Numbers 4
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1Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:1The LORD said to Moses and Aaron:
2“Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house,2"Take a census of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families.
3from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.3Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.
4“This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting, relating to the most holy things:4"This is the work of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting: the care of the most holy things.
5When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.5When the camp is to move, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and put it over the ark of the covenant law.
6Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue; and they shall insert its poles.6Then they are to cover the curtain with a durable leather, spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles in place.
7“On the table of showbread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the pitchers for pouring; and the showbread shall be on it.7"Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls, and the jars for drink offerings; the bread that is continually there is to remain on it.
8They shall spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles.8They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover that with the durable leather and put the poles in place.
9And they shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand of the light, with its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it.9"They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand that is for light, together with its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays, and all its jars for the olive oil used to supply it.
10Then they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of badger skins, and put it on a carrying beam.10Then they are to wrap it and all its accessories in a covering of the durable leather and put it on a carrying frame.
11“Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles.11"Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth and cover that with the durable leather and put the poles in place.
12Then they shall take all the utensils of service with which they minister in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of badger skins, and put them on a carrying beam.12"They are to take all the articles used for ministering in the sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with the durable leather and put them on a carrying frame.
13Also they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it.13"They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar and spread a purple cloth over it.
14They shall put on it all its implements with which they minister there—the firepans, the forks, the shovels, the basins, and all the utensils of the altar—and they shall spread on it a covering of badger skins, and insert its poles.14Then they are to place on it all the utensils used for ministering at the altar, including the firepans, meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Over it they are to spread a covering of the durable leather and put the poles in place.
15And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. “These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.15"After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, only then are the Kohathites to come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the tent of meeting.
16“The appointed duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the daily grain offering, the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.”16"Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, is to have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He is to be in charge of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including its holy furnishings and articles."
17Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:17The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
18“Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;18"See that the Kohathite tribal clans are not destroyed from among the Levites.
19but do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint each of them to his service and his task.19So that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work and what he is to carry.
20But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die.”20But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die."
21Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:21The LORD said to Moses,
22“Also take a census of the sons of Gershon, by their fathers’ house, by their families.22"Take a census also of the Gershonites by their families and clans.
23From thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, you shall number them, all who enter to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.23Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.
24This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and carrying:24"This is the service of the Gershonite clans in their carrying and their other work:
25They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tabernacle of meeting with its covering, the covering of badger skins that is on it, the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting,25They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, that is, the tent of meeting, its covering and its outer covering of durable leather, the curtains for the entrance to the tent of meeting,
26the screen for the door of the gate of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and altar, and their cords, all the furnishings for their service and all that is made for these things: so shall they serve.26the curtains of the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard, the ropes and all the equipment used in the service of the tent. The Gershonites are to do all that needs to be done with these things.
27“Aaron and his sons shall assign all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, all their tasks and all their service. And you shall appoint to them all their tasks as their duty.27All their service, whether carrying or doing other work, is to be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You shall assign to them as their responsibility all they are to carry.
28This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of meeting. And their duties shall be under the authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.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.
29As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families and by their fathers’ house.29"Count the Merarites by their clans and families.
30From thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, you shall number them, everyone who enters the service to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting.30Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.
31And this is what they must carry as all their service for the tabernacle of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets,31As part of all their service at the tent, they are to carry the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts and bases,
32and the pillars around the court with their sockets, pegs, and cords, with all their furnishings and all their service; and you shall assign to each man by name the items he must carry.32as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, ropes, all their equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the specific things he is to carry.
33This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, as all their service for the tabernacle of meeting, under the authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”33This is the service of the Merarite clans as they work at the tent of meeting under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest."
34And Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families and by their fathers’ house,34Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the Kohathites by their clans and families.
35from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting;35All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting,
36and those who were numbered by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.36counted by clans, were 2,750.
37These were the ones who were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who might serve in the tabernacle of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.37This was the total of all those in the Kohathite clans who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the LORD's command through Moses.
38And those who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families and by their fathers’ house,38The Gershonites were counted by their clans and families.
39from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting—39All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting,
40those who were numbered by their families, by their fathers’ house, were two thousand six hundred and thirty.40counted by their clans and families, were 2,630.
41These are the ones who were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all who might serve in the tabernacle of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the LORD.41This was the total of those in the Gershonite clans who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the LORD's command.
42Those of the families of the sons of Merari who were numbered, by their families, by their fathers’ house,42The Merarites were counted by their clans and families.
43from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting—43All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting,
44those who were numbered by their families were three thousand two hundred.44counted by their clans, were 3,200.
45These are the ones who 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.45This was the total of those in the Merarite clans. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the LORD's command through Moses.
46All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered, by their families and by their fathers’ houses,46So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by their clans and families.
47from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who came to do the work of service and the work of bearing burdens in the tabernacle of meeting—47All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to do the work of serving and carrying the tent of meeting
48those who were numbered were eight thousand five hundred and eighty.48numbered 8,580.
49According to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, each according to his service and according to his task; thus were they numbered by him, as the LORD commanded Moses.49At the LORD's command through Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry. Thus they were counted, as the LORD commanded Moses.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.New International Version (NIV)

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Numbers 3
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