29 The families of the sons of Kohath shall encamp on the side of the tabernacle southward.
30 And the prince of the fathers' house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
31 And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the screen, and all the service thereof.
32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites, [and have] the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.
33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.
34 And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.
35 And the prince of the fathers' house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: they shall encamp on the side of the tabernacle northward.
36 And the appointed charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the instruments thereof, and all the service thereof,
37 and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.
38 And those that encamp before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrising, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
39 All that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of Jehovah, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.
40 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Number all the first-born males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.
41 And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am Jehovah) instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel:
42 and Moses numbered, as Jehovah commanded him, all the first-born among the children of Israel.
43 And all the first-born males according to the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen.
44 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
45 Take the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am Jehovah.
46 And for the redemption of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the first-born of the children of Israel, that are over and above [the number of] the Levites,
47 thou shalt take five shekels apiece by the poll; after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs):
48 and thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.
49 And Moses took the redemption-money from them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites;
50 from the first-born of the children of Israel took he the money, a thousand three hundred and threescore and five [shekels], after the shekel of the sanctuary:
51 and Moses gave the redemption-money unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of Jehovah, as Jehovah commanded Moses.
Chapter 4
1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers' houses,
3 from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter upon 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, [about] the most holy things:
5 when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall go in, and his sons, and they shall take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of the testimony with it,
6 and shall put thereon a covering of sealskin, and shall spread over it a cloth all of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.
7 And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls and the cups wherewith to pour out; and the continual bread shall be thereon:
8 and they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in the staves thereof.
9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it:
10 and they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of sealskin, and shall put it upon the frame.
11 And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in the staves thereof:
12 and they shall take all the vessels of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on the frame.
13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:
14 and they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, the firepans, the flesh-hooks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of sealskin, and put in the staves thereof.
15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp is set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting.
16 And the charge of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the continual meal-offering, and the anointing oil, the charge of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, the sanctuary, and the furniture thereof.
17 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
18 Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;
19 but thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden;
20 but they shall not go in to see the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die.
21 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
22 Take the sum of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses, by their families;
23 from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to wait upon 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 in bearing burdens: