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
Numbers 4
Revised Geneva Translation
4 And the LORD spoke to Moses, and to Aaron, saying,
2 “Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families and Houses of their fathers,
3 “from thirty years old and above, even up to fifty years old, all that enter into the assembly to do the work in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
4 “This shall be the office of the sons of Kohath in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, the holiest of all:
5 “When the camp pulls up stakes, then Aaron and his sons shall come and take down the covering Veil and shall cover the Ark of the Testimony with it.
6 “And they shall put a covering of badger’s skins on it, and shall spread a cloth upon it, altogether of blue silk. And they shall insert the poles.
7 “And they shall spread a cloth of blue silk upon the Table of Show Bread, and put the dishes on it, and the cups and goblets, and coverings to cover it. And the Bread shall be on it continually.
8 “And they shall spread a covering of scarlet upon them and cover the same with a covering of badger’s skins. And they shall insert the poles.
9 “Then they shall take a cloth of blue silk and cover the Candlestick of Light with its lamps, its snuffers, its snuffdishes, and all its oil vessels with which they service it.
10 “So they shall put it, and all its instruments, in a covering of badger’s skins, and put it upon poles.
11 “Also, they shall spread a cloth of blue silk upon the golden Altar and cover it with a covering of badger’s skins and insert its poles.
12 “And they shall take all the instruments of the ministry, with which they minister in the Sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue silk and cover them with a covering of badger’s skins and insert their poles.
13 “Also, they shall take away the ashes from the Altar and spread a purple cloth upon it.
14 “And they shall put upon it all its instruments with which they minister there: the censers, the fleshhooks, the brooms, and the basins, all the instruments of the altar. And they shall spread upon it a covering of badger’s skins and insert its poles.
15 “And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the Sanctuary, and all the instruments of the Sanctuary, when the camp is ready to move, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them. But they shall not touch any Holy thing, lest they die. This is the charge of the sons of Kohath in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
16 “And to the office of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the Priest: the oil for the light and the sweet incense and the daily Meat Offering and the anointing oil and the oversight of all the Tabernacle and of all that is inside (both in the Sanctuary and in all its instruments).”
17 And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
18 “You shall not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites.
19 “But do this to them so that they may live and not die when they come near to the Most Holy things. Let Aaron and his sons come and appoint them, everyone to his office and to his charge.
20 “But do not let them go in to see when the Sanctuary is covered up, lest they die.”
21 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
22 “Also, take the sum of the sons of Gershon, every one by the Houses of their fathers, throughout their families.
23 “From thirty years old and above to fifty years old you shall number them, all that enter into the assembly to do service in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
24 “This shall be the service of the families of the Gershonites: to serve and to carry.
25 “They shall carry the curtains of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Congregation, its covering and the covering of badger’s skins that is on high upon it, the veil of the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation,
26 “also the curtains of the court, the veil of the door of the gate of the court which is near the Tabernacle and near the Altar, all round, with their cords, and all the instruments for their service, and all that is made for them. So shall they serve.
27 “All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be done at the commandment of Aaron and his sons, in all their charges and in all their service. And you shall appoint them to keep all their charges.
28 “This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the Tabernacle of the Congregation. And their watch shall be under the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the Priest.
29 “You shall number the sons of Merari by their families, by the Houses of their fathers.
30 “From thirty years old and above, up to fifty years old, you shall number them, all that enter into the assembly to do the service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
31 “And this is their office and charge, according to all their service in the Tabernacle of the Congregation: the boards of the Tabernacle, with its poles, its pillars and its sockets,
32 “and the pillars all around the court, with their sockets and their pins, and their cords with all their instruments, for all their service. And by name you shall assign the instruments of their office and charge.
33 “This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, under the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the Priest.”
34 Then Moses and Aaron and the princes of the Congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites, by their families and by the Houses of their fathers,
35 from thirty years old and above up to fifty years old, all that enter into the assembly for the service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
36 So the numbers of them throughout their families was two thousand seven hundred fifty.
37 These are the numbers of the families of the Kohathites, all that serve in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, which Moses and Aaron numbered according to the Commandment of the LORD, by the hand of Moses.
38 Also, the numbers of the sons of Gershon throughout their families and Houses of their fathers—
39 from thirty years old and upward, even up to fifty years old, all that enter into the assembly for the service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation—
40 the number of them, by their families, by the Houses of their fathers, was two thousand six hundred thirty.
41 These are the numbers of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all who did service in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the Commandment of the LORD.
42 These are the numbers of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by the Houses of their fathers,
43 from thirty years old and upward, up to fifty years old, all who entered into the assembly for the service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
44 So, the number of them, by their families, was three thousand two hundred.
45 These are the sums of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the Commandment of the LORD, by the hand of Moses,
46 all the numbers of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel numbered by their families and by the Houses of their fathers,
47 from thirty years old and upward, even to fifty years old, every one that came to do his duty, office, service and charge in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
48 So, the number of them was eight thousand five hundred eighty.
49 According to the Commandment of the LORD, by the hand of Moses they were numbered, everyone according to his service and according to his charge. Thus, they of that tribe were numbered, as the LORD Commanded Moses.
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