Duties of the Kohathite Clan

4 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² “Record the names of the members of the clans and families of the Kohathite division of the tribe of Levi. ³ List all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle.^[a]

⁴ “The duties of the Kohathites at the Tabernacle will relate to the most sacred objects. ⁵ When the camp moves, Aaron and his sons must enter the Tabernacle first to take down the inner curtain and cover the Ark of the Covenant^[b] with it. ⁶ Then they must cover the inner curtain with fine goatskin leather and spread over that a single piece of blue cloth. Finally, they must put the carrying poles of the Ark in place.

⁷ “Next they must spread a blue cloth over the table where the Bread of the Presence is displayed, and on the cloth they will place the bowls, ladles, jars, pitchers, and the special bread. ⁸ They must spread a scarlet cloth over all of this, and finally a covering of fine goatskin leather on top of the scarlet cloth. Then they must insert the carrying poles into the table.

⁹ “Next they must cover the lampstand with a blue cloth, along with its lamps, lamp snuffers, trays, and special jars of olive oil. ¹⁰ Then they must cover the lampstand and its accessories with fine goatskin leather and place the bundle on a carrying frame.

¹¹ “Next they must spread a blue cloth over the gold incense altar and cover this cloth with fine goatskin leather. Then they must attach the carrying poles to the altar. ¹² They must take all the remaining furnishings of the sanctuary and wrap them in a blue cloth, cover them with fine goatskin leather, and place them on the carrying frame.

¹³ “They must remove the ashes from the altar for sacrifices and cover the altar with a purple cloth. ¹⁴ All the altar utensils—the firepans, meat forks, shovels, basins, and all the containers—must be placed on the cloth, and a covering of fine goatskin leather must be spread over them. Finally, they must put the carrying poles in place. ¹⁵ The camp will be ready to move when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the sacred articles. The Kohathites will come and carry these things to the next destination. But they must not touch the sacred objects, or they will die. So these are the things from the Tabernacle that the Kohathites must carry.

¹⁶ “Eleazar son of Aaron the priest will be responsible for the oil of the lampstand, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. In fact, Eleazar will be responsible for the entire Tabernacle and everything in it, including the sanctuary and its furnishings.”

¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ¹⁸ “Do not let the Kohathite clans be destroyed from among the Levites! ¹⁹ This is what you must do so they will live and not die when they approach the most sacred objects. Aaron and his sons must always go in with them and assign a specific duty or load to each person. ²⁰ The Kohathites must never enter the sanctuary to look at the sacred objects for even a moment, or they will die.”