Numbers 4:1-15

Other Translations of Numbers 4:1-15

New International Version

The Tasks Assigned to the Levites

4¹ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ² "Take a census of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families. ³ Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the 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. ⁵ When 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. ⁶ Then they are to cover the curtain with a durable leather,Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals; also in verses 8, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 25 spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles in place. 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. ⁸ They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover that with the durable leather and put the poles in place. 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. ¹⁰ Then they are to wrap it and all its accessories in a covering of the durable leather and put it on a 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. 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. ¹³ "They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴ Then 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. 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.

English Standard Version

The Tasks Assigned to the Levites

4¹ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 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 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 tent of meeting: the most holy things. 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 goatskinThe meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5 and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 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 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 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 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 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 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 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 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, 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.

The Message

The Tasks Assigned to the Levites

4¹ God spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, ² "Number the Kohathite line of Levites by clan and family. ³ Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age, all who enter the ministry to work in the Tent of Meeting. ⁴ "This is the assigned work of the Kohathites in the Tent of Meeting: care of the most holy things. ⁵ "When the camp is ready to set out, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the covering curtain and cover the Chest of The Testimony with it. ⁶ Then they are to cover this with a dolphin skin, spread a solid blue cloth on top, and insert the poles. ⁷ "Then they are to spread a blue cloth on the Table of the Presence and set the Table with plates, incense dishes, bowls, and jugs for drink offerings. The bread that is always there stays on the Table. ⁸ They are to cover these with a scarlet cloth, and on top of that spread the dolphin skin, and insert the poles. ⁹ "They are to use a blue cloth to cover the light-giving Lampstand and the lamps, snuffers, trays, and the oil jars that go with it. ¹⁰ Then they are to wrap it all in a covering of dolphin skin and place it on a carrying frame. ¹¹ "They are to spread a blue cloth over the Gold Altar and cover it with dolphin skins and place it on a carrying frame. ¹² "They are to take all the articles used in ministering in the Sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover them with dolphin skins, and place them on a carrying frame. ¹³ "They are to remove the ashes from the Altar and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴ They are to place on it all the articles used in ministering at the Altar - firepans, forks, shovels, bowls; everything used at the Altar - place them on the Altar, cover it with the dolphin skins, and insert the poles. ¹⁵ "When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and the camp is ready to set out, the Kohathites are to come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are in charge of carrying all the things that are in the Tent of Meeting.

New King James Version

The Tasks Assigned to the Levites

4¹ Then 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, 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. ⁴ "This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting, relating to 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. ¹⁰ Then they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of badger skins, and put it on a carrying beam. 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. 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. ¹³ Also 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 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.

New Living Translation

The Tasks Assigned to the Levites

4¹ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² "Record the names of the members of the clans and families of the Kohathite division of the tribe of Levi. ³ List all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle. ⁴ "The duties of the Kohathites at the Tabernacle will relate to the most sacred objects. ⁵ When the camp moves, Aaron and his sons must enter the Tabernacle first to take down the inner curtain and cover the Ark of the Covenant with it. ⁶ Then they must cover the inner curtain with fine goatskin leather and spread over that a single piece of blue cloth. Finally, they must put the carrying poles of the Ark in place. ⁷ "Next they must spread a blue cloth over the table where the Bread of the Presence is displayed, and on the cloth they will place the bowls, ladles, jars, pitchers, and the special bread. ⁸ They must spread a scarlet cloth over all of this, and finally a covering of fine goatskin leather on top of the scarlet cloth. Then they must insert the carrying poles into the table. ⁹ "Next they must cover the lampstand with a blue cloth, along with its lamps, lamp snuffers, trays, and special jars of olive oil. ¹⁰ Then they must cover the lampstand and its accessories with fine goatskin leather and place the bundle on a carrying frame. ¹¹ "Next they must spread a blue cloth over the gold incense altar and cover this cloth with fine goatskin leather. Then they must attach the carrying poles to the altar. ¹² They must take all the remaining furnishings of the sanctuary and wrap them in a blue cloth, cover them with fine goatskin leather, and place them on the carrying frame. ¹³ "They must remove the ashes from the altar for sacrifices and cover the altar with a purple cloth. ¹⁴ All the altar utensils-the firepans, meat forks, shovels, basins, and all the containers-must be placed on the cloth, and a covering of fine goatskin leather must be spread over them. Finally, they must put the carrying poles in place. ¹⁵ The camp will be ready to move when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the sacred articles. The Kohathites will come and carry these things to the next destination. But they must not touch the sacred objects, or they will die. So these are the things from the Tabernacle that the Kohathites must carry.