Numbers 4:4-20
4This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: athe most holy things. 5When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down bthe veil of the screen and cover cthe 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 epoles. 7And over the ftable 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; gthe 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 hput in its poles. 9And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover ithe 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 jthe 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 kthe 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 lthe sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, mbut 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 nthe oil for the light, the ofragrant incense, pthe regular grain offering, and qthe 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 rthe most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 sbut they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”
1 Chronicles 15:2-14
2Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry tthe ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever. 3 uAnd David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord vto its place, which he had prepared for it. 4And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and wthe Levites: 5of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with 120 of his brothers; 6of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with 220 of his brothers; 7of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with 130 of his brothers; 8of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with 200 of his brothers; 9of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with 80 of his brothers; 10of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with 112 of his brothers. 11Then David summoned the priests xZadok and yAbiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, 12and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites. zConsecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, aato the place that I have prepared for it. 13 abBecause you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.” 14So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel.2 Chronicles 31:4-21
4And he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give acthe portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the Law of the Lord. 5As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundantly adthe tithe of everything. 6And the people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and aethe tithe of the dedicated things that had been dedicated to the Lord their God, and laid them in heaps. 7In the third month they began to pile up the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. 8When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and his people Israel. 9And Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about the heaps. 10Azariah the chief priest, who was afof the house of Zadok, answered him, “Since they began to bring the contributions into the house of the Lord, we have eaten and had enough and have plenty left, agfor the Lord has blessed his people, so that we have this large amount left.”11Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare ahchambers in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. 12And they faithfully brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the dedicated things. The chief officer aiin charge of them was Conaniah the Levite, with ajShimei his brother as second, 13 akwhile Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, alMahath, and Benaiah were overseers assisting Conaniah and Shimei his brother, by the appointment of Hezekiah the king and amAzariah the chief officer of the house of God. 14And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the east gate, was over the freewill offerings to God, to apportion the contribution reserved for the Lord and the most holy offerings. 15 anEden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah were faithfully assisting him in aothe cities of the priests, to distribute the portions to their brothers, old and young alike, by divisions, 16except those enrolled by genealogy, males from three years old and upward—all who entered the house of the Lord apas the duty of each day required—for their service according to their offices, by their divisions. 17The enrollment of the priests was according to their fathers’ houses; that of the Levites aqfrom twenty years old and upward was according to their offices, by their divisions. 18They were enrolled with all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, the whole assembly, for they were faithful in keeping themselves holy. 19And for the sons of Aaron, the priests, who were in the fields of common land belonging to their cities, there were men in the several cities who were ardesignated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone among the Levites who was enrolled.
20Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, asand he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. 21And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.
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