Numbers 4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Kohathites
4 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the Kohathites separate from the other Levites, by their clans and their ancestral houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who qualify to do work relating to the tent of meeting.(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.(B) 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;(C) 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,(D) 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,(E) 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.(F)
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.”(G)
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “You must not let the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites. 19 This is how you shall deal with them in order that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each to a particular task or burden.(H) 20 But the Kohathites[g] must not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, or they will die.”
The Gershonites and Merarites
21 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their ancestral houses and by their clans; 23 from thirty years old up to fifty years old you shall enroll them, all who qualify to do work in the tent of meeting.(I) 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting with its covering, and the outer covering of fine leather[h] that is on top of it, and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting,(J) 26 and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, and all the equipment for their service, and they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do, and you shall assign to them as duties all that they are to carry.(K) 28 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites relating to the tent of meeting, and their duties are to be under the oversight of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
29 “As for the Merarites, you shall enroll them by their clans and their ancestral houses; 30 from thirty years old up to fifty years old you shall enroll them, everyone who qualifies to do the work of the tent of meeting.(L) 31 This is their duty to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases,(M) 32 and the pillars of the court all around with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their related service, and you shall assign by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the Merarites, the whole of their service relating to the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”(N)
Census of the Levites
34 So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation enrolled the Kohathites, by their clans and their ancestral houses,(O) 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting, 36 and their enrollment by clans was two thousand seven hundred fifty. 37 This was the enrollment of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served at the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.(P)
38 The enrollment of the Gershonites, by their clans and their ancestral houses,(Q) 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting— 40 their enrollment by their clans and their ancestral houses was two thousand six hundred thirty. 41 This was the enrollment of the clans of the Gershonites, all who served at the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the Lord.(R)
42 The enrollment of the clans of the Merarites, by their clans and their ancestral houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting, 44 and their enrollment by their clans was three thousand two hundred. 45 This is the enrollment of the clans of the Merarites, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.(S)
46 All those who were enrolled of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel enrolled, by their clans and their ancestral houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who qualified to do the work of service and the work of bearing burdens relating to the tent of meeting,(T) 48 and their enrollment was eight thousand five hundred eighty. 49 According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses, they were appointed to their several tasks of serving or carrying; thus they were enrolled by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Numbers 4
New American Standard Bible
Duties of the Kohathites
4 Then the Lord 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 old and upward, even to fifty years old, everyone who can enter the service of ministry to do work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the work of the [c]descendants of Kohath in the tent of meeting, concerning the most holy things.
5 “When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down (B)the veil of the curtain, and cover the (C)ark of the testimony with it; 6 and they shall place a (D)covering of [d]fine leather on it, and spread over it a cloth of pure [e]violet, and insert its carrying poles. 7 Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall also spread a cloth of violet and put on it the dishes, the pans, the sacrificial bowls, and the jugs 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 fine leather, and they shall insert its carrying poles. 9 Then they shall take a violet cloth and cover the (F)lampstand for the light, (G)along with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all its oil containers, by which they attend to it; 10 and they shall put it and all its utensils in a covering of fine leather, and put it on the carrying [f]bars. 11 Over the golden altar they shall spread a violet cloth, and cover it with a covering of fine leather, and they shall insert its carrying poles; 12 and they shall take all the utensils of service, with which they serve in the sanctuary, and put them in a violet cloth and cover them with a covering of fine leather, and put them on the carrying [g]bars. 13 Then they shall clean away the [h]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 serve in connection with it: the firepans, the forks, shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread a cover of fine leather over it and insert its carrying 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 by the poles, so that they will not touch the holy objects (I)and die. These are the [i]things in the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.
16 “Now the responsibility of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is (J)the oil for the light, the (K)fragrant incense, (L)the continual grain offering, and (M)the anointing oil—the responsibility of all the [j]tabernacle and everything that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.”
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 18 “Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be eliminated from among the Levites. 19 Rather, do this for them so that they will live and (N)not die when they approach the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his work and to his load; 20 but (O)they shall not come in to see the holy objects even for a moment, or they will die.”
Duties of the Gershonites
21 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a [k]census of the sons of Gershon [l]also, by their fathers’ households, by their families; 23 from (P)thirty years old and upward to fifty years old you shall [m]count them: all who can enter to perform service, to do the work 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 fine leather that is on top of it, and the curtain for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 and (S)the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance of the gate of the courtyard that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their ropes and all the equipment for their service; and everything that is to be done [n]by them, [o]they shall perform. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites, that is, all their loads and all their work, shall be performed at the [p]command of Aaron and his sons; and you shall assign to them as a duty all their loads. 28 This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting; and their duties 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 count them by their families, by their fathers’ households; 30 from (T)thirty years old and upward, even to fifty years old, you shall count them, everyone who can enter the service to do the work of the tent of meeting. 31 Now this is the duty of their loads, for all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, and its bases, 32 and the pillars around the courtyard and their bases, their pegs, and their ropes, with all their equipment and with all their service; and you shall assign by names of the men the items [r]that each is to carry. 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, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation counted the sons of the Kohathites by their families and by their fathers’ households, 35 from (U)thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter the service for work in the tent of meeting. 36 Their numbered men by their families were 2,750. 37 These were the numbered men of the Kohathite families, everyone who was serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the [t]commandment of the Lord [u]through Moses.
38 And the numbered men of the sons of Gershon by their families and by their fathers’ households, 39 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter the service for work in the tent of meeting— 40 their numbered men by their families, by their fathers’ households, were 2,630. 41 These were the numbered men of the families of the sons of Gershon, everyone who was serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the [v]commandment of the Lord.
42 And the numbered men of the families of the sons of Merari by their families, by their fathers’ households, 43 from (V)thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter the service for work in the tent of meeting— 44 their numbered men by their families were 3,200. 45 These were the numbered men of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the [w]commandment of the Lord [x]through Moses.
46 All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel counted, by their families and by their fathers’ households, 47 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter to do the work of service and the work of carrying in the tent of meeting— 48 their numbered men were (W)8,580. 49 According to the [y]commandment of the Lord [z]through Moses, they (X)were counted, everyone by his serving or carrying; so these were his numbered men, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 4:2 Lit sum
- Numbers 4:2 Lit sons
- Numbers 4:4 Lit sons
- Numbers 4:6 Meaning of the Heb uncertain, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 4:6 Or bluish; LXX hyacinth in color, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 4:10 Or frame
- Numbers 4:12 Or frame
- Numbers 4:13 Or fatty ashes; i.e., soaked with fat
- Numbers 4:15 Lit burden...of the sons
- Numbers 4:16 Lit dwelling place, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 4:22 Lit sum
- Numbers 4:22 Lit also them
- Numbers 4:23 Lit muster, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 4:26 Or to them
- Numbers 4:26 Lit so they shall serve
- Numbers 4:27 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:28 Lit in the hand
- Numbers 4:32 Lit of the duty of their loads
- Numbers 4:33 Lit in the hand
- Numbers 4:37 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:37 Lit by the hand of
- Numbers 4:41 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:45 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:45 Lit by the hand of
- Numbers 4:49 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:49 Lit by the hand of
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
