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Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Take a census of the Kohathite Levites, by their clans and by their ancestral houses. 3 Register all the men from thirty years to fifty years of age who qualify to work at the Tent of Meeting.
4 “This is the work of the Kohathites in the Tent of Meeting, concerning the most holy things: 5 When the camp is about to move, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the screening curtain and cover the Ark of the Testimony with it. 6 They are to place over this a covering made of fine leather, spread a cloth of solid blue over that, and insert its poles.
7 “Over the table of the bread of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and place on it the plates, dishes, and bowls, and the jars for drink offerings. The regular bread offering is to remain on it. 8 They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover that with a covering made of fine leather, and insert its poles in place.
9 “They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, with its lamps, its wick trimmers, its trays, and all the jars of oil with which it is supplied. 10 Then they are to place it with all its utensils in a covering made of fine leather, and put it on a carrying frame.
11 “Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth and cover that with a covering made of fine leather, and insert its poles.
12 “They are to take all the utensils used in ministering in the sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with a covering made of fine 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 put on it all the utensils used for ministering at the altar, including the firepans, forks, shovels, and basins, and all the utensils of the altar. Then they are to spread a covering made of fine leather over it, and insert its poles.
15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sacred objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary and the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites are to come and carry them, but they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry all those things that are in the Tent of Meeting.
16 “Eliezer son of Aaron, the priest, is to be responsible for the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He is also to be responsible for the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including its sacred objects and its furnishings.
17 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 18 “Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clan to be cut off from among the Levites. 19 But do this for them so they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his work and his load to carry. 20 But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die.”
21 The Lord said to Moses, 22 “Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their ancestral houses and by their clans. 23 You are to register all the men from thirty to fifty years of age, everyone who qualifies to come and perform a service in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
24 “This is the service of the Gershonite clans as they work and carry loads: 25 They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting with its covering, and the covering of fine leather on top of it, the screen for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, 26 the curtains of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment used in its service. They are to perform everything that needs to be done with these items. 27 All the service of the Gershonites, whether in carrying the loads or doing other work, is to be done at the command of Aaron and his sons. You are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry. 28 This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the Tent of Meeting, and their duties will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.
29 “As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans and their ancestral houses. 30 Register all the men from thirty years to fifty years of age, everyone who qualifies to do the work of the Tent of Meeting. 31 This is what they are to carry in the service they perform at the Tent of Meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, posts, and bases, 32 and the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, all their equipment and everything related to their use. You are to assign to each man by name the items he is to carry. 33 This is the service of the Merarite clans as they work at the Tent of Meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.”
34 So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral houses. 35 All the men from thirty years to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting, 36 and were registered by their clans numbered 2,750. 37 These were all the men registered from the Kohathite clans, everyone who qualified to work at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them according to the Lord’s command through Moses.
38 The Gershonites were registered by their clans and their ancestral houses, 39 all the men from thirty years to fifty years of age who was qualified to work at the Tent of Meeting. 40 The men registered by their clans and their ancestral houses numbered 2,630. 41 These were the men registered from the Gershonite clans who were able to serve at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them according to the Lord’s command.
42 The Merarites were registered by their clans and their ancestral houses, 43 all the men from thirty years to fifty years of age who were qualified to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. 44 The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200. 45 This was the total of those registered from the Merarite clans. Moses and Aaron registered them in accordance with the Lord’s command through Moses.
46 So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral houses. 47 All the men from thirty years to fifty years of age, who were qualified to do the work of serving and carrying the Tent of Meeting 48 numbered 8,580. 49 Each man was assigned his service or load to carry, according to the Lord’s command through Moses.
Thus they were all registered, as the Lord had commanded Moses.