Study Desk

Then the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

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

"Take a census of the descendants of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers' households,

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

from thirty years old and upward, even to fifty years old, everyone who can enter the service of ministry to do work in the tent of meeting.

From 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.

"This is the work of the descendants of Kohath in the tent of meeting, concerning the most holy things.

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

"When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the curtain, and cover the ark of the testimony with it;

And 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:

and they shall place a covering of fine leather on it, and spread over it a cloth of pure violet, and insert its carrying poles.

And 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.

"Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall also spread a cloth of violet and put on it the dishes, the pans, the sacrificial bowls, and the jugs for the drink offering; and the continual bread shall be on it.

And 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:

"And they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet material, and cover the same with a covering of fine leather, and they shall insert its carrying poles.

And 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.

"Then they shall take a violet cloth and cover the lampstand for the light, along with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all its oil containers, by which they attend to it;

And 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:

and they shall put it and all its utensils in a covering of fine leather, and put it on the carrying bars.

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

"Over the golden altar they shall spread a violet cloth, and cover it with a covering of fine leather, and they shall insert its carrying poles;

And 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:

and they shall take all the utensils of service, with which they serve in the sanctuary, and put them in a violet cloth and cover them with a covering of fine leather, and put them on the carrying bars.

And 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:

"Then they shall clean away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it.

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

"They shall also put on it all its utensils by which they serve in connection with it: the firepans, the forks, shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread a cover of fine leather over it and insert its carrying poles.

And 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.

"When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them by the poles, so that they will not touch the holy objects and die. These are the things in the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

And 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.

"Now the responsibility of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the continual grain offering, and the anointing oil—the responsibility of all the tabernacle and everything that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings."

And 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.

Then the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron saying,

"Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be eliminated from among the Levites.

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

"Rather, do this for them so that they will live and not die when they approach the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his work and to his load;

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:

but they shall not come in to see the holy objects even for a moment, or they will die."

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