Christian Standard Bible

English Standard Version

1The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron:

1The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

2"Among the Levites, take a census of the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families,

2“Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers’ houses,

3men from thirty years old to fifty years old--everyone who is qualified to do work at the tent of meeting.

3from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting.

4"The service of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting concerns the most holy objects.

4This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things.

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.

5When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it.

6They are to place over this a covering made of fine leather, spread a solid blue cloth on top, and insert its poles.

6Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles.

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.

7And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it.

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.

8Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles.

9"They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, with its lamps, snuffers, and firepans, as well as its jars of oil by which they service it.

9And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied.

10Then they are to place it with all its utensils inside a covering made of fine leather and put them on the carrying frame.

10And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame.

11"They are to spread a blue cloth over the gold altar, cover it with a covering made of fine leather, and insert its poles.

11And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles.

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.

12And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame.

13"They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it,

13And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and 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. They are to spread a covering made of fine leather over it and insert its poles.

14And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles.

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. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the tent of meeting.

15And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

16"Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has oversight of the lamp oil, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, the holy objects and their utensils."

16“And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”

17Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron:

17The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

18"Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites.

18“Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites,

19Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty.

19but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden,

20The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects as they are covered or they will die."

20but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”

21The LORD spoke to Moses:

21The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

22"Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their ancestral families and their clans.

22“Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses and by 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.

23From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting.

24This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transportation duties:

24This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens:

25They are to transport the tabernacle curtains, 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,

25they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of 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.

26and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them.

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.

27All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are 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.

28This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

29"As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans and their ancestral families.

29“As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers’ houses.

30Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting.

30From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service 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,

31And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, 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.

32and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required 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."

33This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

34So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families,

34And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers’ houses,

35men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.

35from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting;

36The men registered by their clans numbered 2,750.

36and those listed by clans were 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.

37This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.

38The Gershonites were registered by their clans and their ancestral families,

38Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers’ houses,

39men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.

39from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting—

40The men registered by their clans and their ancestral families numbered 2,630.

40those listed by their clans and their fathers’ houses were 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.

41This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD.

42The men of the Merarite clans were registered by their clans and their ancestral families,

42Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers’ houses,

43those from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.

43from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting—

44The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200.

44those listed by clans were 3,200.

45These were the registered men of the Merarite clans; Moses and Aaron registered them at the LORD's command through Moses.

45This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.

46Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral families,

46All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers’ houses,

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.

47from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting,

48Their registered men numbered 8,580.

48those listed were 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.

49According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses.

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.