² “Take a census of the sons of ^(A)Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house, ^3 (B)from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.

^4 (C)“This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting, relating to ^(D)the most holy things: ⁵ When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down ^(E)the covering veil and cover the ^(F)ark of the Testimony with it. ⁶ Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of ^(G)blue; and they shall insert ^(H)its poles.

⁷ “On the ^(I)table of showbread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the ^[a]pitchers for pouring; and the ^(J)showbread^[b] shall be on it. ⁸ They shall spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. ⁹ And they shall take a blue cloth and cover the ^(K)lampstand of the light, ^(L)with its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it. ¹⁰ Then they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of badger skins, and put it on a carrying beam.

¹¹ “Over ^(M)the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. ¹² Then they shall take all the ^(N)utensils of service with which they minister in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of badger skins, and put them on a carrying beam. ¹³ Also they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴ They shall put on it all its implements with which they minister there—the firepans, the forks, the shovels, the ^[c]basins, and all the utensils of the altar—and they shall spread on it a covering of badger skins, and insert its poles. ¹⁵ And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then ^(O)the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; ^(P)but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.

“^(Q)These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.

⁸ At that time ^(A)the Lord ^[a]separated the tribe of Levi ^(B)to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, ^(C)to stand before the Lord to minister to Him and ^(D)to bless in His name, to this day.

The Law to Be Read Every Seven Years

⁹ So Moses wrote this law ^(A)and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, ^(B)who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.