Chapter 4
1
The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying:
2
Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans, by their fathers' houses.
3
from a son of thirty years and upward and until a son of fifty years, every one entering the heavenly host to do cultic work in the tent of divine appointed time.
4
This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things.
5
When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall come, take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of the testimony with it.
6
And they shall put on it a covering of tachash skin, spread a garment of all-holy blue over it from above, and put its staves.
7
And over the table of the Presence they shall spread a garment of blue, and they shall put on it the bowls and the ladles and the flagons and the jars for the libation; the bread of the continual offering shall be on it.
8
And they shall spread a garment of scarlet worm over them, cover it with a covering of tachash skin, and put its staves.
9
They shall take a garment of blue, cover the lampstand of the light, its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the utensils of oil with which they serve it.
10
They shall put it and all its utensils into a covering of tachash skin and put it on the pole.
11
And over the gold altar they shall spread a blue garment, cover it with a covering of fine leather, and put its poles on it.
12
And they shall take all the vessels of the service which they serve with them in the holy place, put them into a garment of blue, cover them with a covering of fine leather, and put them on the pole.
13
They shall remove the ash from the altar and spread a purple garment over it.
14
They shall put on it all the utensils by which they serve with it—the censers, the forks, the shovels, and the bowls, all the utensils of the altar. They shall spread a covering of tachash skin over it and put its poles in place.
15
And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy portion and all the vessels of the holy portion at the departure of the camp, then after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them. But they shall not touch the holy portion, lest they die. These are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting.
16
You shall appoint Eleazar son of Aaron the priest over the oil of the luminaries, the incense of the spices, the continual offering, and the anointing oil. You shall appoint him over the entire tabernacle and everything in it—the holy place and its utensils.
17
The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying:
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Do not cut off the tribe of the Kohathite clan from among the Levites.
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Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall come near and assign each man to his service and his burden.
20
They must not go in to perform the service by looking at the holy things, or they will die.