Numbers

And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

1The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said this to them.

2Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers,

2"Count the men of Kohath's family. They belong to the Levites. Count them by their family groups."

3From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

3Count the men from thirty to fifty years old. Count all who can work at the Tent of Meeting. That tent was God's special tent, where people came to meet with him.

4This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things:

4Here is the job of Kohath's men at that tent. They took care of the most holy things.

5And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it:

5When the camp was ready to move, Aaron and his sons went in. They took down the thick curtain. They covered the holy chest with it. That chest held God's rules.

6And shall put thereon the covering of badgers’ skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.

6Over that they put a cover of fine leather. Then they spread a cloth that was all blue. Then they slid in the poles for carrying it.

NoteThe KJV says "badgers' skins." It means a strong, fine leather. No one today is sure which animal it came from.

7And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon:

7On the special bread table they spread a blue cloth. On it they set the dishes, the spoons, and the bowls. They set the jars for pouring drinks there too. The bread that always sits there stayed on the table.

NoteThe KJV calls this "shewbread" and "the continual bread." It was bread kept on a table before God all the time.

8And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put in the staves thereof.

8Then they spread a red cloth over all of it. They covered that with fine leather. Then they slid in the carrying poles.

9And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it:

9They took a blue cloth. With it they covered the lampstand that gives light. They also covered its lamps, its wick tools, and its little trays. They covered its oil jars too.

10And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put it upon a bar.

10They wrapped the lampstand and all its tools in fine leather. Then they set it on a carrying frame.

11And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:

11Over the gold altar they spread a blue cloth. That altar was where they burned sweet smelling incense. They covered it with fine leather and slid in the carrying poles.

12And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put them on a bar:

12They gathered all the tools used for serving in the holy tent. They wrapped them in a blue cloth. They covered them with fine leather. Then they set them on a carrying frame.

13And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:

13Next they cleaned the ashes off the big altar. Then they spread a purple cloth over it.

14And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basons, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers’ skins, and put to the staves of it.

14On it they set all the tools used at that altar. These were the fire pans, the meat forks, the shovels, and the bowls. Then they spread fine leather over it all. Then they slid in the carrying poles.

15And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.

15Aaron and his sons had to finish covering the holy things first. Then Kohath's men could come and carry them. They must not touch the holy things, or they will die. These are the things Kohath's family carried from the tent.

16And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.

16Eleazar was the son of Aaron the priest, the man who led worship at the tent. Eleazar was in charge of the oil for the light. He also cared for the sweet incense and the daily grain gift. He cared for the special oil used for anointing. He watched over the whole tent and everything inside it.

NoteThe KJV says "meat offering." In 1611, "meat" meant any food. This gift was made of grain, not meat.

17And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

17The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said this to them.

18Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:

18"Do not let Kohath's family groups be cut off from the Levites."

19But 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:

19Here is how to keep them alive near the most holy things. Aaron and his sons must go in first. They must tell each man his job and what to carry.

20But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.

20But Kohath's men must not go in and look at the holy things. If they look, they will die.

21And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

21The LORD spoke to Moses. He said this to him.

22Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families;

22"Count the men of Gershon's family too. Count them by their families and family groups."

23From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

23Count the men from thirty to fifty years old. Count everyone who comes to work at the Tent of Meeting.

24This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for burdens:

24Here is the work of Gershon's families. They will serve, and they will carry loads.

25And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers’ skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

25They must carry the curtains of the holy tent. They carry the Tent of Meeting and its cover. They carry the fine leather cover that goes on top. They also carry the curtain for the tent door.

26And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so shall they serve.

26They carry the curtains around the yard. They carry the curtain at the gate of that yard. The yard goes all around the tent and the altar. They also carry the ropes and all the tools for their work. They do everything that must be done with these things.

27At the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their service: and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens.

27Aaron and his sons will tell the Gershon men what to do. They will say what each man carries and what work he does. You must give each man his own load to carry.

28This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

28This is the work of Gershon's families at the Tent of Meeting. Ithamar son of Aaron the priest is in charge of them.

29As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers;

29"Count the men of Merari's family by their families and family groups."

30From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation.

30Count the men from thirty to fifty years old. Count everyone who comes to work at the Tent of Meeting.

31And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof,

31Here is what they must carry for their work at the tent. They carry the wood frames of the holy tent. They also carry its crossbars, its posts, and its bases.

32And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.

32They carry the posts around the yard and their bases too. They carry the tent pegs, the ropes, and all the tools. You must list by name each thing they carry.

33This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

33This is the work of Merari's families at the Tent of Meeting. Ithamar son of Aaron the priest is in charge of them.

34And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of their fathers,

34So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders counted Kohath's men. They counted them by their families and family groups.

35From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation:

35They counted every man from thirty to fifty years old. They counted all who came to work at the Tent of Meeting.

36And those that were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

36The men counted by their families came to 2,750.

37These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

37These men came from Kohath's families. All of them could work at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them just as the LORD told Moses.

38And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers,

38Then Gershon's men were counted by their families and family groups.

39From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,

39They counted every man from thirty to fifty years old. They counted all who came to work at the Tent of Meeting.

40Even those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.

40The men counted by their families and family groups came to 2,630.

41These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD.

41These men came from Gershon's families. All of them served at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them just as the LORD said.

42And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers,

42Then Merari's men were counted by their families and family groups.

43From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,

43They counted every man from thirty to fifty years old. They counted all who came to work at the Tent of Meeting.

44Even those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred.

44The men counted by their families came to 3,200.

45These be those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

45These men came from Merari's families. Moses and Aaron counted them just as the LORD told Moses.

46All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their families, and after the house of their fathers,

46So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites. They counted them by their families and family groups.

47From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation,

47They counted every man from thirty to fifty years old. These were the men who came to serve and to carry the Tent of Meeting.

48Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore.

48The number of these men was 8,580.

NoteThe KJV says "eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore." A score is twenty, so fourscore is eighty. The total is 8,580.

49According to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the LORD commanded Moses.

49They were counted just as the LORD told Moses. Each man was given his own work and his own load. It was done exactly as the LORD commanded Moses.