Levitternes arbejde med åbenbaringsteltet
1Da sagde Herren til Moses og Aron: 2-3„Optæl hvor mange mandlige efterkommere af Levis søn Kehat, der er mellem 30 og 50 år. Det er dem, der skal arbejde i åbenbaringsteltet 4med de helligste ting:
5Hver gang I er klar til at pakke lejren sammen, skal Aron og hans sønner først gå ind i helligdommen og tage forhænget mellem det hellige og det allerhelligste rum ned og lægge det over pagtens ark. 6Oven på det skal de lægge et kraftigt stykke læder, som igen skal dækkes med purpurfarvet klæde, før de anbringer bærestængerne i guldringene.
7Dernæst skal de brede et purpurfarvet klæde ud over bordet med de hellige brød og anbringe de forskellige fade, skåle og kander, der bruges ved drikofrene, oven på klædet sammen med de brød, der altid ligger fremme. 8Ovenpå igen skal de brede et skarlagenrødt klæde og et kraftigt stykke læder, før de anbringer bærestængerne i bordets guldringe.
9Lysestagen, lamperne, vægesaksene, vægebakkerne og beholderne til olivenolie skal anbringes på bærestativet, hvorefter de dækkes med et purpurfarvet klæde 10og derefter med et stykke kraftigt læder.
11Så skal de brede et purpurfarvet klæde over røgelsesalteret af guld, dække det med et kraftigt stykke læder og anbringe bærestængerne i alterets guldringe. 12Alle de øvrige redskaber, der bruges i helligdommen, skal dækkes med purpurfarvet klæde og kraftigt læder, før de anbringes på bærestativet.
13Brændofferalteret skal også dækkes til med et purpurfarvet klæde, men først skal asken fjernes. 14Alle redskaber, der bruges ved ofringen, skal lægges oven på klædet—både bakker til gløder, kødgafler, skovle og skåle—hvorefter det hele skal dækkes til med kraftigt læder. Til sidst skal bærestængerne anbringes i ringene.
15Når Aron og hans sønner har pakket helligdommens inventar og redskaber sammen, skal kehatitterne træde til og bære det hele til næste lejrplads. Men hvis de rører disse hellige ting, skal de dø. Det er altså kehatitternes opgave at bære helligdommens inventar.
16Arons søn Eleazar er ansvarlig for lampeolien, den hellige røgelse, det daglige afgrødeoffer og salveolien—ja, han skal have overopsynet med åbenbaringsteltet og alt dets inventar og de hellige redskaber.”
17Dernæst sagde Herren til Moses og Aron: 18„I må passe på, at kehatitterne ikke mister livet. 19I skal nøje overholde de forskrifter, jeg her har givet, så de ikke dør under udførelsen af deres opgave. Det er Aron og hans sønner, der skal fortælle kehatitterne, hvad de hver især skal bære. 20Men kehatitterne må først komme ind i helligdommen, efter at det hele er pakket ned, for hvis de ser de hellige ting, skal de dø.”
21Herren sagde nu til Moses: 22-23„Optæl hvor mange mandlige efterkommere af Levis søn Gershon, der er mellem 30 og 50 år. De skal også arbejde ved åbenbaringsteltet. 24-25Det er deres opgave at transportere boligens teltduge, de to tagdækninger af vædderskind og kraftigt læder samt indgangsforhænget. 26Derudover har de til opgave at transportere forgårdens teltvægge og forhænget over indgangen til forgården, som indhegner helligdommen og brændofferalteret. Endelig skal de også transportere diverse snore og værktøj, der bruges ved arbejdet. 27Aron og hans sønner skal uddelegere arbejdet blandt gershonitterne, 28og gershonitterne skal stå til regnskab for deres arbejde over for Arons søn Itamar.
29-30Optæl hvor mange mandlige efterkommere af Levis søn Merari, der er mellem 30 og 50 år. De skal også arbejde ved åbenbaringsteltet. 31Efter at teltet er pakket sammen, er det deres opgave at afmontere og transportere helligdommens vægmoduler, tværstænger, stolper og sokler, 32forgårdens stolper og sokler, samt alle pløkker og barduner—og alt det værktøj, der bruges under arbejdet. Enhver skal være helt klar over, hvori deres opgave består, 33så arbejdet kan gå hurtigt; og Arons søn Itamar skal have overopsynet med det.”
34-37På Herrens befaling foretog Moses og Aron og folkets ledere så en optælling af levitterne. Først lavede de en liste over Kehats slægt, familie for familie, over alle mænd, der var mellem 30 og 50 år, og som havde pligt til at arbejde ved åbenbaringsteltet. Det samlede antal var 2750. 38-41En tilsvarende optælling over Gershons slægt blev til 2630, 42-45og over Meraris slægt 3200. 46-48Det samlede antal mænd mellem 30 og 50 år, der havde pligt til at arbejde ved åbenbaringsteltet, var 8580. 49Aron mønstrede alle disse mænd og forklarede dem deres opgaver, sådan som Herren havde befalet gennem Moses.
The Families of Kohath
1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2“Count the Levites who belong to the families of Kohath. Make a list of them family by family. 3Count all the men 30 to 50 years old. Those are the men who must come and serve at the tent of meeting.
4“Here is the work the men of Kohath must do at the tent of meeting. They must take care of the things that are very holy. 5When the camp is ready to move, Aaron and his sons must go into the tent. They must take down the curtain that hides the ark where the tablets of the covenant law are kept. They must cover the ark with the curtain. 6Then they must cover that with strong leather. They must spread a solid blue cloth over the leather. And they must put the poles in place.
7“They must spread a blue cloth over the table for the holy bread. They must put the plates, dishes and bowls on the cloth. They must also put the jars for drink offerings on it. The bread that is always kept there must remain on it. 8They must spread a bright red cloth over everything. Then they must cover that with the strong leather. And they must put the poles of the table in place.
9“They must get a blue cloth. With it they must cover the lampstand that gives light. They must also cover its lamps, trays and wick cutters. And they must cover all its jars. The jars are for the olive oil used in the lampstand. 10Then Aaron and his sons must wrap the lampstand and all the things used with it. They must cover it with the strong leather. And they must put it on a frame to carry it.
11“They must spread a blue cloth over the gold altar for burning incense. They must cover that with the strong leather. And they must put the poles of the altar in place.
12“They must get all the things used for serving in the sacred tent. They must wrap them in a blue cloth. They must cover that with the strong leather. Then they must put those things on a frame to carry them.
13“They must remove the ashes from the bronze altar for burnt offerings. They must spread a purple cloth over it. 14Then they must place all the tools on it. The tools are used for serving at the altar. They include the pans for carrying ashes. They also include the meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Aaron and his sons must cover the altar with the strong leather. And they must put its poles in place.
15“Aaron and his sons must cover all the holy things that belong to the holy tent. Only then are the men of Kohath to come and carry everything. They must do so only when the camp is ready to move. But they must not touch the holy things. If they do, they will die. The men of Kohath must carry everything in the tent of meeting.
16“Eleazar the priest will be in charge of the olive oil for the light. He is the son of Aaron. Eleazar will be in charge of the sweet-smelling incense. He will be in charge of the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He will be in charge of the entire holy tent. He will also be in charge of everything in it. That includes all the things that belong to the tent.”
17The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, 18“Make sure that the Kohath families are not destroyed from among the Levites. 19I want them to live and not die when they come near the very holy things. So here is what you must do for them. Aaron and his sons must go into the sacred tent and tell each man what to do. They must tell each man what to carry. 20But the men of Kohath must not go in and look at the holy things. They must not look at them even for a moment. If they do, they will die.”
The Families of Gershon
21The Lord said to Moses, 22“Count the families of Gershon. Make a list of them family by family. 23Count all the men 30 to 50 years old. Those are the men who must come and serve at the tent of meeting.
24“Here is how the families of Gershon must serve. They must carry things. 25They must carry the curtains of the holy tent of meeting. They must carry its covering and the outside covering of strong leather. They must carry the curtains that cover the entrance to the tent of meeting. 26They must carry the curtains of the courtyard. The courtyard is all around the holy tent and altar. They must carry the curtain for the entrance. They must carry the ropes. They must also carry all the supplies used for any purpose in the tent. The families of Gershon must do everything that needs to be done with those things. 27All their work must be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. That includes carrying and everything else they do. Aaron and his sons must tell them what to carry. And that will be their work. 28It is what the families of Gershon must do at the tent of meeting. They must work under the direction of Ithamar the priest. He is the son of Aaron.
The Families of Merari
29“Count the families of Merari. Count them family by family. 30Count all the men 30 to 50 years old. Those are the men who must come and serve at the tent of meeting. 31Here is the work they must do at the tent of meeting. They must carry the frames of the holy tent. They must carry its crossbars, posts and bases. 32They must also carry the posts of the courtyard. The courtyard is all around the holy tent. And they must carry the bases for the posts as well as their tent stakes and ropes. They must also carry all the supplies and everything connected with their use. Tell each man exactly what to carry. 33That is the work the families of Merari must do at the tent of meeting. They must work under the direction of Ithamar the priest. He is the son of Aaron.”
Counting the Families of the Levites
34Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the men of Kohath. They counted them family by family.
35They counted all the men from 30 to 50 years old. They were the men who came and served at the tent of meeting. 36There were 2,750 men. They were counted family by family. 37That was the total of all the men in the families of Kohath who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them. They did just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
38The men of Gershon were counted family by family.
39All the men from 30 to 50 years old were counted. They were the men who came and served at the tent of meeting. 40There were 2,630 men. They were counted family by family. 41That was the total of the men in the families of Gershon who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them. They did just as the Lord had commanded.
42The men of Merari were counted family by family.
43All the men from 30 to 50 years old were counted. They were the men who came and served at the tent of meeting. 44There were 3,200 men. They were counted family by family. 45That was the total of the men in the families of Merari. Moses and Aaron counted them. They did just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
46So Moses and Aaron counted all the Levites. The leaders of Israel helped them. They counted the Levites family by family. 47All the men from 30 to 50 years old were counted. They were the men who came and served at the tent of meeting. They were also supposed to carry it. 48The total number of men was 8,580. 49Everything was done as the Lord had commanded through Moses. Each man was given his work. And each one was told what to carry.
So they were counted, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
