Numbers 4:1-20

New International Reader's Version

The Families of Kohath

4 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² “Count the Levites who belong to the families of Kohath. Make a list of them family by family. ³ Count all the men 30 to 50 years old. Those are the men who must come and serve at the tent of meeting.

⁴ “Here is the work the men of Kohath must do at the tent of meeting. They must take care of the things that are very holy. ⁵ When the camp is ready to move, Aaron and his sons must go into the tent. They must take down the curtain that hides the ark where the tablets of the covenant law are kept. They must cover the ark with the curtain. ⁶ Then they must cover that with strong leather. They must spread a solid blue cloth over the leather. And they must put the poles in place.

⁷ “They must spread a blue cloth over the table for the holy bread. They must put the plates, dishes and bowls on the cloth. They must also put the jars for drink offerings on it. The bread that is always kept there must remain on it. ⁸ They must spread a bright red cloth over everything. Then they must cover that with the strong leather. And they must put the poles of the table in place.

⁹ “They must get a blue cloth. With it they must cover the lampstand that gives light. They must also cover its lamps, trays and wick cutters. And they must cover all its jars. The jars are for the olive oil used in the lampstand. ¹⁰ Then Aaron and his sons must wrap the lampstand and all the things used with it. They must cover it with the strong leather. And they must put it on a frame to carry it.

¹¹ “They must spread a blue cloth over the gold altar for burning incense. They must cover that with the strong leather. And they must put the poles of the altar in place.

¹² “They must get all the things used for serving in the sacred tent. They must wrap them in a blue cloth. They must cover that with the strong leather. Then they must put those things on a frame to carry them.

¹³ “They must remove the ashes from the bronze altar for burnt offerings. They must spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴ Then they must place all the tools on it. The tools are used for serving at the altar. They include the pans for carrying ashes. They also include the meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Aaron and his sons must cover the altar with the strong leather. And they must put its poles in place.

¹⁵ “Aaron and his sons must cover all the holy things that belong to the holy tent. Only then are the men of Kohath to come and carry everything. They must do so only when the camp is ready to move. But they must not touch the holy things. If they do, they will die. The men of Kohath must carry everything in the tent of meeting.

¹⁶ “Eleazar the priest will be in charge of the olive oil for the light. He is the son of Aaron. Eleazar will be in charge of the sweet-smelling incense. He will be in charge of the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He will be in charge of the entire holy tent. He will also be in charge of everything in it. That includes all the things that belong to the tent.”

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, ¹⁸ “Make sure that the Kohath families are not destroyed from among the Levites. ¹⁹ I want them to live and not die when they come near the very holy things. So here is what you must do for them. Aaron and his sons must go into the sacred tent and tell each man what to do. They must tell each man what to carry. ²⁰ But the men of Kohath must not go in and look at the holy things. They must not look at them even for a moment. If they do, they will die.”