Nombres 4

The work of the Kohathites

¹The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, ²“Take a census of the Kohathites from among the Levites, by their clans and their ancestral families, ³all the men from thirty to fifty years old who can enter the service, to do the work at the tent of meeting. ⁴This is the service of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting: the most holy things. ⁵When the camp is about to set out, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the screening curtain and cover the ark of the testimony with it. ⁶Then they are to put a covering of fine leather over it, spread a cloth of solid blue on top, and put its poles in place. ⁷Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and set on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls and the jars for the drink offering. The regular bread is to stay on it. ⁸Over these they are to spread a scarlet cloth, cover that with a covering of fine leather, and put the table’s poles in place. ⁹They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its fire pans and all the jars for the oil used in tending it. ¹⁰Then they are to put it and all its utensils in a covering of fine leather and set it on a carrying frame. ¹¹Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with a covering of fine leather, and put its poles in place. ¹²They are to take all the utensils used for the service in the sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of fine leather, and put them on a carrying frame. ¹³They are to clear the fat-soaked ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴Then they are to put on it all the utensils used in serving at it: the firepans, forks, shovels and basins, all the utensils of the altar. Over it they are to spread a covering of fine leather and put its poles in place.^{a 15}When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy things and all the holy utensils, as the camp is about to set out, then the Kohathites are to come and carry them. But they must not touch the holy things, or they will die. These are the things in the tent of meeting that the Kohathites are to carry. ¹⁶Eleazar son of Aaron the priest is to be in charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He is to oversee the whole tabernacle and everything in it, the sanctuary and its utensils.”

Do not let the Kohathites be cut off

¹⁷The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, ¹⁸“Do not let the tribe of the Kohathite clans be cut off from among the Levites. ¹⁹This is what you must do for them, so that they will live and not die when they come near the most holy things: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and what he is to carry. ²⁰But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things even for an instant, or they will die.”^b

The work of the Gershonites

²¹The LORD spoke to Moses. He said, ²²“Take a census of the Gershonites as well, by their ancestral families and their clans. ²³Enroll all the men from thirty to fifty years old who come to serve in the company of workers at the tent of meeting. ²⁴This is the service of the Gershonite clans, both their work and what they carry. ²⁵They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting, with its covering and the covering of fine leather that goes on top of it, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, ²⁶the hangings of the courtyard and the screen for the entrance of the courtyard gate, the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, with their cords and all the equipment for their service. They are to do all the work that has to be done with these things. ²⁷All the service of the Gershonites, all that they carry and all their work, is to be done at the direction of Aaron and his sons. You are to assign them, as their duty, all that they are to carry. ²⁸This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting. Their duties are to be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

The work of the Merarites

²⁹As for the Merarites, enroll them by their clans and their ancestral families. ³⁰Enroll all the men from thirty to fifty years old who enter the service to do the work of the tent of meeting. ³¹This is what they are responsible to carry as their part of the service at the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, its pillars and its bases, ³²and the pillars around the courtyard with their bases, tent pegs and cords, with all their equipment and everything used in their service. Assign by name the items they are responsible to carry. ³³This is the service of the Merarite clans, all their work at the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.” ³⁴So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the congregation enrolled the Kohathites by their clans and ancestral families, ³⁵all the men from thirty to fifty years old who entered the service for work at the tent of meeting. ³⁶Those enrolled, clan by clan, numbered 2,750. ³⁷These were the men enrolled from the Kohathite clans, all who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron enrolled them at the command of the LORD given through Moses.

The Levites enrolled for the work

³⁸The Gershonites enrolled by their clans and ancestral families, ³⁹all the men from thirty to fifty years old who entered the service for work at the tent of meeting, ⁴⁰numbered 2,630 by their clans and ancestral families. ⁴¹These were the men enrolled from the Gershonite clans, all who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron enrolled them at the command of the LORD. ⁴²The Merarite clans enrolled by their clans and ancestral families, ⁴³all the men from thirty to fifty years old who entered the service for work at the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴numbered 3,200 by their clans. ⁴⁵These were the men enrolled from the Merarite clans. Moses and Aaron enrolled them at the command of the LORD given through Moses. ⁴⁶All the Levites whom Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel enrolled by their clans and ancestral families, ⁴⁷all the men from thirty to fifty years old who came to do the work of serving and the work of carrying at the tent of meeting, ⁴⁸numbered 8,580. ⁴⁹At the command of the LORD through Moses they were enrolled and each man was assigned his work and what he was to carry. So they were enrolled, as the LORD had commanded Moses.^c