Duties of the Sons of Kohath

4 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: ² “Take a census of the sons of ^(A)Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house, ^3 (B)from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.

^4 (C)“This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting, relating to ^(D)the most holy things: ⁵ When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down ^(E)the covering veil and cover the ^(F)ark of the Testimony with it. ⁶ Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of ^(G)blue; and they shall insert ^(H)its poles.

⁷ “On the ^(I)table of showbread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the ^[a]pitchers for pouring; and the ^(J)showbread^[b] shall be on it. ⁸ They shall spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. ⁹ And they shall take a blue cloth and cover the ^(K)lampstand of the light, ^(L)with its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it. ¹⁰ Then they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of badger skins, and put it on a carrying beam.

¹¹ “Over ^(M)the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. ¹² Then they shall take all the ^(N)utensils of service with which they minister in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of badger skins, and put them on a carrying beam. ¹³ Also they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴ They shall put on it all its implements with which they minister there—the firepans, the forks, the shovels, the ^[c]basins, and all the utensils of the altar—and they shall spread on it a covering of badger skins, and insert its poles. ¹⁵ And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then ^(O)the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; ^(P)but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.

“^(Q)These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.

¹⁶ “The appointed duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is ^(R)the oil for the light, the ^(S)sweet incense, ^(T)the daily grain offering, the ^(U)anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.”

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: ¹⁸ “Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; ¹⁹ but do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach ^(V)the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and ^[d]appoint each of them to his service and his task. ^20 (W)But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die.”