Numbers 4

1And Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

2Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses.

3from thirty years old and upward, up to fifty years old, everyone who enters the service to do the work in the tent of meeting.

4This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting concerning the most holy things.

5When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall come and take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of the testimony with it.

6They shall put over it a covering of fine leather, and spread over that a cloth wholly of blue, and they shall put its poles in place.

7And over the table of the Presence they shall spread a blue cloth, and they shall place on it the plates, the cups, the bowls, and the pitchers for the drink offering; and the regular bread shall be on it.

8They shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet yarn, and cover it with a covering of tahash skin, and put its poles in place.

9Then they shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand for the light, along with its lamps, its tongs, its firepans, and all its oil vessels with which they minister to it.

10They shall put it and all its utensils into a covering of fine leather, and they shall place it on the carrying frame.

11And over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of fine leather, and put its poles in place.

12Then they shall take all the utensils of service with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and cover them with a covering of fine leather, and place them on the carrying frame.

13Then they shall remove the ashes from the altar and spread over it a purple cloth.

14Then they shall place on it all its utensils with which they minister at it: the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins—all the utensils of the altar. Then they shall spread over it a covering of fine leather and put its poles in place.

15When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting.

16And the oversight of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil—the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, the sanctuary and its furnishings.

17Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

18Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites.

19But do this for them, so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall come and assign each man to his service and to his load.

20But they must not go in to look at the holy things for even a moment, or they will die.

21Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

22Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses, by their clans.

23From thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, you shall count them, everyone who comes to do the service, to do the work in the tent of meeting.

24This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, for serving and for carrying.

25They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting with its covering, and the covering of fine leather that is over it above, and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting,

26and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and around the altar, and their ropes, and all the equipment for their service, and all that is to be done with them. And they shall serve.

27All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, for all their loads and for all their service; and you shall assign to them, as a duty, all their loads.

28This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their duty shall be under the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

29As for the sons of Merari, you shall count them by their clans, by their fathers' houses.

30From thirty years old and upward, up to fifty years old, you shall count them—everyone who enters the service to do the work of the tent of meeting.

31And this is the duty of their burden for all their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, and its bases.

32and the pillars of the surrounding court, with their bases, their pegs, and their cords, with all their equipment and with all their service; and you shall assign by name the items of the duty of their burden.

33This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari for all their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

34So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation counted the sons of the Kohathites by their clans and by their fathers’ houses.

35from thirty years old and upward, up to fifty years old, everyone who comes for service, to do the work in the tent of meeting.

36And those counted from them by their clans were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

37These were the counted men of the families of the Kohathites, everyone serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the command of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.

38And the numbered men of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and by their fathers' houses:

39from thirty years old and upward, up to fifty years old, everyone who enters the service for the work in the tent of meeting—

40And those counted from them, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, were two thousand six hundred and thirty.

41These were the counted men of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the command of Yahweh.

42And the numbered men of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans, by their fathers' houses:

43from thirty years old and upward, and up to fifty years old, everyone who comes for service, for the work in the tent of meeting.

44And those counted from them by their clans were three thousand two hundred.

45These are the counted men of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the mouth of Yahweh, by the hand of Moses.

46All those counted, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted among the Levites, by their clans and by their fathers' houses—

47from thirty years old and upward, up to fifty years old, everyone who comes to perform the work of service and the service of carrying loads in the tent of meeting.

48their counted men were eight thousand five hundred and eighty.

49At the command of Yahweh they were counted by the hand of Moses, each man according to his service and according to his burden; and his assignment was as Yahweh had commanded Moses.