| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, | 1Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, |
| 2“Take a census of the Kohathites among the Levites by their clans and families, | 2“Record the names of the members of the clans and families of the Kohathite division of the tribe of Levi. |
| 3men from thirty to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. | 3List all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle. |
| 4This service of the Kohathites at the Tent of Meeting regards the most holy things. | 4“The duties of the Kohathites at the Tabernacle will relate to the most sacred objects. |
| 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. | 5When the camp moves, Aaron and his sons must enter the Tabernacle first to take down the inner curtain and cover the Ark of the Covenant with it. |
| 6They are to place over this a covering of fine leather, spread a solid blue cloth over it, and insert its poles. | 6Then they must cover the inner curtain with fine goatskin leather and spread over that a single piece of blue cloth. Finally, they must put the carrying poles of the Ark in place. |
| 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. | 7“Next they must spread a blue cloth over the table where the Bread of the Presence is displayed, and on the cloth they will place the bowls, ladles, jars, pitchers, and the special bread. |
| 8And they shall spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with fine leather, and insert the poles. | 8They must spread a scarlet cloth over all of this, and finally a covering of fine goatskin leather on top of the scarlet cloth. Then they must insert the carrying poles into the table. |
| 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. | 9“Next they must cover the lampstand with a blue cloth, along with its lamps, lamp snuffers, trays, and special jars of olive oil. |
| 10Then they shall wrap it and all its utensils inside a covering of fine leather and put it on the carrying frame. | 10Then they must cover the lampstand and its accessories with fine goatskin leather and place the bundle on a carrying frame. |
| 11Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with fine leather, and insert the poles. | 11“Next they must spread a blue cloth over the gold incense altar and cover this cloth with fine goatskin leather. Then they must attach the carrying poles to the altar. |
| 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. | 12They must take all the remaining furnishings of the sanctuary and wrap them in a blue cloth, cover them with fine goatskin leather, and place them on the carrying frame. |
| 13Then they shall remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it, | 13“They must remove the ashes from the altar for sacrifices and cover the altar with a purple cloth. |
| 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. | 14All the altar utensils—the firepans, meat forks, shovels, basins, and all the containers—must be placed on the cloth, and a covering of fine goatskin leather must be spread over them. Finally, they must put the carrying poles in place. |
| 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. | 15The camp will be ready to move when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the sacred articles. The Kohathites will come and carry these things to the next destination. But they must not touch the sacred objects, or they will die. So these are the things from the Tabernacle that the Kohathites must carry. |
| 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.” | 16“Eleazar son of Aaron the priest will be responsible for the oil of the lampstand, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. In fact, Eleazar will be responsible for the entire Tabernacle and everything in it, including the sanctuary and its furnishings.” |
| 17Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, | 17Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, |
| 18“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be cut off from among the Levites. | 18“Do not let the Kohathite clans be destroyed from among the Levites! |
| 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. | 19This is what you must do so they will live and not die when they approach the most sacred objects. Aaron and his sons must always go in with them and assign a specific duty or load to each person. |
| 20But the Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment, or they will die.” | 20The Kohathites must never enter the sanctuary to look at the sacred objects for even a moment, or they will die.” Duties of the Gershonite Clan |
| 21And the LORD said to Moses, | 21And the LORD said to Moses, |
| 22“Take a census of the Gershonites as well, by their families and clans, | 22“Record the names of the members of the clans and families of the Gershonite division of the tribe of Levi. |
| 23from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. | 23List all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle. |
| 24This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transport: | 24“These Gershonite clans will be responsible for general service and carrying loads. |
| 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, | 25They must carry the curtains of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle itself with its coverings, the outer covering of fine goatskin leather, and the curtain for the Tabernacle entrance. |
| 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. | 26They are also to carry the curtains for the courtyard walls that surround the Tabernacle and altar, the curtain across the courtyard entrance, the ropes, and all the equipment related to their use. The Gershonites are responsible for all these items. |
| 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. | 27Aaron and his sons will direct the Gershonites regarding all their duties, whether it involves moving the equipment or doing other work. They must assign the Gershonites responsibility for the loads they are to carry. |
| 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. | 28So these are the duties assigned to the Gershonite clans at the Tabernacle. They will be directly responsible to Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. Duties of the Merarite Clan |
| 29As for the sons of Merari, you are to number them by their clans and families, | 29“Now record the names of the members of the clans and families of the Merarite division of the tribe of Levi. |
| 30from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work of the Tent of Meeting. | 30List all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle. |
| 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, | 31“Their only duty at the Tabernacle will be to carry loads. They will carry the frames of the Tabernacle, the crossbars, the posts, and the bases; |
| 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. | 32also the posts for the courtyard walls with their bases, pegs, and ropes; and all the accessories and everything else related to their use. Assign the various loads to each man by name. |
| 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.” | 33So these are the duties of the Merarite clans at the Tabernacle. They are directly responsible to Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.” Summary of the Registration |
| 34So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation numbered the Kohathites by their clans and families, | 34So Moses, Aaron, and the other leaders of the community listed the members of the Kohathite division by their clans and families. |
| 35everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. | 35The list included all the men between thirty and fifty years of age who were eligible for service in the Tabernacle, |
| 36And those numbered by their clans totaled 2,750. | 36and the total number came to 2,750. |
| 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. | 37So this was the total of all those from the Kohathite clans who were eligible to serve at the Tabernacle. Moses and Aaron listed them, just as the LORD had commanded through Moses. |
| 38Then the Gershonites were numbered by their clans and families, | 38The Gershonite division was also listed by its clans and families. |
| 39everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. | 39The list included all the men between thirty and fifty years of age who were eligible for service in the Tabernacle, |
| 40And those numbered by their clans and families totaled 2,630. | 40and the total number came to 2,630. |
| 41These were counted from the Gershonite clans who served at the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the LORD’s command. | 41So this was the total of all those from the Gershonite clans who were eligible to serve at the Tabernacle. Moses and Aaron listed them, just as the LORD had commanded. |
| 42And the Merarites were numbered by their clans and families, | 42The Merarite division was also listed by its clans and families. |
| 43everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. | 43The list included all the men between thirty and fifty years of age who were eligible for service in the Tabernacle, |
| 44The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200. | 44and the total number came to 3,200. |
| 45These were counted from the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the LORD’s command through Moses. | 45So this was the total of all those from the Merarite clans who were eligible for service. Moses and Aaron listed them, just as the LORD had commanded through Moses. |
| 46So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered by their clans and families all the Levites | 46So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel listed all the Levites by their clans and families. |
| 47from thirty to fifty years old who came to do the work of serving and carrying the Tent of Meeting. | 47All the men between thirty and fifty years of age who were eligible for service in the Tabernacle and for its transportation |
| 48And the number of men was 8,580. | 48numbered 8,580. |
| 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. | 49When their names were recorded, as the LORD had commanded through Moses, each man was assigned his task and told what to carry. And so the registration was completed, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. |
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