1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

2 Take a head count of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house,

3 from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tent of meeting.

4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, regarding the set apart, holy things:

5 When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.

6 And they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of violet; and they shall insert its poles.

7 On the table of the Bread of the Presence they shall spread a violet cloth, and put on it the dishes, the spoons, the bowls, and the jars for pouring; and the continual bread shall be on it.

8 They shall spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover it with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles.

9 And they shall take a violet cloth and cover the lampstand of the light, with its lamps, its snuffers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they serve it.

10 And they shall put it with all its utensils into a covering of badger skins, and put it on a bar.

11 Over the golden altar they shall spread a violet cloth, and cover it with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles.

12 And they shall take all the utensils of service with which they minister in the sanctuary, put them in a violet cloth, cover them with a covering of badger skins, and put them on a bar.

13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it.

14 They 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.

15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp sets out then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the burdens of the tent of meeting for the sons of Kohath.

16 The charge of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is the oil for the light, the spiced incense, the continual grain offering, the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.

17 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

18 Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;

19 but do this to them, that they may live and not die when they approach the set apart, holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint each man to his service and his burden.

20 But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, that they not die.

21 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying:

22 Also take a head count of the sons of Gershon, by their fathers’ house, by their families.

23 From 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 tent of meeting.

24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and the burdens:

25 They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering, the covering of badger skins that is on it, the screen for the door of the tent of meeting,

26 the 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: thus shall they serve.

27 At the mouth of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, all their burdens and all their service. And you shall assign to them the charge of their burdens.

28 This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting. And their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

29 As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families and by their fathers’ house.

30 From thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, you shall assign them, everyone who enters the service to do the work of the tent of meeting.

31 And this is the charge of their burden according to all their service for the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets,

32 and 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 utensils of the charge of his burden.

33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service for the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

34 And Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families and by their fathers’ house,

35 from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for the work in the tent of meeting;

36 and those who were numbered by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

37 These were those who were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who might serve in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the mouth of Jehovah by the hand of Moses.

38 And those who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families and by their fathers’ house,

39 from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for the work in the tent of meeting;

40 those who were numbered by their families, by their fathers’ house, were two thousand six hundred and thirty.

41 These were those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all who might serve in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the mouth of Jehovah.

42 And those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by their fathers’ house,

43 from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for the work in the tent of meeting;

44 those who were numbered by their families were three thousand two hundred.

45 These were those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the mouth of Jehovah by the hand of Moses.

46 All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered, by their families and by their fathers’ house,

47 from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who came to do the work of service and the work of the burdens in the tent of meeting;

48 those who were numbered were eight thousand five hundred and eighty.

49 At the mouth of Jehovah they were numbered by the hand of Moses, each man according to his service and according to his burden; thus were they numbered by him, as Jehovah had commanded Moses.