The Kohath Families
1 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said,
2
"Count the Kohath families of the Levites. Make a list of them family by family.
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Count all of the men who are from 30 to 50 years old. Those are the men who must come and serve at the Tent of Meeting.
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"Here is the work the men of Kohath must do at the Tent of Meeting. They must take care of the things that are very holy.
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"When the camp is ready to move, Aaron and his sons must go into the tent. They must take down the curtain that screens the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. They must cover the ark with the curtain.
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Then they must cover that with the hides of sea cows. They must spread a solid blue cloth over the hides. And they must put the poles in place.
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"They must spread a blue cloth over the table for the holy bread. They must put the plates, dishes and bowls on the cloth. They must also put the jars for drink offerings on it. The bread that is always kept there must remain on it.
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They must spread a bright red cloth over everything. Then they must cover that with the hides of sea cows. And they must put the poles of the table in place.
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"They must get a blue cloth. With it they must cover the lampstand that gives light. They must also cover its lamps, trays and wick cutters. And they must cover all of its jars. The jars are for the olive oil that is used in the lampstand.
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Then Aaron and his sons must wrap the lampstand and all of the things that are used with it. They must cover it with the hides of sea cows. And they must put it on a frame to carry it.
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"They must spread a blue cloth over the gold altar for burning incense. They must cover that with the hides of sea cows. And they must put the poles of the altar in place.
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"They must get all of the articles that are used for serving in the sacred tent. They must wrap them in a blue cloth. They must cover that with the hides of sea cows. Then they must put the articles on a frame to carry them.
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"They must remove the ashes from the bronze altar for burnt offerings. They must spread a purple cloth over it.
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Then they must place all of the tools on it. The tools are used for serving at the altar. They include the pans for carrying ashes. They also include the meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Aaron and his sons must cover the altar with the hides of sea cows. And they must put its poles in place.
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"Aaron and his sons must cover all of the holy articles that belong to the holy tent. Then the men of Kohath must get ready to carry everything. They must do it when the camp is ready to move. But they must not touch the holy things. If they do, they will die. The men of Kohath must carry everything that is in the Tent of Meeting.
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"The priest Eleazar will be in charge of the olive oil for the light. He is the son of Aaron. Eleazar will be in charge of the sweet-smelling incense. He will be in charge of the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He will be in charge of the entire holy tent. He will also be in charge of everything that is in it. That includes all of the articles that belong to the tent."
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The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said,
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"Make sure that the Kohath families are not cut off from the Levites.
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I want them to live and not die when they come near the very holy things. So here is what you must do for them. Aaron and his sons must go into the sacred tent and tell each man what to do. They must tell each man what to carry.
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But the men of Kohath must not go in and look at the holy things. They must not look at them even for a moment. If they do, they will die."