The Duties of the Kohathites
(Numbers 3:27–32; 1 Chronicles 23:12–20)

1And YHWH spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2“Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans, by the house of their fathers, 3from a son of thirty years and above, and to a son of fifty years, all who enter the service to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.

4This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting: The holy of holies;† 5and Aaron and his sons shall come in the setting forth of the camp, and they shall take down the veil of the screen, and cover with it the ark of the Testimony.† 6And they shall put on it a covering of badger skins,† and spread a cloth entirely of blue over it, and they shall insert its poles.

7And on the table of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put on it the dishes, and the pans, and the bowls, and the pitchers for the drink offering, and the bread shall continually be on it. 8And they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet yarn, and cover the same with a covering of badger skins, and they shall insert its poles.

9And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the lampstand of the light, and its lamps, and its wick trimmers, and its trays, and all its oil vessels with which they minister to it. 10And they shall put it and all its vessels in a covering of badger skins, and put it on the carrying pole.

11And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badger skins, and they shall insert its poles. 12And they shall take all the vessels of service, with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badger skins, and put them on a carrying beam.

13And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread over it a cloth of purple. 14And they shall put on it all its implements with that they minister there, the firepans, the forks, and the shovels, and the basins, and all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of badger skins, and insert its poles.

15And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when is set to go the camp, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; and they shall not touch unto any holy thing, lest they die. These are the things that are to carry the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting.

16And the appointed duty of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest is the oil for the light, and the incense of spices, and the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.”

17And YHWH spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18“Do not cut off the tribe of the clans of the Kohathite from among the Levites. 19And this do in regard to them, that they may live and not die, when they approach the holy of holies: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint every man to his service and his task; 20they shall not go in to watch the holy things being covered, lest they die.”

The Duties of the Gershonites
(Numbers 3:21–26; 1 Chronicles 23:7–11)

21And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 22“Take a census of the sons of Gershon, even them, by the house of their fathers, by their clans. 23From a son of thirty years and above, even to a son of fifty years you shall number them, all who enter to perform the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.

24This is the service of the clans of the Gershonite in serving and carrying: 25And they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the Tent of Meeting with its covering, and the covering of badger skins that is on it, and the screen of the door of the Tent of Meeting, 26and the hangings of the court, and the screen of the door of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle, and the altar all around, and their cords, and all the furnishings for their service, and all that is made for these things; and they shall serve.

27Upon the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonite, all their tasks and all their service; and you⁺ shall appoint to them as their duty all their tasks. 28This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonite in the Tent of Meeting, and their duties are by the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

The Duties of the Merarites
(Numbers 3:33–37; 1 Chronicles 23:21–23)

29As for the sons of Merari, by their clans, and by the house of their fathers, you shall number them, 30from a son of thirty years and above, and to a son of fifty years, you shall number them, everyone who enters the service, to do the work of the Tent of Meeting.

31And this is what they must carry as all their service for the Tent of Meeting: The boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its bases. 32And the pillars around the court, and their bases, and pegs, and cords, with all their furnishings, and all their service; and by name you⁺ shall assign the items of the charge of their burden.

33This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, as all their service, for the Tent of Meeting, by the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”

The Numbering of the Levite Clans

34And Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathite by their clans, and by the house of their fathers, 35from a son of thirty years and above and to a son of fifty years, everyone who entered the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting. 36And those numbered by their clans were two thousand seven hundred and fifty. 37These were the ones who were numbered of the clans of the Kohathite, all who might serve in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, according to the commandment of YHWH, by the hand of Moses.

38And those numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their clans, and by the house of their fathers, 39from a son of thirty years and above and to a son of fifty years, everyone who entered the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting, 40and those numbered by their clans, by the house of their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty. 41These are those numbered of the clans of the sons of Gershon, of all who might serve in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of YHWH.

42And those numbered of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans, by the house of their fathers, 43from a son of thirty years and above and to a son of fifty years, everyone who entered the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting, 44and those numbered by their clans, were three thousand and two hundred. 45These are those numbered of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, according to the word of YHWH, by the hand of Moses.

46All who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel numbered of the Levites by their clans, and by the houses of their fathers, 47from a son of thirty years and above and to a son of fifty years, everyone who came to do the work of the service and the work of bearing burdens in the Tent of Meeting, 48even those numbered were eight thousand and five hundred and eighty. 49According to the commandment of YHWH they were numbered by the hand of Moses, man by man according to his service, and according to his task; and they were numbered by him as YHWH commanded Moses.