Numbers, 4

1. Yahweh spoke to Moses and said:

1. And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

2. 'Take a census by clans and families of the Levites descended from Kohath:

2. Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers,

3. all the men between thirty and fifty years of age and eligible for military service, who will have their duties in the Tent of Meeting.

3. From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

4. 'These are the duties of the Kohathites: looking after those things that are especially holy.

4. This [shall be] the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, [about] the most holy things:

5. 'When camp is broken, Aaron and his sons must come and take down the screening curtain, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.

5. And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it:

6. Over this, they will put a covering of fine leather, over which they will spread a cloth entirely of violet-purple. They will then fix the poles to the ark.

6. And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over [it] a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.

7. 'Over the offertory table they will spread a violet cloth, and on it put the dishes, cups, bowls and libation jars; the bread of permanent offering will also be on it.

7. And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon:

8. Over these they will spread a scarlet cloth and cover the whole with a covering of fine leather. They will then fix the poles to the table.

8. And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put in the staves thereof.

9. 'They will then take a violet cloth and cover the lamp-stand, its lamps, snuffers, trays and all the oil jars used for it,

9. And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it:

10. and will lay it and all its accessories in a covering of fine leather and put it on the litter.

10. And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put [it] upon a bar.

11. 'Over the golden altar they will spread a violet cloth, and cover that with a covering of fine leather. They will then fix the poles to it.

11. And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:

12. 'They will then take all the other objects used in the service of the sanctuary, put them in a violet cloth, with a covering of fine leather, and put it all on the litter.

12. And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put [them] in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put [them] on a bar:

13. 'When they have removed the ashes from the altar, they will spread a scarlet cloth over it,

13. And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:

14. and on this place all the objects used in the liturgy, the fire pans, hooks, scoops, sprinkling basins and all the altar accessories. Over this they will spread a covering of fine leather. They will then fix the poles to it.

14. And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, [even] the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basons, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skins, and put to the staves of it.

15. 'Once Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy things and all their accessories at the breaking of camp, the Kohathites will come and carry them, but without touching any of the holy things on pain of death. Such is the load for the Kohathites in the Tent of Meeting.

15. And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear [it]: but they shall not touch [any] holy thing, lest they die. These [things are] the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.

16. But Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, is responsible for looking after the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the daily cereal offering and the anointing oil, and for supervising the entire Dwelling and everything in it, the holy things and their accessories.'

16. And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest [pertaineth] the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, [and] the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein [is], in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.

17. Yahweh spoke to Moses and said:

17. And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

18. 'You must not let the group of Kohathite clans be lost to the rest of the Levites.

18. Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:

19. But deal with them in this way, so that they may survive and not incur death by approaching those things that are especially holy. Aaron and his sons will go in and assign to each of them his task and load,

19. But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden:

20. in such a way that they have no need to incur the death penalty by going in and setting eyes on the holy things, even for an instant.'

20. But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.

21. Yahweh spoke to Moses and said:

21. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

22. 'Take a census of the Gershonites by families and clans, too:

22. Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families;

23. all the men between thirty and fifty years of age, eligible for military service, who will have their duties in the Tent of Meeting.

23. From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

24. 'These are the duties of the Gershonite clans, their functions and their loads.

24. This [is] the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for burdens:

25. They will carry the curtaining of the Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting with its covering and the covering of fine leather that goes over it, the screen for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,

25. And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers' skins that [is] above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

26. the curtaining of the court, the screen for the entrance to the court surrounding the Dwelling and the altar, the cords, all the accessories for worship, and all the necessary equipment. 'They will be responsible for these things.

26. And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which [is] by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so shall they serve.

27. All the duties of the Gershonites, their functions and their loads, will be carried out under the direction of Aaron and his sons: you will see that they fulfil their charge.

27. At the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their service: and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens.

28. Such are the duties of the Gershonite clans in the Tent of Meeting. Their work will be supervised by Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.

28. This [is] the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge [shall be] under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

29. 'You will take a census of the Merarites by clans and families.

29. As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers;

30. You will take a census of all the men between thirty and fifty years of age, eligible for military service, who will have their duties in the Tent of Meeting.

30. From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation.

31. 'The load they carry and the duties incumbent on them in the Tent of Meeting will be as follows: the framework of the Dwelling, its cross-bars, poles and sockets,

31. And this [is] the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof,

32. the poles round the court with their sockets, pegs, cords and all their tackle. You will draw up a list of their names with the loads for which each is responsible.

32. And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.

33. 'Such are the duties of the Merarite clans. All their duties in the Tent of Meeting will be supervised by Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.'

33. This [is] the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

34. Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community took a census of the Kohathites by clans and families:

34. And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of their fathers,

35. all the men between thirty and fifty years of age, eligible for military service, for duties in the Tent of Meeting.

35. From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation:

36. The number of men counted in their clans came to two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

36. And those that were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

37. Such was the total number of men in the Kohathite clans who were eligible for duties in the Tent of Meeting and whom Moses and Aaron counted at Yahweh's bidding through Moses.

37. These [were] they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

38. A census was taken of the Gershonites by clans and families:

38. And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers,

39. all the men between thirty and fifty years of age, eligible for military service, for duties in the Tent of Meeting.

39. From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,

40. The number of men counted in their clans and families came to two thousand six hundred and thirty.

40. Even those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.

41. Such was the total number of men in the Gershonite clans who were eligible for duties in the Tent of Meeting, and whom Moses and Aaron counted at Yahweh's bidding.

41. These [are] they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD.

42. A census was taken of the Merarite clans by clans and families:

42. And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers,

43. all the men between thirty and fifty years of age, eligible for military service, for duties in the Tent of Meeting.

43. From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,

44. The number of men counted in their clans came to three thousand two hundred.

44. Even those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred.

45. Such was the total number of men in the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron counted at Yahweh's bidding through Moses.

45. These [be] those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

46. The total number of Levites whom Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted in their clans and families,

46. All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their families, and after the house of their fathers,

47. all the men between thirty and fifty years of age, eligible for religious duties and for those of transporting the Tent of Meeting

47. From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation,

48. came to eight thousand five hundred and eighty.

48. Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore.

49. At Yahweh's bidding through Moses, a census was taken of them and each man was assigned his duty and load. And so the census was conducted by Moses as Yahweh had ordered him.

49. According to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the LORD commanded Moses.