Numbers 4:1-20
Lexham English Bible
The Census of the Kohathites
4 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census[a] of the descendants[b] of Kohath from the midst of the descendants[c] of Levi, according to their clans and their families,[d] 3 from thirty years old[e] and above, up to fifty years old,[f] everyone who comes to the service to do the work in the tent of assembly. 4 This is the work of the descendants[g] of Kohath in the tent of assembly, concerning the holiness of the sanctuary: 5 When setting out the camp, Aaron and his sons will go and lower the curtain of the covering and cover with it the ark of the testimony.[h] 6 They will put on it a covering of fine leather,[i] and they will spread a cloth of perfect blue over it, and they will place its poles. 7 And over the table of the presence they will spread out a blue cloth and put on it the plates, dishes, and libation bowls, and the pitchers of the libation; and the bread of continuity will be on it. 8 They will spread over it a scarlet cloth, and they will cover it with a covering of fine leather,[j] and they will place its poles. 9 They will take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand for the light source, its lamps, a pair of its tongs, its small pans, and all the vessels of its oil with which they attend to it. 10 They will put it and all its vessels inside a covering of fine leather[k] and put it on the carrying frame. 11 Over the altar of gold they will spread a blue cloth, and they will cover it with a covering of fine leather[l] and place its poles. 12 They will take all the vessels of the cultic service with which they serve in the sanctuary and put them on a blue cloth, and they will cover them with a covering of fine leather;[m] and they will put them on the carrying frame. 13 They will remove the fat-soaked ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it; 14 they will put on it all the vessels with which they serve, the fire pans, forks, shovels, and bowls—all the vessels of the altar. They will spread on it a covering of fine leather;[n] and they will place its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the vessels of the sanctuary when the camp sets out, the descendants[o] of Kohath will come after to carry these, but they must not touch the sanctuary, or they will die. These are the load of the descendants[p] of Kohath in the tent of assembly.
16 “Eleazar son of Aaron the priest is to supervise the oil of the light source, the incense, the regular grain offering,[q] the oil of anointment, the supervision of all the tabernacle and all that is in it, in the sanctuary and in its vessels.”
17 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “You must not cut off the tribe of the clan of the Kohathites[r] from the midst of the Levites. 19 Do this to them and they will live and not die when they come near the most holy things. Aaron and his sons will go and appoint them, each one to his task and burden. 20 But they must not go and look for a moment[s] at the holy objects.”
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- Numbers 4:2 Literally “and lift up the number of”
- Numbers 4:2 Or “sons”
- Numbers 4:2 Or “sons”
- Numbers 4:2 Literally “the house of their fathers”
- Numbers 4:3 Literally “a son of thirty years”
- Numbers 4:3 Literally “a son of fifty years”
- Numbers 4:4 Or “sons”
- Numbers 4:5 Or “the ark of the covenant”
- Numbers 4:6 Literally “the hide of a sea cow”
- Numbers 4:8 Literally “the hide of a sea cow”
- Numbers 4:10 Literally “the hide of a sea cow”
- Numbers 4:11 Literally “the hide of a sea cow”
- Numbers 4:12 Literally “the hide of a sea cow”
- Numbers 4:14 Literally “the hide of a sea cow”
- Numbers 4:15 Or “sons”
- Numbers 4:15 Or “sons”
- Numbers 4:16 Literally “the grain offering of continuity”
- Numbers 4:18 Hebrew “Kohathite”
- Numbers 4:20 Literally “as devouring”
Numbers 4:1-20
English Standard Version
Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites
4 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 3 (A)from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: (B)the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down (C)the veil of the screen and cover (D)the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin[a] and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its (E)poles. 7 And over the (F)table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; (G)the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall (H)put in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover (I)the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over (J)the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all (K)the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And 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 fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that (L)the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, (M)but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.
16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of (N)the oil for the light, the (O)fragrant incense, (P)the regular grain offering, and (Q)the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”
17 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to (R)the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 (S)but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- Numbers 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
