Numbers 4
Legacy Standard Bible
Duties of the Kohathites
4 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 “Take [a]a census of the [b]descendants of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ households, 3 from (A)thirty years and upward, even to fifty years old, all who enter the duty of doing the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, concerning the most holy things.
5 “And when the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and they shall take down (B)the veil of the screen and cover the (C)ark of the testimony with it; 6 and they shall put a (D)covering of porpoise skin on it and shall spread over it a cloth of pure [c]blue and shall insert its poles. 7 Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall also spread a cloth of [d]blue and put on it the dishes and the pans and the offering bowls and the jars for the drink offering, and (E)the continual bread shall be on it. 8 And they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet material and cover the same with a covering of porpoise skin, and they shall insert its poles. 9 Then they shall take a [e]blue cloth and cover the (F)lampstand for the light, (G)along with its lamps and its tongs, and its [f]trays and all its oil vessels, by which they minister in connection to it; 10 and they shall put it and all its utensils in a covering of porpoise skin and shall put it on the carrying bars. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a [g]blue cloth and cover it with a covering of porpoise skin and shall insert its poles; 12 and they shall take all the utensils of ministry, with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a [h]blue cloth and cover them with a covering of porpoise skin and put them on the carrying bars. 13 Then they shall take away the [i]ashes from the (H)altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 They shall also put on it all its utensils by which they minister in connection with it: the firepans, the flesh hooks and shovels and the bowls, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread a cover of porpoise skin over it and insert its poles. 15 When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them, so that they will not touch the holy objects (I)and die. These are the [j]things in the tent of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.
16 “And the assignment of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is (J)the oil for the light and the (K)fragrant incense and (L)the continual grain offering and (M)the anointing oil—the assignment of all the [k]tabernacle and of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.”
17 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 18 “Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites. 19 But do this to them that they may live and (N)not die when they approach the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons shall go in and set each of them to his service and to his load; 20 but (O)they shall not go in to see the holy objects even for a moment, or they will die.”
Duties of the Gershonites
21 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take [l]a census of the sons of Gershon [m]also, by their fathers’ households, by their families; 23 from (P)thirty years and upward to fifty years old, you shall [n]number them; all who enter to perform the duty of performing the service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in carrying: 25 they shall carry (Q)the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and (R)the covering of porpoise skin that is on top of it, and the screen for the doorway of the tent of meeting, 26 and (S)the hangings of the court, and the screen for the doorway of the gate of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service; and all that is to be done, [o]they shall perform. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their loads and in all their service, shall be performed at the [p]command of Aaron and his sons; and you shall assign to them as a responsibility all their loads. 28 This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their responsibilities shall be [q]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
Duties of the Merarites
29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families, by their fathers’ households; 30 from (T)thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, you shall number them, everyone who enters the duty of performing the service of the tent of meeting. 31 Now this is the responsibility of their loads, for all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle and its bars and its pillars and its bases, 32 and the pillars around the court and their bases and their pegs and their cords, with all their equipment and with all their service; and you shall assign each man by name the items of the responsibility of [r]his load. 33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the tent of meeting, [s]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”
34 So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families and by their fathers’ households, 35 from (U)thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the duty of service in the tent of meeting. 36 Their numbered men by their families were 2,750. 37 These are the numbered men of the Kohathite families, everyone who was serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the [t]commandment of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.
38 The numbered men of the sons of Gershon by their families and by their fathers’ households, 39 from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the duty of service in the tent of meeting, 40 their numbered men by their families, by their fathers’ households, were 2,630. 41 These are the numbered men of the families of the sons of Gershon, everyone who was serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the [u]commandment of Yahweh.
42 The numbered men of the families of the sons of Merari by their families, by their fathers’ households, 43 from (V)thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the duty of service in the tent of meeting, 44 their numbered men by their families were 3,200. 45 These are the numbered men of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the [v]commandment of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.
46 All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel numbered, by their families and by their fathers’ households, 47 from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter to perform the work of service and the service of carrying in the tent of meeting, 48 their numbered men were (W)8,580. 49 According to the [w]word of Yahweh by the hand of Moses, they (X)were numbered, everyone by his serving or carrying; thus these were his numbered men, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 4:2 Lit the sum
- Numbers 4:2 Lit sons
- Numbers 4:6 Or violet
- Numbers 4:7 Or violet
- Numbers 4:9 Or violet
- Numbers 4:9 Lit snuff dishes
- Numbers 4:11 Or violet
- Numbers 4:12 Or violet
- Numbers 4:13 Soaked with fat; or fat ashes
- Numbers 4:15 Lit burden...of the sons
- Numbers 4:16 Lit dwelling place, so in ch
- Numbers 4:22 Lit the sum
- Numbers 4:22 Lit also them
- Numbers 4:23 Lit muster, so in ch
- Numbers 4:26 Lit so they shall serve
- Numbers 4:27 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:28 Lit in the hand
- Numbers 4:32 Lit their
- Numbers 4:33 Lit in the hand
- Numbers 4:37 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:41 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:45 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:49 Lit mouth
Numbers 4
Holman 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 houses, 3 men from 30 years old to 50 years old—everyone who is qualified[a] 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 veil, and cover the ark of the testimony with it.(C) 6 They are to place over this a covering made of manatee skin,[b] spread a solid blue cloth on top, and insert its poles.(D)
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.(E) 8 They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with a covering made of manatee skin,[c] and insert the poles in the table.(F)
9 “They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand(G) used for light, with its lamps, snuffers, and firepans,(H) as well as its jars of oil by which they service it. 10 Then they must place it with all its utensils inside a covering made of manatee skin[d] and put them on the carrying frame.
11 “They are to spread a blue cloth over the gold altar,(I) cover it with a covering made of manatee skin,[e] and insert its poles.(J) 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 manatee skin,[f] 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.(K) They are to spread a covering made of manatee skin[g] over it and insert its poles.[h](L)
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.(M) 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,(N) the fragrant incense,(O) the daily grain offering,(P) and the anointing oil.(Q) He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, the holy objects and their utensils.”[i]
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:(R) 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, even for a moment,[j] or they will die.”
Duties of the Gershonites
21 The Lord spoke to Moses: 22 “Take a census of the Gershonites(S) also, by their ancestral houses and their clans. 23 Register men from 30 years old to 50 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,(T) the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering made of manatee skin[k] 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.
Duties of the Merarites
29 “As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans(U) and their ancestral houses. 30 Register men from 30 years old to 50 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, posts, 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 houses, 35 men from 30 years old to 50 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 houses, 39 men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. 40 The men registered by their clans and their ancestral houses 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 houses, 43 those from 30 years old to 50 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 houses, 47 from 30 years old to 50 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
- Numbers 4:3 Lit everyone entering the service
- Numbers 4:6 Or of dolphin skin, or of fine leather; Hb obscure
- Numbers 4:8 Or of dolphin skin, or of fine leather; Hb obscure
- Numbers 4:10 Or of dolphin skin, or of fine leather; Hb obscure
- Numbers 4:11 Or of dolphin skin, or of fine leather; Hb obscure
- Numbers 4:12 Or of dolphin skin, or of fine leather; Hb obscure
- Numbers 4:14 Or of dolphin skin, or of fine leather; Hb obscure
- Numbers 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 manatee skin and put them on the carrying frame.
- Numbers 4:16 Or the sanctuary and its furnishings
- Numbers 4:20 Or at the covering of the holy objects
- Numbers 4:25 Or of dolphin skin, or of fine leather; Hb obscure
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