Numbers 4
World English Bible
4 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census 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 who enter into the service to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.
4 “This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting, regarding the most holy things. 5 When the camp moves forward, Aaron shall go in with his sons; and they shall take down the veil of the screen, cover the ark of the Testimony with it, 6 put a covering of sealskin on it, spread a blue cloth over it, and put in its poles.
7 “On the table of show bread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the spoons, the bowls, and the cups with which to pour out; and the continual bread shall be on it. 8 They shall spread on them a scarlet cloth, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles.
9 “They shall take a blue cloth and cover the lamp stand of the light, its lamps, its snuffers, its snuff dishes, and all its oil vessels, with which they minister to it. 10 They shall put it and all its vessels within a covering of sealskin, and shall put it on the frame.
11 “On the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles.
12 “They shall take all the vessels of ministry with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on the frame.
13 “They shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth on it. 14 They shall put on it all its vessels with which they minister about it, the fire pans, the meat hooks, the shovels, and the basins—all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of sealskin, and put in its poles.
15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp moves forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry it; but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. The sons of Kohath shall carry these things belonging to the Tent of Meeting.
16 “The duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the continual meal offering, and the anointing oil, the requirements of all the tabernacle, and of all that is in it, the sanctuary, and its furnishings.”
17 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 18 “Don’t cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; 19 but do this to them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint everyone 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.”
21 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses, by their families; 23 you shall count them from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old: all who enter in to wait on the 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 bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, the covering of sealskin that is on it, the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the gate of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and whatever shall be done with them. They shall serve in there. 27 At the commandment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burden and in all their service; and you shall appoint their duty to them in all their responsibilities. 28 This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the Tent of Meeting. Their duty shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall count them by their families, by their fathers’ houses; 30 you shall count them from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old—everyone who enters on the service, to do the work of the Tent of Meeting. 31 This is the duty of their burden, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, 32 the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service. You shall appoint the instruments of the duty of their burden to them by name. 33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”
34 Moses and Aaron and the princes of the congregation counted the sons of the Kohathites by their families, and by their fathers’ houses, 35 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service for work in the Tent of Meeting. 36 Those who were counted of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred fifty. 37 These are those who were counted of the families of the Kohathites, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses.
38 Those who were counted of the sons of Gershon, by their families, and by their fathers’ houses, 39 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old—everyone who entered into the service for work in the Tent of Meeting, 40 even those who were counted of them, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, were two thousand six hundred thirty. 41 These are those who were counted of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of Yahweh.
42 Those who were counted of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, 43 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old—everyone who entered into the service for work in the Tent of Meeting, 44 even those who were counted of them by their families, were three thousand two hundred. 45 These are those who were counted of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses.
46 All those who were counted of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel counted, by their families and by their fathers’ houses, 47 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered in to do the work of service and the work of bearing burdens in the Tent of Meeting, 48 even those who were counted of them, were eight thousand five hundred eighty. 49 According to the commandment of Yahweh they were counted by Moses, everyone according to his service and according to his burden. Thus they were counted by him, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
Numbers 4
Common English Bible
Second census and the Levites’ duties
The Kohathites’ duties
4 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 Take a census of the Kohathites from among the Levites by their clans and their households, 3 from 30 to 50 years old, all who are eligible for service to do the work of the meeting tent. 4 These are the responsibilities of the Kohathites in the meeting tent: the most holy things.
5 When it’s time to break camp, Aaron and his sons will enter and take down the screening curtain, and they will cover the chest containing the covenant with it. 6 Then they will place a covering of fine leather[a] on it. They will spread a whole cloth of blue over it, and they will set its poles in place. 7 They will spread a blue cloth on the presentation table and place on it the plates, the dishes, the bowls, and the container for the drink offering. The usual bread will be on it. 8 They will spread on them a red cloth, cover it with fine leather, and set its poles in place. 9 They will take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, its lamps, its extinguishers, its trays, and all the containers for oil that are used in its service. 10 They will place it and its equipment in a covering of fine leather, and then place it on the carrying frame. 11 They will spread a blue cloth on the gold altar and cover it with fine leather. 12 They will take all the service equipment used in the sanctuary, place it in a blue cloth, and cover it with fine leather. Then they will place it on the carrying frame. 13 They will remove the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth on it. 14 They will place on it all the equipment used for servicing it, the censers, the meat fork, the shovels, the bowls, all the equipment of the altar. They will spread a covering of fine leather over it and then set its poles in place.
15 Aaron and his sons will finish covering the sanctuary and all the equipment of the sanctuary when it is time to break camp. After that the Kohathites will enter to carry it, but they will not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These are the objects in the dwelling that the Kohathites are to carry. 16 But Eleazar son of Aaron the priest will have oversight of the oil for lighting, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, as well as oversight of the entire dwelling and everything in it related to the sanctuary and its equipment.
17 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 18 You must not let the tribe of the Kohathite clans be eliminated from the Levites. 19 This is what you must do for them so that they stay alive and don’t die when they approach the most holy things. Aaron and his sons will enter and assign each of them his work and his load. 20 But they may not enter to look at the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die.
The Gershonites’ duties
21 The Lord spoke to Moses: 22 Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their households and their clans. 23 You will enroll those from 30 to 50 years old, all who are eligible for service to do work in the dwelling. 24 This is the duty of the Gershonite clans for work and for carrying the load: 25 They will carry the fabric of the dwelling, the meeting tent with its covering, the outer covering of fine leather, the screen for the entrance of the meeting tent, 26 the curtains of the courtyard, the screen of the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the meeting tent and the altar, their cords, and all their equipment for their work. They will do everything that needs to be done with these objects.
27 All the duties of the Gershonites for carrying their load and for their work will be at the command of Aaron and his sons. You will assign to them the responsibility to carry their load. 28 This is the work of the Gershonite clans in the dwelling. Their responsibility will be under Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
The Merarites’ duties
29 You will enroll the Merarites by their clans and their households. 30 You will enroll those from 30 to 50 years old, all who are eligible for service to do work in the meeting tent. 31 This is what they are responsible to carry as their work in the meeting tent: the frames of the meeting tent, its bars, pillars, and bases; 32 the pillars of the courtyard all around, with their bases, pegs, cords, and all the equipment used with them. You will list by name the objects they are required to carry. 33 This is the duty of the Merarite clans for all their work in the meeting tent under the supervision of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
Summary of the census
34 So Moses, Aaron, and the chiefs of the community enrolled the Kohathites by their clans and their households, 35 those from 30 to 50 years old who were eligible for work in the meeting tent. 36 Their enrollment by their clans was 2,750. 37 These are the enrolled of the Kohathite clans, all who worked in the meeting tent and whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the Lord’s command through Moses.
38 The enrollment of the Gershonites by their clans and their households, 39 those 30 to 50 years old who were eligible for work in the meeting tent: 40 their enrollment by their clans and their households was 2,630. 41 These are the enrolled of the Gershonite clans, all who worked in the meeting tent, and whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the Lord’s command.
42 The enrollment of the Merarite clans by their clans and their households, 43 those 30 to 50 years old who were eligible for work in the meeting tent: 44 their enrollment by their clans was 3,200. 45 These are the enrolled of the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the Lord’s command through Moses.
46 All the enrolled Levites whom Moses, Aaron, and the chiefs of Israel enrolled by their clans and their households, 47 those 30 to 50 years old who were eligible to do the work and to carry the load of the meeting tent: 48 their enrollment was 8,580. 49 Each was enrolled by the Lord’s command through Moses to work and to carry his load. Each was assigned just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 4:6 Or dolphin skin; see also 4:8, 10-12.
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