| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: | 1Then the 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 Kohathites among 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. | 3men from thirty to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified 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: | 4This service of the Kohathites at the Tent of Meeting regards 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. | 5Whenever the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the veil of the curtain, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it. |
| 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. | 6They are to place over this a covering of fine leather, spread a solid blue cloth over it, and insert its poles. |
| 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. | 7Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and place the plates and cups on it, along with the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering 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. | 8And they shall spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with fine leather, and insert the poles. |
| 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. | 9They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, together with its lamps, wick trimmers, and trays, as well as the jars of oil with which 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 shall wrap it and all its utensils inside a covering of fine leather and put it on the 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. | 11Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with fine leather, and insert the poles. |
| 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. | 12They are to take all the utensils for serving in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with fine leather, and put them on the carrying frame. |
| 13Also they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. | 13Then they shall remove the ashes from the bronze altar, 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. | 14and place on it all the vessels used to serve there: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and sprinkling bowls—all the equipment of the altar. They are to spread over it a covering of fine leather and insert the poles. |
| 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. | 15When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding 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.” | 16Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall oversee the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including the holy objects and their utensils.” |
| 17Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: | 17Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, |
| 18“Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; | 18“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be cut off 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. | 19In order 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 in and assign each man his task 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 are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment, or they will die.” |
| 21Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: | 21And the 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 of the Gershonites as well, 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. | 23from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. |
| 24This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and carrying: | 24This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transport: |
| 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, the Tent of Meeting with the covering of fine leather over it, 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, and the curtains for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. The Gershonites will do all that needs to be done with these items. |
| 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 the service of the Gershonites—all their transport duties and other work—is to be done at the direction of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible 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, and their duties shall be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. |
| 29“As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families and by their fathers’ house. | 29As for the sons of Merari, you are to number them 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. | 30from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work of 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, | 31This is the duty for all their service at the Tent of Meeting: to carry the frames of the tabernacle with 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. | 32and the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and everything related to their use. You shall assign by name the items that they are responsible 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 according to all their 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, | 34So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation numbered 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; | 35everyone from thirty to fifty years old 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. | 36And those numbered by their clans totaled 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. | 37These were counted from the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron numbered them according to the command of the LORD through Moses. |
| 38And those who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families and by their fathers’ house, | 38Then the Gershonites were numbered 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— | 39everyone from thirty to fifty years old 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. | 40And those numbered by their clans and families totaled 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. | 41These were counted from the Gershonite clans who served at the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the LORD’s command. |
| 42Those of the families of the sons of Merari who were numbered, by their families, by their fathers’ house, | 42And the Merarites were numbered 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— | 43everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. |
| 44those who were numbered by their families were three thousand two hundred. | 44The men registered by their clans numbered 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. | 45These were counted from the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at 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 numbered by their clans and families all the Levites |
| 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— | 47from thirty to fifty years old 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. | 48And the number of men was 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 they were numbered through Moses and each one was assigned his work and burden, as the LORD had commanded Moses. |
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