Numbers 4:2-20

2Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathershouses, 3 afrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: bthe most holy things. 5When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down cthe veil of the screen and cover dthe ark of the testimony with it. 6Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin
The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5
and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its fpoles.
7And over the gtable of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; hthe regular showbread also shall be on it. 8Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall iput in its poles. 9And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover jthe lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11And over kthe golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12And they shall take all lthe vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that mthe sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, nbut they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

16“And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of othe oil for the light, the pfragrant incense, qthe regular grain offering, and rthe anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”

17The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18“Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to sthe most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 tbut they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”

Copyright information for ESV