Numbers 4
Legacy Standard Bible
Duties of the Kohathites
4 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 “Take [a]a census of the [b]descendants of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ households, 3 from (A)thirty years and upward, even to fifty years old, all who enter the duty of doing the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, concerning the most holy things.
5 “And when the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and they shall take down (B)the veil of the screen and cover the (C)ark of the testimony with it; 6 and they shall put a (D)covering of porpoise skin on it and shall spread over it a cloth of pure [c]blue and shall insert its poles. 7 Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall also spread a cloth of [d]blue and put on it the dishes and the pans and the offering bowls and the jars for the drink offering, and (E)the continual bread shall be on it. 8 And they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet material and cover the same with a covering of porpoise skin, and they shall insert its poles. 9 Then they shall take a [e]blue cloth and cover the (F)lampstand for the light, (G)along with its lamps and its tongs, and its [f]trays and all its oil vessels, by which they minister in connection to it; 10 and they shall put it and all its utensils in a covering of porpoise skin and shall put it on the carrying bars. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a [g]blue cloth and cover it with a covering of porpoise skin and shall insert its poles; 12 and they shall take all the utensils of ministry, with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a [h]blue cloth and cover them with a covering of porpoise skin and put them on the carrying bars. 13 Then they shall take away the [i]ashes from the (H)altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 They shall also put on it all its utensils by which they minister in connection with it: the firepans, the flesh hooks and shovels and the bowls, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread a cover of porpoise skin over it and insert its poles. 15 When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them, so that they will not touch the holy objects (I)and die. These are the [j]things in the tent of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.
16 “And the assignment of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is (J)the oil for the light and the (K)fragrant incense and (L)the continual grain offering and (M)the anointing oil—the assignment of all the [k]tabernacle and of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.”
17 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 18 “Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites. 19 But do this to them that they may live and (N)not die when they approach the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons shall go in and set each of them to his service and to his load; 20 but (O)they shall not go in to see the holy objects even for a moment, or they will die.”
Duties of the Gershonites
21 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take [l]a census of the sons of Gershon [m]also, by their fathers’ households, by their families; 23 from (P)thirty years and upward to fifty years old, you shall [n]number them; all who enter to perform the duty of performing the service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in carrying: 25 they shall carry (Q)the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and (R)the covering of porpoise skin that is on top of it, and the screen for the doorway of the tent of meeting, 26 and (S)the hangings of the court, and the screen for the doorway of the gate of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service; and all that is to be done, [o]they shall perform. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their loads and in all their service, shall be performed at the [p]command of Aaron and his sons; and you shall assign to them as a responsibility all their loads. 28 This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their responsibilities shall be [q]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
Duties of the Merarites
29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families, by their fathers’ households; 30 from (T)thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, you shall number them, everyone who enters the duty of performing the service of the tent of meeting. 31 Now this is the responsibility of their loads, for all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle and its bars and its pillars and its bases, 32 and the pillars around the court and their bases and their pegs and their cords, with all their equipment and with all their service; and you shall assign each man by name the items of the responsibility of [r]his load. 33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the tent of meeting, [s]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”
34 So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families and by their fathers’ households, 35 from (U)thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the duty of service in the tent of meeting. 36 Their numbered men by their families were 2,750. 37 These are the numbered men of the Kohathite families, everyone who was serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the [t]commandment of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.
38 The numbered men of the sons of Gershon by their families and by their fathers’ households, 39 from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the duty of service in the tent of meeting, 40 their numbered men by their families, by their fathers’ households, were 2,630. 41 These are the numbered men of the families of the sons of Gershon, everyone who was serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the [u]commandment of Yahweh.
42 The numbered men of the families of the sons of Merari by their families, by their fathers’ households, 43 from (V)thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the duty of service in the tent of meeting, 44 their numbered men by their families were 3,200. 45 These are the numbered men of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the [v]commandment of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.
46 All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel numbered, by their families and by their fathers’ households, 47 from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter to perform the work of service and the service of carrying in the tent of meeting, 48 their numbered men were (W)8,580. 49 According to the [w]word of Yahweh by the hand of Moses, they (X)were numbered, everyone by his serving or carrying; thus these were his numbered men, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 4:2 Lit the sum
- Numbers 4:2 Lit sons
- Numbers 4:6 Or violet
- Numbers 4:7 Or violet
- Numbers 4:9 Or violet
- Numbers 4:9 Lit snuff dishes
- Numbers 4:11 Or violet
- Numbers 4:12 Or violet
- Numbers 4:13 Soaked with fat; or fat ashes
- Numbers 4:15 Lit burden...of the sons
- Numbers 4:16 Lit dwelling place, so in ch
- Numbers 4:22 Lit the sum
- Numbers 4:22 Lit also them
- Numbers 4:23 Lit muster, so in ch
- Numbers 4:26 Lit so they shall serve
- Numbers 4:27 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:28 Lit in the hand
- Numbers 4:32 Lit their
- Numbers 4:33 Lit in the hand
- Numbers 4:37 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:41 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:45 Lit mouth
- Numbers 4:49 Lit mouth
Numbers 4
Common English Bible
Second census and the Levites’ duties
The Kohathites’ duties
4 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 Take a census of the Kohathites from among the Levites by their clans and their households, 3 from 30 to 50 years old, all who are eligible for service to do the work of the meeting tent. 4 These are the responsibilities of the Kohathites in the meeting tent: the most holy things.
5 When it’s time to break camp, Aaron and his sons will enter and take down the screening curtain, and they will cover the chest containing the covenant with it. 6 Then they will place a covering of fine leather[a] on it. They will spread a whole cloth of blue over it, and they will set its poles in place. 7 They will spread a blue cloth on the presentation table and place on it the plates, the dishes, the bowls, and the container for the drink offering. The usual bread will be on it. 8 They will spread on them a red cloth, cover it with fine leather, and set its poles in place. 9 They will take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, its lamps, its extinguishers, its trays, and all the containers for oil that are used in its service. 10 They will place it and its equipment in a covering of fine leather, and then place it on the carrying frame. 11 They will spread a blue cloth on the gold altar and cover it with fine leather. 12 They will take all the service equipment used in the sanctuary, place it in a blue cloth, and cover it with fine leather. Then they will place it on the carrying frame. 13 They will remove the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth on it. 14 They will place on it all the equipment used for servicing it, the censers, the meat fork, the shovels, the bowls, all the equipment of the altar. They will spread a covering of fine leather over it and then set its poles in place.
15 Aaron and his sons will finish covering the sanctuary and all the equipment of the sanctuary when it is time to break camp. After that the Kohathites will enter to carry it, but they will not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These are the objects in the dwelling that the Kohathites are to carry. 16 But Eleazar son of Aaron the priest will have oversight of the oil for lighting, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, as well as oversight of the entire dwelling and everything in it related to the sanctuary and its equipment.
17 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 18 You must not let the tribe of the Kohathite clans be eliminated from the Levites. 19 This is what you must do for them so that they stay alive and don’t die when they approach the most holy things. Aaron and his sons will enter and assign each of them his work and his load. 20 But they may not enter to look at the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die.
The Gershonites’ duties
21 The Lord spoke to Moses: 22 Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their households and their clans. 23 You will enroll those from 30 to 50 years old, all who are eligible for service to do work in the dwelling. 24 This is the duty of the Gershonite clans for work and for carrying the load: 25 They will carry the fabric of the dwelling, the meeting tent with its covering, the outer covering of fine leather, the screen for the entrance of the meeting tent, 26 the curtains of the courtyard, the screen of the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the meeting tent and the altar, their cords, and all their equipment for their work. They will do everything that needs to be done with these objects.
27 All the duties of the Gershonites for carrying their load and for their work will be at the command of Aaron and his sons. You will assign to them the responsibility to carry their load. 28 This is the work of the Gershonite clans in the dwelling. Their responsibility will be under Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
The Merarites’ duties
29 You will enroll the Merarites by their clans and their households. 30 You will enroll those from 30 to 50 years old, all who are eligible for service to do work in the meeting tent. 31 This is what they are responsible to carry as their work in the meeting tent: the frames of the meeting tent, its bars, pillars, and bases; 32 the pillars of the courtyard all around, with their bases, pegs, cords, and all the equipment used with them. You will list by name the objects they are required to carry. 33 This is the duty of the Merarite clans for all their work in the meeting tent under the supervision of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
Summary of the census
34 So Moses, Aaron, and the chiefs of the community enrolled the Kohathites by their clans and their households, 35 those from 30 to 50 years old who were eligible for work in the meeting tent. 36 Their enrollment by their clans was 2,750. 37 These are the enrolled of the Kohathite clans, all who worked in the meeting tent and whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the Lord’s command through Moses.
38 The enrollment of the Gershonites by their clans and their households, 39 those 30 to 50 years old who were eligible for work in the meeting tent: 40 their enrollment by their clans and their households was 2,630. 41 These are the enrolled of the Gershonite clans, all who worked in the meeting tent, and whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the Lord’s command.
42 The enrollment of the Merarite clans by their clans and their households, 43 those 30 to 50 years old who were eligible for work in the meeting tent: 44 their enrollment by their clans was 3,200. 45 These are the enrolled of the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the Lord’s command through Moses.
46 All the enrolled Levites whom Moses, Aaron, and the chiefs of Israel enrolled by their clans and their households, 47 those 30 to 50 years old who were eligible to do the work and to carry the load of the meeting tent: 48 their enrollment was 8,580. 49 Each was enrolled by the Lord’s command through Moses to work and to carry his load. Each was assigned just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 4:6 Or dolphin skin; see also 4:8, 10-12.
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