame.
13 “They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it, 14 and place all the equipment on it that they use in serving: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and basins—all the equipment of the altar.(L) They are to spread a covering made of fine leather over it and insert its poles.[d](M)
15 “Aaron and his sons are to finish covering the holy objects and all their equipment whenever the camp is to move on. The Kohathites will come and carry them, but they are not to touch the holy objects or they will die.(N) These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the tent of meeting.
16 “Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has oversight of the lamp oil,(O) the fragrant incense,(P) the daily grain offering,(Q) and the anointing oil.(R) He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, the holy objects and their utensils.”[e]
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 18 “Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites. 19 Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects:(S) Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty. 20 The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects as they are covered[f] or they will die.”
Duties of the Gershonites
21 The Lord spoke to Moses: 22 “Take a census of the Gershonites(T) also, by their ancestral families and their clans. 23 Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to perform service, to do work at the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transportation duties: 25 They are to transport the tabernacle curtains,(U) the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering made of fine leather on top of it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. They will carry out everything that needs to be done with these items.
27 “All the service of the Gershonites, all their transportation duties and all their other work, is to be done at the command of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry. 28 This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting, and their duties will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.(V)
Duties of the Merarites
29 “As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans(W) and their ancestral families. 30 Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting. 31 This is what they are responsible to carry as the whole of their service at the tent of meeting: the supports of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, pillars, and bases, 32 the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and all the work related to them. You are to assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry. 33 This is the service of the Merarite clans regarding all their work at the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”
Census of the Levites
34 So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families, 35 men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. 36 The men registered by their clans numbered 2,750. 37 These were the registered men of the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.
38 The Gershonites were registered by their clans and their ancestral families, 39 men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. 40 The men registered by their clans and their ancestral families numbered 2,630. 41 These were the registered men of the Gershonite clans. At the Lord’s command Moses and Aaron registered everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting.
42 The men of the Merarite clans were registered by their clans and their ancestral families, 43 those from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. 44 The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200. 45 These were the registered men of the Merarite clans; Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.
46 Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral families, 47 from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it. 48 Their registered men numbered 8,580. 49 At the Lord’s command they were registered under the direction of Moses, each one according to his work and transportation duty, and his assignment was as the Lord commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- 4:2 Lit the house of their fathers, also in vv. 22,29,34,38,40,42,46
- 4:3 Lit everyone entering the service
- 4:6 Hb obscure, also in vv. 8,10,11,12,14,25
- 4:14 Sam, LXX add They are to take a purple cloth and cover the wash basin and its base. They are to place them in a covering made of fine leather and put them on the carrying frame.
- 4:16 Or the sanctuary and its furnishings
- 4:20 Or objects, even long enough to swallow,
Numbers 4
International Standard Version
The Duties of the Descendants of Kohath
4 The Lord told Moses and Aaron, 2 “Take a census[a] of the descendants of Kohath from among the descendants of Levi according to their tribes and ancestral houses 3 from 30 years and older through the age of 50 years, from everyone who can enter the service to perform work at the Tent of Meeting.
4 “Here’s what the descendants of Kohath are to do regarding the Tent of Meeting and what’s inside the Most Holy Place: 5 When the camp is about to travel, Aaron and his sons are to come and take down the veil of the curtain and cover the Ark of the Testimony with it. 6 They are to set a leather-dyed[b] skin covering over it, cover it with a pure blue cloth, and then insert its poles.
7 “They are to spread a blue cloth over the table of the Presence and on top of it the dishes, pans, bowls, pitchers for drink offerings,[c] and the bread of presence are to be on it continually. 8 They are to spread over them a scarlet cloth and a leather-dyed[d] skin covering and then insert its poles.
9 “They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lamp stand for the light with its lamp, lamp-snuffers, censer, and all the utensils for its oil with which they minister. 10 Then they are to put them with all the other[e] utensils on the leather-dyed[f] skin covering and set them on the beams for transport.[g]
11 “On the golden altar, they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with a leather-dyed[h] skin covering, and then insert its poles. 12 Then they are to take all the utensils for service with which they minister at the sanctuary, set them on the blue cloth, cover them with the leather-dyed[i] skin covering, and then set them on the beams for transport. 13 They are also to remove the ashes on the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 Then they are to put all the instruments with which they minister there—trays, forks, shovels, bowls, and all the utensils of the altar. They are to spread over it a leather-dyed[j] skin covering and then insert its poles.
15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the utensils of the sanctuary, and the camp is about to travel, then the descendants of Kohath are to come and carry them, but they are not to touch the most sacred objects, so they won’t die. These are the duties of the descendants of Kohath at the Tent of Meeting.”
16 “Now the duty of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest is to maintain the oil for the light, the spiced incense, the daily offerings, andthe oil for anointing, to carry out all the duties of the tent and the sanctuary, and to maintain[k] its utensils.”
Protecting the Descendants of Kohath
17 Then the Lord told Moses and Aaron, 18 “You are not to eliminate the tribe of the families of the descendants of Kohath from the descendants of Levi. 19 But do this for them so that they may live and not die when they approach the Most Holy Place: Aaron and his sons are to go in and set specific responsibilities for each of them to carry out.[l] 20 But they are not to go in to see the sanctuary as it is being covered,[m] so they won’t die.”
Eleazar’s Duties
21 Then the Lord told Moses, 22 “Take a census[n] of the descendants of Gershon according to their ancestral house and tribes. 23 Count their number from between 30 to 50 years old, including everyone who can enter the service to perform work at the Tent of Meeting.”
Gershonite Responsibilities
24 “These are the responsibilities that the descendants of Gershon are to have: 25 They are to carry the curtain of the tent, the covering of the Tent of Meeting, the dyed leather covering that goes over it, the curtain for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, 26 the hangings for the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance to the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tent, the altar, the ropes, all the service utensils, and everything made for them. This is to be their service area. 27 The descendants of Gershon are to carry out the instructions of Aaron and his sons. You are to assign them their responsibilities to carry out. 28 This is the work of the tribes of Gershon at the Tent of Meeting—their duties under the supervision of[o] Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.
Merarite Responsibilities
29 “For the descendants of Merari, number them according to their tribes and ancestral houses 30 from 30 to 50 years old as you count them, including everyone who can enter service and perform work at the Tent of Meeting. 31 This is to be their area of responsibility to carry out with respect to their service at the Tent of Meeting: the board of the tent, its bars, its crossbars, its sockets, 32 the pillars around the courtyard, their sockets, their pegs, their ropes, and all the utensils for all their services. Assign the utensils by name to each person whose responsibility it will be to carry them. 33 This is the work of the tribes of the descendants of Merari with reference to their service at the Tent of Meeting under the supervision of Aaron the priest’s son Ithamar.”
Responsibilities are Assigned
34 Moses, Aaron, and the congregational leaders numbered the descendants of Kohath according to their tribes and ancestral houses 35 from 30 to 50 years old—that is, everyone who entered the service to perform work at the Tent of Meeting. 36 The total according to their tribe numbered 2,750 37 from the tribe of the descendants of Kohath, everyone who would be serving at the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to what the Lord had said, under the supervision of Moses.
38 The tribes and the ancestral houses of the descendants of Gershon were numbered 39 from 30 to 50 years old; that is, everyone who entered the service to perform work at the Tent of Meeting. 40 The total according to their tribes and ancestral house numbered 2,630 41 from the tribes of the descendants of Gershon, everyone who would be serving at the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to what the Lord had said.
42 The tribes and ancestral house of Merari were numbered 43 from 30 to 50 years old; that is, everyone who entered the service to perform work at the Tent of Meeting. 44 The total according to their tribes numbered 3,200 45 from the tribes of the descendants of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to what the Lord had said, under the supervision of Moses.
46 The total of those who were numbered from the descendants of Levi by Moses and Aaron; that is, from the leaders of Israel counted according to their tribes and ancestral houses 47 from 30 to 50 years old, who entered the service for work at the Tent of Meeting 48 was 8,580. 49 They were numbered under the supervision of Moses according to what the Lord had said. Each person was assigned a responsibility to carry out, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 4:2 Lit. Lift the head
- Numbers 4:6 Or porpoise; or fine leather
- Numbers 4:7 Or libation
- Numbers 4:8 Or porpoise; or fine leather
- Numbers 4:10 The Heb. lacks other
- Numbers 4:10 Or porpoise; or fine leather
- Numbers 4:10 Or poles for carrying stuff
- Numbers 4:11 Or porpoise; or fine leather
- Numbers 4:12 Or porpoise; or fine leather
- Numbers 4:14 Or porpoise; or fine leather
- Numbers 4:16 The Heb. lacks to maintain
- Numbers 4:19 Lit. responsibilities according to his service and to his burden
- Numbers 4:20 I.e. in preparation for travel
- Numbers 4:22 Lit. Lift the head
- Numbers 4:28 Lit. the hand of
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