Numbers 4:17-49

17Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron:

18“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites.

19Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty.

20The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects as they are covered or they will die.”

21The Lord spoke to Moses:

22“Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their ancestral families and their clans.

23Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to perform service, to do work at the tent of meeting.

24This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transportation duties:

25They are to transport the tabernacle curtains, the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering made of fine leather on top of it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting,

26the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. They will carry out everything that needs to be done with these items.

27“All the service of the Gershonites, all their transportation duties and all their other work, is to be done at the command of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry.

28This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting, and their duties will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

29“As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans and their ancestral families.

30Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting.

31This is what they are responsible to carry as the whole of their service at the tent of meeting: the supports of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, pillars, and bases,

32the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and all the work related to them. You are to assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry.

33This is the service of the Merarite clans regarding all their work at the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”

34So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families,

35men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.

36The men registered by their clans numbered 2,750.

37These were the registered men of the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.

38The Gershonites were registered by their clans and their ancestral families,

39men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.

40The men registered by their clans and their ancestral families numbered 2,630.

41These were the registered men of the Gershonite clans. At the Lord’s command Moses and Aaron registered everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting.

42The men of the Merarite clans were registered by their clans and their ancestral families,

43those from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.

44The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200.

45These were the registered men of the Merarite clans; Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.

46Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral families,

47from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it.

48Their registered men numbered 8,580.

49At the Lord’s command they were registered under the direction of Moses, each one according to his work and transportation duty, and his assignment was as the Lord commanded Moses.