The Cost of the Tabernacle

^21 [a]This is the number of the things for the ^[b]tabernacle, the ^[c]tabernacle of the testimony, as they were ^[d]counted according to the ^[e]command of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

⁶ “^(A)Bring the tribe of Levi forward and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. ⁷ They shall perform the duties for ^[a]him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, to do the ^(B)service of the tabernacle. ⁸ They shall also take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, along with the duties of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.

Duties of the Levites

²⁵ Now ^(A)the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting included the tabernacle and ^(B)the tent, its covering, and ^(C)the curtain for the entrance of the tent of meeting, ²⁶ and ^(D)the curtains of the courtyard, ^(E)the curtain for the entrance of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its ropes, according to all the service ^[a]concerning them.

²⁷ Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. ²⁸ In the counting of every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, performing the duties of the sanctuary. ²⁹ The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, ³⁰ and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Kohathite families: ^[b]Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ³¹ Now ^(F)their duties included ^(G)the ark, ^(H)the table, ^(I)the lampstand, ^(J)the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, the ^[c]curtain, and all the service ^[d]concerning them; ³² and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the head of the leaders of Levi, and he had the supervision of those who performed the duties of the sanctuary.

³³ Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. ³⁴ Their numbered men in the counting of every male from a month old and upward: 6,200. ³⁵ And the leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to ^(K)camp on the northward side of the tabernacle. ³⁶ Now the appointment of duties of the sons of Merari included the framework of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its bases, all its equipment, and all the service concerning them, ³⁷ and the pillars around the courtyard with their bases, their pegs, and their ropes.

¹⁵ 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 ^(A)and die. These are the ^[a]things in the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

²⁵ they shall carry ^(A)the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and ^(B)the covering of fine leather that is on top of it, and the curtain for the entrance of the tent of meeting, ²⁶ and ^(C)the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance of the gate of the courtyard that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their ropes and all the equipment for their service; and everything that is to be done ^[a]by them, ^[b]they shall perform. ²⁷ All the service of the sons of the Gershonites, that is, all their loads and all their work, shall be performed at the ^[c]command of Aaron and his sons; and you shall assign to them as a duty all their loads.