| New King James Version | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: | 1The LORD spoke 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"Among the Levites, take a census of the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral 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 years old to fifty years old--everyone who is qualified to do 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: | 4"The service of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting concerns the most holy objects. |
| 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 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. |
| 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 made of fine leather, spread a solid blue cloth on top, 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. | 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. |
| 8They shall spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 10Then they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of badger skins, and put it on a carrying beam. | 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“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. | 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. |
| 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 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. |
| 13Also they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. | 13"They are to 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 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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.” | 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." |
| 17Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: | 17Then the LORD spoke 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 wiped out from 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. | 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. |
| 20But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die.” | 20The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects as they are covered or they will die." |
| 21Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: | 21The LORD spoke 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 also, by their ancestral families and their 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. | 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 families of the Gershonites, in serving and carrying: | 24This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transportation duties: |
| 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 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, |
| 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 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“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. | 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 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 will 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. | 29"As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans and their ancestral 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. | 30Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to do 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 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, |
| 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. | 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 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 regarding 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 community registered the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families, |
| 35from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting; | 35men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. |
| 36and those who were numbered by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty. | 36The men registered by their clans numbered 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 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. |
| 38And those who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families and by their fathers’ house, | 38The Gershonites were registered by their clans and their ancestral families, |
| 39from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting— | 39men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. |
| 40those who were numbered by their families, by their fathers’ house, were two thousand six hundred and thirty. | 40The men registered by their clans and their ancestral families numbered 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 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. |
| 42Those of the families of the sons of Merari who were numbered, by their families, by their fathers’ house, | 42The men of the Merarite clans were registered by their clans and their ancestral families, |
| 43from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting— | 43those from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for 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 the registered men of the Merarite clans; Moses and Aaron registered them 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, | 46Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral families, |
| 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 years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it. |
| 48those who were numbered were eight thousand five hundred and eighty. | 48Their registered men numbered 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 registered under the direction of Moses, each one according to his work and transportation duty, and his assignment was as the LORD commanded Moses. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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