Numbers 4

Revised Geneva Translation

4 And the LORD spoke to Moses, and to Aaron, saying,

² “Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families and Houses of their fathers,

³ “from thirty years old and above, even up to fifty years old, all that enter into the assembly to do the work in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

⁴ “This shall be the office of the sons of Kohath in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, the holiest of all:

⁵ “When the camp pulls up stakes, then Aaron and his sons shall come and take down the covering Veil and shall cover the Ark of the Testimony with it.

⁶ “And they shall put a covering of badger’s skins on it, and shall spread a cloth upon it, altogether of blue silk. And they shall insert the poles.

⁷ “And they shall spread a cloth of blue silk upon the Table of Show Bread, and put the dishes on it, and the cups and goblets, and coverings to cover it. And the Bread shall be on it continually.

⁸ “And they shall spread a covering of scarlet upon them and cover the same with a covering of badger’s skins. And they shall insert the poles.

⁹ “Then they shall take a cloth of blue silk and cover the Candlestick of Light with its lamps, its snuffers, its snuffdishes, and all its oil vessels with which they service it.

¹⁰ “So they shall put it, and all its instruments, in a covering of badger’s skins, and put it upon poles.

¹¹ “Also, they shall spread a cloth of blue silk upon the golden Altar and cover it with a covering of badger’s skins and insert its poles.

¹² “And they shall take all the instruments of the ministry, with which they minister in the Sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue silk and cover them with a covering of badger’s skins and insert their poles.

¹³ “Also, they shall take away the ashes from the Altar and spread a purple cloth upon it.

¹⁴ “And they shall put upon it all its instruments with which they minister there: the censers, the fleshhooks, the brooms, and the basins, all the instruments of the altar. And they shall spread upon it a covering of badger’s skins and insert its poles.

¹⁵ “And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the Sanctuary, and all the instruments of the Sanctuary, when the camp is ready to move, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them. But they shall not touch any Holy thing, lest they die. This is the charge of the sons of Kohath in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

¹⁶ “And to the office of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the Priest: 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 is inside (both in the Sanctuary and in all its instruments).”

¹⁷ And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

¹⁸ “You shall not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites.

¹⁹ “But do this to them so that they may live and not die when they come near to the Most Holy things. Let Aaron and his sons come and appoint them, everyone to his office and to his charge.

²⁰ “But do not let them go in to see when the Sanctuary is covered up, lest they die.”

²¹ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²² “Also, take the sum of the sons of Gershon, every one by the Houses of their fathers, throughout their families.

²³ “From thirty years old and above to fifty years old you shall number them, all that enter into the assembly to do service in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

²⁴ “This shall be the service of the families of the Gershonites: to serve and to carry.

²⁵ “They shall carry the curtains of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Congregation, its covering and the covering of badger’s skins that is on high upon it, the veil of the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation,

²⁶ “also the curtains of the court, the veil of the door of the gate of the court which is near the Tabernacle and near the Altar, all round, with their cords, and all the instruments for their service, and all that is made for them. So shall they serve.

²⁷ “All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be done at the commandment of Aaron and his sons, in all their charges and in all their service. And you shall appoint them to keep all their charges.

²⁸ “This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the Tabernacle of the Congregation. And their watch shall be under the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the Priest.

²⁹ “You shall number the sons of Merari by their families, by the Houses of their fathers.

³⁰ “From thirty years old and above, up to fifty years old, you shall number them, all that enter into the assembly to do the service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

³¹ “And this is their office and charge, according to all their service in the Tabernacle of the Congregation: the boards of the Tabernacle, with its poles, its pillars and its sockets,

³² “and the pillars all around the court, with their sockets and their pins, and their cords with all their instruments, for all their service. And by name you shall assign the instruments of their office and charge.

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 Then Moses and Aaron and the princes of the Congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites, by their families and by the Houses of their fathers,

³⁵ from thirty years old and above up to fifty years old, all that enter into the assembly for the service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

³⁶ So the numbers of them throughout their families was two thousand seven hundred fifty.

³⁷ These are the numbers of the families of the Kohathites, all that serve in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, which Moses and Aaron numbered according to the Commandment of the LORD, by the hand of Moses.

³⁸ Also, the numbers of the sons of Gershon throughout their families and Houses of their fathers—

³⁹ from thirty years old and upward, even up to fifty years old, all that enter into the assembly for the service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation—

⁴⁰ the number of them, by their families, by the Houses of their fathers, was two thousand six hundred thirty.

⁴¹ These are the numbers of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all who did service in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the Commandment of the LORD.

⁴² These are the numbers of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by the Houses of their fathers,

⁴³ from thirty years old and upward, up to fifty years old, all who entered into the assembly for the service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

⁴⁴ So, the number of them, by their families, was three thousand two hundred.

⁴⁵ These are the sums of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the Commandment of the LORD, by the hand of Moses,

⁴⁶ all the numbers of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel numbered by their families and by the Houses of their fathers,

⁴⁷ from thirty years old and upward, even to fifty years old, every one that came to do his duty, office, service and charge in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

⁴⁸ So, the number of them was eight thousand five hundred eighty.

⁴⁹ According to the Commandment of the LORD, by the hand of Moses they were numbered, everyone according to his service and according to his charge. Thus, they of that tribe were numbered, as the LORD Commanded Moses.