1: And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron,
saying,
2: Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of
Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers,
3: From
thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the
host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.
4: This
shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the
congregation, about the most holy things:
5: And when the camp
setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the
covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it:
6: And shall
put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth
wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.
7: And upon the
table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the
dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the
continual bread shall be thereon:
8: And they shall spread upon them
a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers' skins, and
shall put in the staves thereof.
9: And they shall take a cloth of
blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and
his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto
it:
10: And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a
covering of badgers' skins, and shall put it upon a bar.
11: And upon
the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering
of badgers' skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:
12: And they
shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the
sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of
badgers' skins, and shall put them on a bar:
13: And they shall take
away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:
14:
And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister
about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basons, all
the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers'
skins, and put to the staves of it.
15: And when Aaron and his sons
have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the
sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall
come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These
things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the
congregation.
16: And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the
priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily
meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle,
and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.
17: And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
18: Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from
among the Levites:
19: But thus do unto them, that they may live, and
not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall
go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden:
20: But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered,
lest they die.
21: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
22: Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses
of their fathers, by their families;
23: From thirty years old and
upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to
perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.
24: This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve,
and for burdens:
25: And they shall bear the curtains of the
tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the
covering of the badgers' skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the
door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
26: And the hangings of
the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by
the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the
instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so shall they
serve.
27: At the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the
service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their
service: and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens.
28: This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the
tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge shall be under the hand of
Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
29: As for the sons of Merari,
thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers;
30: From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt
thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of
the tabernacle of the congregation.
31: And this is the charge of
their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the
congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the
pillars thereof, and sockets thereof,
32: And the pillars of the
court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all
their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the
instruments of the charge of their burden.
33: This is the service of
the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the
tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the
priest.
34: And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation
numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of
their fathers,
35: From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty
years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the
tabernacle of the congregation:
36: And those that were numbered of
them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.
37:
These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that
might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron
did number according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
38: And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout
their families, and by the house of their fathers,
39: From thirty
years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the
service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,
40: Even
those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of
their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.
41:
These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all
that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and
Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD.
42: And
those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their
families, by the house of their fathers,
43: From thirty years old
and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service,
for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,
44: Even those
that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two
hundred.
45: These be those that 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.
46: All those that were numbered of the
Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their
families, and after the house of their fathers,
47: From thirty years
old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service
of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the
congregation,
48: Even those that were numbered of them, were eight
thousand and five hundred and fourscore.
49: According to the
commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one
according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered
of him, as the LORD commanded Moses.