Numbers chapter .iiij.
¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron,
and bade them take the sum of the children of Cahath from among the sons of Levi, in their kindreds and houses of their fathers from thirty years and above until fifty,
all that were able to war, for to do the work in the tabernacle of witness:
even in the most holy place.
And when the host removeth, Aaron and his sons shall come and take down the vail, and cover the ark of witness therewith,
and shall put thereon a covering of taxus' skins, and shall spread a cloth that is altogether of jacinth above all, and put the staves thereof in.
And upon the shew table, they shall spread a cloth of jacinth, and put thereon, the dishes, spoons, flat pieces and pots to pour with, and the daily bread shall be thereon:
and they shall spread upon them a covering of purple, and cover the same with a covering of taxus' skins, and put the staves thereof in.
And they shall take a cloth of jacinth and cover the candlestick of light and her lamps and her snuffers, and firepans, and all her oil vessels which they occupy about it,
and shall put upon her and on all her instruments, a covering of taxus' skins, and put it upon staves.
And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of Iacinth, and put on her staves.
And they shall take all the things which they occupy to minister with in the holy place, and put a cloth of Iacinth upon them and cover them with a covering of taxus' skins and put them on staves.
And they shall take away the ashes out of the altar, and spread a scarlet cloth thereon:
and put about it, the firepans, the fleshhooks, the shovels, the basins, and all that belongeth unto the altar, and they shall spread upon it a covering of taxus' skins, and put on the staves of it.
And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary and all things of the sanctuary, against that the host remove, then the sons of Cahath shall come in for to bear, and so let them not twich the sanctuary lest they die. And this is the charge of the sons of Cahath in the tabernacle of witness.
And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, shall have the charge to prepare oil for the lights and sweet cense, and the daily meatoffering and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the dwelling and of all that therein is, both over the sanctuary and over all that pertaineth thereto.
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron saying:
destroy not the tribe of the kindreds of the Cahathites, from among the Levites.
But thus do unto them that they may live and not die, when they go unto the most holy place. Aaron and his sons shall go in and put them, every man unto his service and unto his burthen.
But let them not go in to see when they cover the sanctuary, lest they die.
¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses saying:
Take the sum of the children of Gerson, in the houses of their fathers and in their kindreds:
from thirty years and above, until fifty, all that are able to go forth in war, for to do service in the tabernacle of witness.
And this is the service of the kindred of the Gersonites, to serve and to bear.
They shall bear the curtains of the dwelling and the roof of the tabernacle of witness and his covering and the covering of taxus' skins that is on high above upon it, and the hanging of the door of the tabernacle of witness:
and the hanging of the court and the hanging of the gate of the court that is round about the dwelling and the altar, and the cords of them, and all the instruments that serve unto them and all that is made for them.
And at the mouth of Aaron and his sons, shall all the service of the children of the Gersonites be done, in all their charges and in all their service, and ye shall appoint them unto all their charges that they shall wait upon.
And this is the service of the kindred of the children of the Gersonites in the tabernacle of witness, and their wait shall be in the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
And thou shalt number the sons of Merari in their kindreds and in the houses of their fathers,
from thirty years and above unto fifty. All that is able to go forth in war, to do the service of the tabernacle of witness.
And this is the charge that they must wait upon in all that they must serve in the tabernacle of witness: The boards of the dwelling, and the bars, pillars, and sockets thereof,
and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, pins and cords with all that pertaineth and serveth unto them. And by name ye shall reckon the things that they must wait upon to bear.
This is the service of the kindreds of the sons of Merari in all their service in the tabernacle of witness by the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
¶ And Moses and Aaron and the princes of the multitude numbered the sons of the Cahathites in their kindreds and houses of their fathers,
from thirty years and above unto fifty, and that were able to go forth in the host and to do service in the tabernacle of witness.
And the number of them in their kindreds were two thousand, seven hundred and fifty.
These are the numbers of the kindreds of the Cahathites, of all that did service in the tabernacle of witness, which Moses and Aaron did number at the commandment of the LORD of by the hand of Moses.
And the sons of Gerson were numbered in their kindreds and in the houses of their fathers,
from thirty years up unto fifty, all that were able to go forth in the host for to do service in the tabernacle of witness.
And the number of them in their kindreds, and in the houses of their fathers, was two thousand, six hundred and thirty.
This is the number of the kindreds of the sons of Gerson, of all that did service in the tabernacle of witness, which Moses and Aaron did number at the commandment of the LORD.
And the kindreds of the sons of Merari were numbered in their kindreds and in the houses of their fathers,
from thirty years up unto fifty. All that were able to go forth with the host, to do service in the tabernacle of witness.
And the number of them was in their kindreds, three thousand and two hundred.
This is the number of the kindreds of the sons of Merari, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the bidding of the LORD, by the hand of Moses.
The whole sum which Moses, Aaron and the lords of Israel numbered among the Levites in their kindreds and households of their fathers,
from thirty years up unto fifty every man to do his office and service and to bear his burthen in the tabernacle of witness:
was eight thousand, five hundred and eighty
which they numbered at the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses every man unto his service and burthen: as the LORD commanded Moses.
Praise the Everlasting Lord for His Faithful Word.