Numbers 4:17-5:10

New King James Version

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: ¹⁸ “Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; ¹⁹ but do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach ^(A)the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and ^[a]appoint each of them to his service and his task. ^20 (B)But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die.”

Duties of the Sons of Gershon

²¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²² “Also take a census of the sons of ^(C)Gershon, by their fathers’ house, by their families. ^23 (D)From 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. ²⁴ This is the ^(E)service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and carrying: ^25 (F)They shall carry the ^(G)curtains of the tabernacle and the tabernacle of meeting with its covering, the covering of ^(H)badger skins that is on it, the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, ²⁶ the 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.

²⁷ “Aaron and his sons shall ^[b]assign all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, all their tasks and all their service. And you shall ^[c]appoint to them all their tasks as their duty. ²⁸ This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of meeting. And their duties shall be ^(I)under the ^[d]authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

Duties of the Sons of Merari

²⁹ “As for the sons of ^(J)Merari, you shall number them by their families and by their fathers’ house. ^30 (K)From 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. ³¹ And ^(L)this is ^(M)what they must carry as all their service for the tabernacle of meeting: ^(N)the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, ³² and the pillars around the court with their sockets, pegs, and cords, with all their furnishings and all their service; and you shall ^(O)assign to each man by name the items he must carry. ³³ This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, as all their service for the tabernacle of meeting, under the ^[e]authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

Census of the Levites

^34 (P)And Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families and by their fathers’ house, ³⁵ from thirty ^(Q)years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting; ³⁶ and those who were numbered by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty. ³⁷ These 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.

³⁸ And those who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families and by their fathers’ house, ³⁹ from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting— ⁴⁰ those who were numbered by their families, by their fathers’ house, were two thousand six hundred and thirty. ^41 (R)These 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.

⁴² Those of the families of the sons of Merari who were numbered, by their families, by their fathers’ ^[f]house, ⁴³ from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting— ⁴⁴ those who were numbered by their families were three thousand two hundred. ⁴⁵ These are the ones who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered ^(S)according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

⁴⁶ All who were ^(T)numbered of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered, by their families and by their fathers’ houses, ^47 (U)from 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— ⁴⁸ those who were numbered were eight thousand five hundred and eighty.

⁴⁹ According to the commandment of the Lord they were numbered by the hand of Moses, ^(V)each according to his service and according to his task; thus were they numbered by him, ^(W)as the Lord commanded Moses.

Ceremonially Unclean Persons Isolated^(X)

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every ^(Y)leper, everyone who has a ^(Z)discharge, and whoever becomes ^(AA)defiled ^[g]by a corpse. ³ You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps ^(AB)in the midst of which I dwell.” ⁴ And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.

Confession and Restitution^(AC)

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Speak to the children of Israel: ^(AD)‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the Lord, and that person is guilty, ^7 (AE)then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass ^(AF)in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged. ⁸ But if the man has no ^[h]relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to ^(AG)the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him. ⁹ Every ^(AH)offering^[i] of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be ^(AI)his. ¹⁰ And every man’s ^[j]holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be ^(AJ)his.’ ”