1 And the LORD {YHWH, Lawgiver} spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying {lemor: narrative instruction marker},
2 Take a census {naso: enroll} of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans {mishpechot: extended family groups} and by their ancestral houses.
3 From thirty years old and upward, even to fifty years old, everyone who comes for the service {tzava: organized priestly duty} to perform the work {melakhah: sacred labor} in the tent of meeting.
4 This is the service {avodat: priestly duty} of the sons of Kohath at the tent of meeting {ohel moed: central worship tent} for the most holy things.
5 When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil {parokhet: sacred curtain} of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony {haʿêduṯ: covenant witness} with it.
6 And they shall put upon it a tachash covering {tahash: rare ritual hide} and spread a whole blue cloth {techelet: ceremonial dye} over it from above, and then place its poles.
7 And upon the table of the Presence {shulchan hapanim: sacred meeting place} they shall spread a blue cloth and place on it the plates, the ladles, the bowls, and the cups for the libation; and the perpetual bread {lechem hatamid: bread always before God} shall remain on it.
8 And they shall spread a cloth of scarlet {tola'at shani: richly dyed fabric} over them, and they shall cover it with a covering of tachash {tachash: durable leather} skin, and they shall place its poles.
9 And they shall take a blue cloth {beged: sacred covering} and shall cover the lampstand of the light {menorat: lampstand}, along with its lamps, its tongs, its firepans, and all the vessels of its oil which are used to serve it.
10 And they shall place it and all its utensils {kelehah: ritual vessels} on a tachash {tachash: special hide} skin covering, and they shall set it on the carrying frame.
11 And upon the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth{techelet: cultic dye}, and they shall cover it with a tachash skin{tachash: durable hide}, and they shall set its poles in place.
12 And they shall take all the vessels {k'lei: sacred utensils} of service which they have used in the sanctuary, and they shall place them into a tekhelet cloth {tekhelet: cloth dyed sky-blue}, cover them with a covering of tachash skin, and place them on the carrying frame.
13 And they shall remove the ashes {deshen: ritual remains} from the altar and spread a purple cloth {beged: ceremonial covering} over it.
14 And they shall put on it all its utensils that they use to minister at it: the firepans {makhtot: ritual basins}, the forks, the shovels, and the bowls—every utensil of the altar. Then they shall spread over it a covering of tachash skin {tachash: durable hide} and set its poles in place.
15 When Aaron and his sons finish covering the sanctuary {kodesh: holy place} and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they must not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These are the burdens {massa: assigned duty} of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting.
16 And the charge of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, is over the oil {shemen: Pure Olive Oil} for the lamp, the incense {ketoret: Sacred Blend} of the spices, the continual grain offering, and the anointing oil; the charge of all the tabernacle and everything in it, the sanctuary and its vessels.
17 And the LORD {YHWH, Lawgiver} spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying {le’emor: to give instruction}.
18 Do not cut off the tribe {shevet: tribal division} of the Kohathite families from among the Levites {halewiyim: Levitical order}.
19 And do this for them so that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things; Aaron {Aharon: high priest} and his sons shall enter and assign each man to his work {avodato: sacred service} and to his burden.
20 But they must not go in {yavoʻu: ritually approach} to see when the holy things are being covered {keval-la: while being covered}, lest they die.
21 And the LORD {YHWH, Divine Lawgiver} spoke to Moses, saying {lemor: direct speech marker}.
22 Take a census {nasa: lift up in enumeration} of the heads of the sons of Gershon by the house of their fathers {avotam: ancestral lineage} and by their families.
23 From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old you shall muster them—all who come to the service {tsava: sacred duty} to perform the work {avodah: tabernacle ministry} in the tent of meeting.
24 This is the service {avodat: assigned labor} of the Gershonite clans for serving and for carrying {massa: sacred transport}.
25 And they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle {mishkan: sacred dwelling place}, and the tent of meeting, its covering, and the covering of tachash {tachash: durable hide} that is above it, and the curtain for the entrance of the tent of meeting.
26 And the curtains {kal‘ei: protective hangings} of the courtyard and the curtain for the entrance gate of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, and all the vessels of their service {avodatam: ritual duties}, and all that will be done for them, and they shall serve.
27 According to the command{al pi: official instruction} of Aaron and his sons, the entire service of the sons of the Gershonite shall be for all their burdens and for all their service, and you shall appoint over them in supervision every burden{massa'am: load for transport}.
28 This is the service {avodat: hereditary Levitical duty} of the families of the sons of the Gershonite at the tent of meeting; and their charge {mishmeret: assigned responsibility} is under the supervision of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.
29 You shall count the sons of Merari {Merari: Levitical clan ancestor} by their clans and by their ancestral houses {beit: family units}.
30 From thirty years old and upward and up to fifty years old you shall number them, all who enter the service, to perform the work {avodah: sacred duties} of the tent of meeting {ohel moed: appointed place of assembly}.
31 And this is the duty {mishmeret: assigned responsibility} of their burden for all their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle {mishkan: sacred dwelling}, its crossbars, its pillars, and its bases.
32 And the pillars of the courtyard all around, and their bases, and their pegs, and their ropes—for all their equipment and for all their service—you shall assign by name the equipment of the responsibility {mishmeret: assigned charge} of their burden {massaam: carrying task}.
33 This is the service {avodat: Levitical Rite} of the families of the sons of Merari for all their work in the tent of meeting, under the authority {beyad: Cultic Oversight} of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
34 And Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the assembly {haedah: gathered congregation} numbered the sons of the Kohathite {hakkehati: Kohathite clan} according to their clans and by their fathers’ house.
35 From thirty years old and upward, and until fifty years old, all who come to the service {tsava: structured assignment} for the work in the tent of meeting {moed: appointed assembly}.
36 And their numbered ones {p'kudeihem: census figures} by their clans were 2,750 {alpayim: two thousand}.
37 These are the enrollments {p'qudei: numbered designations} of the families of the Kohathite, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the command of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Commander} by the hand of Moses.
38 And the counted ones {pequdei: census participants} of the sons of Gershon by their clans {mishpachot: lineage divisions} and by the house of their fathers.
39 From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, every one coming {ha-ba: entrance qualification} to the service to do the work {avodah: sanctuary tasks} in the tent of meeting.
40 And their counted ones {p’kudeihem: registered individuals} by their clans {mishpechot: lineage groups} and by the house of their fathers were 2,630.
41 These are the numberings {p’kudei: official counts} of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the command of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Commander}.
42 And the ones numbered {pqudei: officially recorded} of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families and by their father’s house {beit avotam: ancestral lineage}.
43 From thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who comes for service {tsava: organized duty} to do the work {avodah: ritual labor} in the tent of meeting.
44 And the number of those counted {p’kudeihem: those enrolled} by their clans {mishpechotam: family divisions} was 3,200.
45 These are the records of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the command {pi: spoken instruction} of the LORD {YHWH, Lawgiver} by the hand of Moses.
46 All the counted ones whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel counted{paqad: precise enumeration}, the Levites{haLeviim: descendants of Levi}, by their clans and by the houses of their fathers.
47 From thirty years old and upward, and up to fifty years old, all who come to carry out avodah {avodah: sacred duty} and massa {massa: lifting} in the tent of meeting.
48 And their numbered ones {pekudeihem: levy roster} were eight thousand {alafim: thousands unit} five hundred eighty.
49 According to the command of the LORD {YHWH, Supreme Commander}, he counted {pakad: enumerated for service} them by the hand of Moses—each man for his work and for his burden. And those numbered were as the LORD had commanded Moses.