| New International Version | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: | 1The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron: |
| 2"Take a census of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families. | 2"Among the Levites, take a census of the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families, |
| 3Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent 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 work of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting: the care of the most holy things. | 4"The service of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting concerns the most holy objects. |
| 5When the camp is to move, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and put it over the ark of the covenant law. | 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 are to cover the curtain with a durable leather, spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles in place. | 6They are to place over this a covering made of fine leather, spread a solid blue cloth on top, and insert its poles. |
| 7"Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls, and the jars for drink offerings; the bread that is continually there is to remain 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 are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover that with the durable leather and put the poles in place. | 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. |
| 9"They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand that is for light, together with its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays, and all its jars for the olive oil used to supply 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 are to wrap it and all its accessories in a covering of the durable leather and put it on a carrying frame. | 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 gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth and cover that with the durable leather and put the poles in place. | 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. |
| 12"They are to take all the articles used for ministering in the sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with the durable leather and put them on a carrying frame. | 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. |
| 13"They are to remove the ashes from the bronze 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, |
| 14Then they are to place on it all the utensils used for ministering at the altar, including the firepans, meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Over it they are to spread a covering of the durable leather and put the poles in place. | 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. |
| 15"After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, only then are the Kohathites to come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the tent of meeting. | 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"Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, is to have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He is to be in charge of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including its holy furnishings and articles." | 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." |
| 17The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, | 17Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron: |
| 18"See that the Kohathite tribal clans are not destroyed from among the Levites. | 18"Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites. |
| 19So 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 into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work and what he is to carry. | 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 the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die." | 20The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects as they are covered or they will die." |
| 21The LORD said to Moses, | 21The LORD spoke to Moses: |
| 22"Take a census also of the Gershonites by their families and clans. | 22"Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their ancestral families and their clans. |
| 23Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent 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. |
| 24"This is the service of the Gershonite clans in their carrying and their other work: | 24This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transportation duties: |
| 25They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, that is, the tent of meeting, its covering and its outer covering of durable leather, the curtains for the entrance to the tent 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 curtains of the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard, the ropes and all the equipment used in the service of the tent. The Gershonites are to do all that needs to be done with these things. | 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. |
| 27All their service, whether carrying or doing other work, is to be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You shall assign to them as their responsibility all they are to carry. | 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 Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting. Their duties are to be under the direction of Ithamar 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"Count the Merarites by their clans and families. | 29"As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans and their ancestral families. |
| 30Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent 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. |
| 31As part of all their service at the tent, they are to carry the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts and bases, | 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, |
| 32as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, ropes, all their equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the specific things he is to 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 Merarite clans as they work at the tent of meeting under the direction of Ithamar 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." |
| 34Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the Kohathites by their clans and families. | 34So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families, |
| 35All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, | 35men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. |
| 36counted by clans, were 2,750. | 36The men registered by their clans numbered 2,750. |
| 37This was the total of all those in the Kohathite clans who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the LORD's command through 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. |
| 38The Gershonites were counted by their clans and families. | 38The Gershonites were registered by their clans and their ancestral families, |
| 39All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, | 39men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. |
| 40counted by their clans and families, were 2,630. | 40The men registered by their clans and their ancestral families numbered 2,630. |
| 41This was the total of those in the Gershonite clans who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the LORD's command. | 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. |
| 42The Merarites were counted by their clans and families. | 42The men of the Merarite clans were registered by their clans and their ancestral families, |
| 43All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, | 43those from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. |
| 44counted by their clans, were 3,200. | 44The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200. |
| 45This was the total of those in the Merarite clans. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the LORD's command through Moses. | 45These were the registered men of the Merarite clans; Moses and Aaron registered them at the LORD's command through Moses. |
| 46So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by their clans and families. | 46Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral families, |
| 47All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to do the work of serving and carrying the tent 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. |
| 48numbered 8,580. | 48Their registered men numbered 8,580. |
| 49At the LORD's command through Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry. Thus they were counted, 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. |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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