Study Desk

As for those of you who are left, I will fill their hearts with anxiety in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a driven leaf will frighten them, so that they will flee as one flees from the sword and fall when no one is pursuing.

Then they will confess their misdeeds and those of their ancestors which they committed against me in their rebellion; they will admit that they went against me.

At that time I will be going against them, bringing them into the lands of their enemies. But if their uncircumcised hearts will grow humble, and they are paid the punishment for their misdeeds;

For the land will lie abandoned without them, and it will be paid its Shabbats while it lies desolate without them; and they will be paid the punishment for their misdeeds, because they rejected my rulings and loathed my regulations.

Yet, in spite of all that, I will not reject them when they are in the lands of their enemies, nor will I loathe them to the point of utterly destroying them and thus break my covenant with them, because I am Adonai their God.

But Nadav and Avihu died in the presence of Adonai when they offered unauthorized fire before Adonai in the Sinai Desert, and they had no children; El‘azar and Itamar served as cohanim in the presence of Aharon their father.

"Summon the tribe of Levi, and assign them to Aharon the cohen, so that they can help him.

They are to carry out his duties and the duties of the whole community before the tent of meeting in performing the service of the tabernacle.

They are to be in charge of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and to carry out all the duties of the people of Isra'el connected with the service of the tabernacle.

All the firstborn males belong to me, because on the day that I killed all the firstborn males in the land of Egypt, I separated for myself all the firstborn males in Isra'el, both human and animal. They are mine; I am Adonai ."

The names of the sons of Gershon were Livni and Shim‘i; they fathered their respective clans;

Of them, 8,600 males a month old and over were counted; they were in charge of the Holy Place.

They were responsible for the ark, the table, the menorah, the altars, the utensils the cohanim use when they serve in the Holy Place, the curtain, and everything involved with the maintenance of these things.

Those who were to camp in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moshe, Aharon and his sons who were in charge of the Holy Place. They carried out their responsibility on behalf of the people of Isra'el, and anyone else who involved himself was to be put to death.

On that they are to place a covering of fine leather, and on top of that spread an all-blue cloth. Then they are to insert the carrying-poles.

On the table of showbread they are to spread a blue cloth and place on it the dishes, incense pans, offering bowls and pitchers. The perpetual bread is to remain on the table.

They are to spread on these things a scarlet cloth, cover them with a covering of fine leather and insert the poles.

They are to take a blue cloth and cover the menorah for the light, its lamps, its tongs, its trays and the jars used to add oil to it.

They are to wrap it and all its accessories in fine leather and place them on a carrying-frame.

On the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with a covering of fine leather and insert its carrying-poles.