Numbers 4
1 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron:
2 “Take a census of the Kohathites among the Levites, by their clans and families:
3 from thirty years old up to fifty, everyone who enters the service to do the work in the tent of meeting.
4 This is the work of the Kohathites in the tent of meeting: the most holy things.
5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in, take down the screening curtain, and cover the Ark of the Testimony with it.
6 They shall put a covering of fine leather over it, spread a solid-blue cloth over that, and put its poles in place.
7 They shall spread a blue cloth over the table of the Presence and place on it the plates, cups, bowls, and jars for the drink offering; the regular bread shall remain on it.
8 They shall spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover it with a covering of fine leather, and put its poles in place.
9 They shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for lighting, its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the oil vessels used in its service.
10 They shall put the lampstand and all its utensils inside a covering of fine leather and place it on a carrying frame.
11 They shall spread a blue cloth over the gold altar, cover it with a covering of fine leather, and put its poles in place.
12 They shall take all the utensils used in the service of the sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of fine leather, and place them on a carrying frame.”
13 “They shall remove the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it.
14 They shall place on it all the utensils used in its service—the fire pans, forks, shovels, and basins—all the altar’s utensils. They shall spread a covering of fine leather over it and put its poles in place.
15 When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy things and all the holy utensils, as the camp sets out, then the Kohathites shall come to carry them. But they must not touch the holy things, or they will die. This is the Kohathites’ burden in the tent of meeting.
16 Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall be responsible for the lighting oil, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil. He shall be responsible for the whole tabernacle and everything in it, including the sanctuary and its utensils.”
17 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron:
18 “Do not let the tribe of the Kohathite clans be cut off from among the Levites.
19 Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his work and his burden.
20 But they must not go in even for a moment to look at the holy things being covered, or they will die.”
21 The LORD spoke to Moses:
22 “Take a census of the Gershonites too, by their families and clans.
23 Count them from thirty years old up to fifty, everyone who enters the service to do the work in the tent of meeting.
24 This is the work of the Gershonite clans in their service and carrying:
25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting, its covering, the fine-leather covering over it, and the curtain at the entrance of the tent of meeting.”
26 “They shall also carry the hangings of the courtyard, the curtain at the courtyard gate surrounding the tabernacle and the altar, their cords, and all the equipment used in their service. They shall do everything that needs to be done with these things.
27 All the work of the Gershonites, in everything they carry and all their service, shall be carried out under Aaron and his sons’ direction. You shall assign them responsibility for everything they carry.
28 This is the work of the Gershonite clans in the tent of meeting, and their responsibilities shall be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”
29 “As for the Merarites, count them by their clans and families.
30 Count them from thirty years old up to fifty, everyone who enters the service to do the work of the tent of meeting.
31 This is the responsibility for what they carry in all their work in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, its posts, and its bases;
32 the posts around the courtyard, their bases, pegs, and cords, along with all their equipment and everything used in their work. You shall assign by name the items for which they are responsible to carry.
33 This is the work of the Merarite clans in all their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”
34 Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community counted the Kohathites by their clans and families.
35 They counted everyone from thirty years old up to fifty who entered the service to work in the tent of meeting.
36 Those counted by their clans numbered 2,750.
37 These were the numbers counted from the Kohathite clans, everyone who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
38 The numbers counted from the Gershonites, by their clans and families, were:
39 everyone from thirty years old up to fifty who entered the service to work in the tent of meeting.
40 Those counted by their clans and families numbered 2,630.
41 These were the numbers counted from the Gershonite clans, everyone who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted as the LORD had commanded.
42 The numbers counted from the Merarite clans, by their clans and families, were:
43 everyone from thirty years old up to fifty who entered the service to work in the tent of meeting.
44 Those counted by their clans numbered 3,200.
45 These were the numbers counted from the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron counted as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
46 All the Levites counted by Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel, by their clans and families, numbered:
47 everyone from thirty years old up to fifty who entered the service of working and carrying in the tent of meeting.
48 Those counted numbered 8,580.
49 As the LORD had commanded through Moses, each man was assigned his work and his burden. These were the men counted, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
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