Numbers 4
4
Duties of the Kohathites
1The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2“Among the Levites, take a census of the Kohathites # 4:2 Ex 6:16,18; Nm 3:27–31; 1Ch 6:22–28 by their clans and their ancestral families, # 4:2 Lit the house of their fathers, also in vv. 22, 29, 34, 38, 40, 42, 46 3men from thirty years old to fifty years old — everyone who is qualified # 4:3 Lit everyone entering the service to do work at the tent of meeting.
4“The service of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting concerns the most holy objects. # 4:4 Nm 3:30–31; 4:15–19 5Whenever the camp is about to move on, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the screening curtain, and cover the ark of the testimony with it. # 4:5 Ex 25:10–22; 26:31–33 6They are to place over this a covering made of fine leather, # 4:6 Hb obscure, also in vv. 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 25,# 4:6 Ex 25:5; 26:14; 35:7,23; 36:19,34 spread a solid blue cloth on top, and insert its poles. # 4:6 Ex 25:13–15
7“They are to spread a blue cloth over the table of the Presence and place the plates and cups on it, as well as the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to be on it. # 4:7 Ex 25:30; Lv 24:5–9 8They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with a covering made of fine leather, and insert the poles in the table. # 4:8 Ex 25:26–28
9“They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand # 4:9 Ex 25:31–35; 26:35; 37:17–20 used for light, with its lamps, snuffers, and firepans, # 4:9 Ex 25:38; 37:23; Nm 4:14 as well as its jars of oil by which they service it. 10Then they are to place it with all its utensils inside a covering made of fine leather and put them on the carrying frame.
11“They are to spread a blue cloth over the gold altar, # 4:11 Ex 30:1–3; 31:8; 39:38; 40:5,26 cover it with a covering made of fine leather, and insert its poles. # 4:11 Ex 30:4; 35:15 12They are to take all the serving utensils they use in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering made of fine leather, and put them on a carrying frame.
13“They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it, 14and place all the equipment on it that they use in serving: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and basins — all the equipment of the altar. # 4:14 Ex 27:3; 38:3; Nm 7:13–8:4 They are to spread a covering made of fine leather over it and insert its poles. # 4:14 Sam, LXX add They are to take a purple cloth and cover the wash basin and its base. They are to place them in a covering made of fine leather and put them on the carrying frame.,# 4:14 Ex 27:7
15“Aaron and his sons are to finish covering the holy objects and all their equipment whenever the camp is to move on. The Kohathites will come and carry them, but they are not to touch the holy objects or they will die. # 4:15 Nm 1:51; 4:20; 8:19; 18:7 These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the tent of meeting.
16“Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has oversight of the lamp oil, # 4:16 Ex 25:6; 27:20; Lv 4:2 the fragrant incense, # 4:16 Ex 25:6; 30:7; Lv 4:7 the daily grain offering, # 4:16 Lv 6:20–22 and the anointing oil. # 4:16 Ex 25:6; 29:7,21; Lv 8:2,10,12,30 He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, the holy objects and their utensils.” # 4:16 Or the sanctuary and its furnishings
17Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 18“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites. 19Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects: # 4:19 Nm 3:31; 4:4 Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty. 20The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects as they are covered # 4:20 Or objects, even long enough to swallow, or they will die.”
Duties of the Gershonites
21The Lord spoke to Moses: 22“Take a census of the Gershonites # 4:22 Nm 3:17,21–26 also, by their ancestral families and their clans. 23Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to perform service, to do work at the tent of meeting. 24This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transportation duties: 25They are to transport the tabernacle curtains, # 4:25 Ex 26:1–13; 36:8–17 the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering made of fine leather on top of it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. They will carry out everything that needs to be done with these items.
27“All the service of the Gershonites, all their transportation duties and all their other work, is to be done at the command of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry. 28This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting, and their duties will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. # 4:28 Ex 6:23; 28:1; 38:21
Duties of the Merarites
29“As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans # 4:29 Ex 6:16,19; Nm 3:17,33–37 and their ancestral families. 30Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting. 31This is what they are responsible to carry as the whole of their service at the tent of meeting: the supports of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, pillars, and bases, 32the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and all the work related to them. You are to assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry. 33This is the service of the Merarite clans regarding all their work at the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”
Census of the Levites
34So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families, 35men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. 36The men registered by their clans numbered 2,750. 37These were the registered men of the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.
38The Gershonites were registered by their clans and their ancestral families, 39men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. 40The men registered by their clans and their ancestral families numbered 2,630. 41These were the registered men of the Gershonite clans. At the Lord’s command Moses and Aaron registered everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting.
42The men of the Merarite clans were registered by their clans and their ancestral families, 43those from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. 44The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200. 45These were the registered men of the Merarite clans; Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.
46Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral families, 47from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it. 48Their registered men numbered 8,580. 49At the Lord’s command they were registered under the direction of Moses, each one according to his work and transportation duty, and his assignment was as the Lord commanded Moses.
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Numbers 4: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Numbers 4
4
The duties of the Kohathite clans
1The LORD told Moses and Aaron:
2-3Find out how many men between the ages of thirty and fifty are in the four Levite clans of Kohath. Count only those who are able to work at the sacred tent.
4The Kohathites will be responsible for carrying the sacred objects used in worship at the sacred tent. 5When the Israelites are ready to move their camp, Aaron and his sons will enter the tent and take down the curtain that separates the sacred chest from the rest of the tent. They will cover the chest with this curtain, 6and then with a piece of fine leather, and cover it all with a solid blue cloth. After this they will put the carrying poles in place.
7Next, Aaron and his sons will use another blue cloth to cover the table for the sacred bread.#4.7 sacred bread: This bread was offered to the LORD and was a symbol of his presence in the sacred tent. It was put out on a special table and was replaced with fresh bread each Sabbath (Leviticus 24.5-9). On the cloth they will place the dishes, the bowls for incense, the cups, the jugs for wine, as well as the bread itself. 8They are to cover all of this with a bright red cloth, and then with a piece of fine leather, before putting the carrying poles in place.
9With another blue cloth they will cover the lampstand, along with the lamps, the lamp snuffers, the fire pans, and the jars of oil for the lamps. 10All of this will then be covered with a piece of fine leather and placed on a carrying frame.
11The gold incense altar#4.11 gold incense altar: This altar for offering incense was inside the sacred tent; it was made of acacia wood covered with gold. A large altar for offering sacrifices was in front of the entrance to the tent; it was made of acacia wood covered with bronze (see verse 13). is to be covered with a blue cloth, and then with a piece of fine leather, before its carrying poles are put in place.
12Next, Aaron and his sons will take blue cloth and wrap all the objects used in worship at the sacred tent. These will need to be covered with a piece of fine leather, then placed on a carrying frame.
13They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar and cover it with a purple cloth. 14On that cloth will be placed the utensils used at the altar, including the fire pans, the meat forks, the shovels, and the sprinkling bowls. All of this will then be covered with a piece of fine leather, before the carrying poles are put in place.
15When the camp is ready to be moved, the Kohathites will be responsible for carrying the sacred objects and the furnishings of the sacred tent. But Aaron and his sons must have already covered those things so the Kohathites won't touch them and die.
16Eleazar son of Aaron the priest will be in charge of the oil for the lamps, the sweet-smelling incense, the grain for the sacrifices, and the olive oil used for dedications and ordinations. Eleazar is responsible for seeing that the sacred tent, its furnishings, and the sacred objects are taken care of.
17-20The Kohathites must not go near or even look at the sacred objects until Aaron and his sons have covered those objects. If they do, their entire clan will be wiped out. So make sure that Aaron and his sons go into the tent with them and tell them what to carry.
The duties of the Gershonite clans
21The LORD said to Moses:
22-23Find out how many men between the ages of thirty and fifty are in the two Levite clans of Gershon. Count only those who are able to work at the sacred tent.
24The Gershonites will be responsible 25for carrying the curtains of the sacred tent, its two outer coverings,#4.25 two outer coverings: See Exodus 26.14. the curtain for the entrance to the tent, 26the curtains hanging around the courtyard of the tent, and the curtain and ropes for the entrance to the courtyard. The Gershonites are to do whatever needs to be done to take care of these things, 27and they will carry them wherever Aaron and his sons tell them to. 28These are the duties of the Gershonites at the sacred tent, and Ithamar son of Aaron will make sure they do their work.
The duties of the Merarite clans
29-30The LORD said:
Moses, find out how many men between thirty and fifty are in the two Levite clans of Merari, but count only those who are able to work at the sacred tent.
31The Merarites will be responsible for carrying the frames of the tent and its other pieces, including the bars, the posts, the stands, 32as well as the posts that support the courtyard, together with their stands, tent pegs, and ropes. The Merarites are to be told exactly what objects they are to carry, 33and Ithamar son of Aaron will make sure they do their work.
The Levites are counted again
34-49Moses, Aaron, and the other Israelite leaders obeyed the LORD and counted the Levi tribe by families and clans, to find out how many men there were between the ages of thirty and fifty who could work at the sacred tent. There were two thousand seven hundred and fifty Kohathites, two thousand six hundred and thirty Gershonites, and three thousand two hundred Merarites, making a total of eight thousand five hundred and eighty. Then they were all assigned their duties.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012