New King James Version NKJV
English Standard Version ESV
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
1
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
2 "Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers' house,
2
“Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers’ houses,
3 from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.
3
from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting.
4 "This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting, relating to the most holy things:
4
This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things.
5 When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.
5
When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it.
6 Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue; and they shall insert its poles.
6
Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles.
7 On the table of showbread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the pitchers for pouring; and the showbread shall be on it.
7
And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it.
8 They shall spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles.
8
Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles.
9 And they shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand of the light, with its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it.
9
And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied.
10 Then they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of badger skins, and put it on a carrying beam.
10
And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame.
11 Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles.
11
And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles.
12 Then they shall take all the utensils of service with which they minister in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of badger skins, and put them on a carrying beam.
12
And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame.
13 Also they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it.
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.
14
And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles.
15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.
15
And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.
16 The appointed duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the daily grain offering, the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings."
16
“And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels. ”
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
17
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
18 "Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;
18
“Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites,
19 but do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint each of them to his service and his task.
19
but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden,
20 But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die."
20
but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die. ”
21 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
21
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
22 "Also take a census of the sons of Gershon, by their fathers' house, by their families.
22
“Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses and by their clans.
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 tabernacle of meeting.
23
From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting.
24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and carrying:
24
This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens:
25 They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tabernacle of meeting with its covering, the covering of badger skins that is on it, the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting,
25
they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance 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: so shall they serve.
26
and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them.
27 Aaron and his sons shall assign all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, all their tasks and all their service. And you shall appoint to them all their tasks as their duty.
27
All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry.
28 This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of meeting. And their duties shall be under the authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
28
This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction 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.
29
“As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers’ houses.
30 From thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, you shall number them, everyone who enters the service to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting.
30
From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting.
31 And this is what they must carry as all their service for the tabernacle of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets,
31
And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases,
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 items he must carry.
32
and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry.
33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, as all their service for the tabernacle of meeting, under the authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest."
33
This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction 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,
34
And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers’ houses,
35 from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting;
35
from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting;
36 and those who were numbered by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.
36
and those listed by clans were 2,750.
37 These were the ones who were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who might serve in the tabernacle of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
37
This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.
38 And those who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families and by their fathers' house,
38
Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers’ houses,
39 from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting--
39
from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting—
40 those who were numbered by their families, by their fathers' house, were two thousand six hundred and thirty.
40
those listed by their clans and their fathers’ houses were 2,630.
41 These are the ones who were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all who might serve in the tabernacle of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the Lord.
41
This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord.
42 Those of the families of the sons of Merari who were numbered, by their families, by their fathers' house,
42
Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers’ houses,
43 from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting--
43
from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting—
44 those who were numbered by their families were three thousand two hundred.
44
those listed by clans were 3,200.
45 These are the ones who 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.
45
This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by 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' houses,
46
All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers’ houses,
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 bearing burdens in the tabernacle of meeting--
47
from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting,
48 those who were numbered were eight thousand five hundred and eighty.
48
those listed were 8,580.
49 According to the commandment of the Lord they were numbered by the hand of Moses, each according to his service and according to his task; thus were they numbered by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.
49
According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025