Read the Bible

The Jobs of the Kohath Family

¹ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² "Count the Kohathites among the Levites by family groups and families. ³ Count the men from thirty to fifty years old, all who come to serve in the Meeting Tent.

⁴ "The Kohathites are responsible for the most holy things in the Meeting Tent. ⁵ When the Israelites are ready to move, Aaron and his sons must go into the Holy Tent, take down the curtain, and cover the Ark of the Agreement with it. ⁶ Over this they must put a covering made from fine leather, then spread the solid blue cloth over that, and put the poles in place.

⁷ "Then they must spread a blue cloth over the table for the bread that shows a person is in God's presence. They must put the plates, pans, bowls, and the jars for drink offerings on the table; they must leave the bread that is always there on the table. ⁸ Then they must put a red cloth over all of these things, cover everything with fine leather, and put the poles in place.

⁹ "With a blue cloth they must cover the lampstand, its lamps, its wick trimmers, its trays, and all the jars for the oil used in the lamps. ¹⁰ Then they must wrap everything in fine leather and put all these things on a frame for carrying them.

¹¹ "They must spread a blue cloth over the gold altar, cover it with fine leather, and put the poles in place.

¹² "They must gather all the things used for serving in the Holy Place and wrap them in a blue cloth. Then they must cover that with fine leather and put these things on a frame for carrying them.

¹³ "They must clean the ashes off the bronze altar and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴ They must gather all the things used for serving at the altar—the pans for carrying the fire, the meat forks, the shovels, and the bowls—and put them on the bronze altar. Then they must spread a covering of fine leather over it and put the poles in place.

¹⁵ "When the Israelites are ready to move, and when Aaron and his sons have covered the holy furniture and all the holy things, the Kohathites may go in and carry them away. In this way they won't touch the holy things and die. It is the Kohathites' job to carry the things that are in the Meeting Tent.

¹⁶ "Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, will be responsible for the Holy Tent and for everything in it, for all the holy things it has: the oil for the lamp, the sweet-smelling incense, the continual grain offering, and the oil used to appoint priests and things to the Lord's service."

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ¹⁸ "Don't let the Kohathites be cut off from the Levites. ¹⁹ Do this for the Kohathites so that they may go near the Most Holy Place and not die: Aaron and his sons must go in and show each Kohathite what to do and what to carry. ²⁰ The Kohathites must not enter and look at the holy things, even for a second, or they will die."

The Jobs of the Gershon Family

²¹ The Lord said to Moses, ²² "Count the Gershonites by families and family groups. ²³ Count the men from thirty to fifty years old, all who have a job to do in the Meeting Tent.

²⁴ "This is what the Gershonite family groups must do and what they must carry. ²⁵ They must carry the curtains of the Holy Tent, the Meeting Tent, its covering, and its outer covering made from fine leather. They must also carry the curtains for the entrance to the Meeting Tent, ²⁶ the curtains of the courtyard that go around the Holy Tent and the altar, the curtain for the entry to the courtyard, the ropes, and all the things used with the curtains. They must do everything connected with these things. ²⁷ Aaron and his sons are in charge of what the Gershonites do or carry; you tell them what they are responsible for carrying. ²⁸ This is the work of the Gershonite family group at the Meeting Tent. Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest, will direct their work.

The Jobs of the Merari Family

²⁹ "Count the Merarite families and family groups. ³⁰ Count the men from thirty to fifty years old, all who work at the Meeting Tent. ³¹ It is their job to carry the following as they serve in the Meeting Tent: the frames of the Holy Tent, the crossbars, the posts, and bases, ³² in addition to the posts that go around the courtyard, their bases, tent pegs, ropes, and everything that is used with the poles around the courtyard. Tell each man exactly what to carry. ³³ This is the work the Merarite family group will do for the Meeting Tent. Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest, will direct their work."

The Levite Families

³⁴ Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel counted the Kohathites by families and family groups, ³⁵ the men from thirty to fifty years old who were to work at the Meeting Tent. ³⁶ There were 2,750 men in the family groups. ³⁷ This was the total of the Kohath family groups who worked at the Meeting Tent, whom Moses and Aaron counted as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁸ Also, the Gershonites were counted by families and family groups, ³⁹ the men from thirty to fifty years old who were given work at the Meeting Tent. ⁴⁰ The families and family groups had 2,630 men. ⁴¹ This was the total of the Gershon family groups who worked at the Meeting Tent, whom Moses and Aaron counted as the Lord had commanded.

⁴² Also, the men in the families and family groups of the Merari family were counted, ⁴³ the men from thirty to fifty years old who were to work at the Meeting Tent. ⁴⁴ The family groups had 3,200 men. ⁴⁵ This was the total of the Merari family groups, whom Moses and Aaron counted as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁴⁶ So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by families and family groups. ⁴⁷ They counted the men from thirty to fifty who were given work at the Meeting Tent and who carried the Tent. ⁴⁸ The total number of these men was 8,580. ⁴⁹ Each man was counted as the Lord had commanded Moses; each man was given his work and told what to carry as the Lord had commanded Moses.