Bible in Basic English
And on the table of the holy bread they are to put a blue cloth, and on it all the vessels, the spoons and the basins and the cups; and the holy bread with them;
And over them they are to put a red cloth, covering it with a leather cover, and putting its rods in their places.
And they are to take a blue cloth, covering with it the light-support with its lights and its instruments and its trays and all the oil vessels which are used for it:
All these they are to put in a leather cover, and put it on the frame.
On the gold altar they are to put a blue cloth, covering it with a leather cover; and they are to put its rods in their places.
All the vessels which are used in the holy place they are to put in a blue cloth, covering them with a leather cover, and put them on the frame.
And they are to take away the burned waste from the altar, and put a purple cloth on it;
Placing on the cloth all its vessels, the fire-baskets, the meat-hooks, the spades, and the basins; all the vessels of the altar; they are to put a leather cover over all these, and put its rods in their places.
And after the holy place and all its vessels have been covered up by Aaron and his sons, when the tents of the people go forward, the sons of Kohath are to come and take it up; but the holy things may not be touched by them for fear of death.
And Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, is to be responsible for the oil for the light, and the sweet perfumes for burning, and the regular meal offering, and the holy oil; the House and the holy place and everything in it will be in his care.
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
Do not let the family of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites;
But do this to them, so that life and not death may be theirs when they come near the most holy things; let Aaron and his sons go in and give to every one his work and that which he is to take up;
But they themselves are not to go in to see the holy place, even for a minute, for fear of death.
And the Lord said to Moses,
Let the sons of Gershon be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;
All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.
This is to be the work of the Gershonites, the things they are to do and take up.
They are to take up the curtains of the House, and the Tent of meeting with its cover and the leather cover over it, and the hangings for the door of the Tent of meeting;
And the hangings for the open space round the House and the altar, and the curtain for its doorway, with the cords and all the things used for them; whatever is necessary for these, they are to do.
From the mouth of Aaron and his sons the Gershonites will have word about all the things they are to do and take up; you are to give them their orders.
This is the work of the family of the Gershonites in the Tent of meeting, and they will be under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.
The sons of Merari are to be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;
Every one from thirty to fifty years old who is able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.
And this is their part in the work of the Tent of meeting: the transport of the boards and the rods of the Tent, with the pillars and their bases;
And the pillars of the open space outside it, with their bases and their nails and cords and all the instruments used, and everything which has to be done there; all the instruments for which they are responsible are to be numbered by name.
This is the work which the sons of Merari are to do in connection with the Tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.
So Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the people took in hand the numbering of the sons of the Kohathites, by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;
Numbering all those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work in the Tent of meeting;
And the number of all these was two thousand, seven hundred and fifty.
This is the number of those of the Kohathites who did the work in the Tent of meeting, as they were numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.
And those of the sons of Gershon who were numbered by families,
All those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work in the Tent of meeting,
Who were numbered by families in the order of their fathers' houses, were two thousand, six hundred and thirty.
This is the number of the sons of Gershon who did the work in the Tent of meeting, as they were numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.
And those of the sons of Merari who were numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses,
All those from thirty to fifty years old who did the work in the Tent of meeting,
Who were numbered by families, were three thousand, two hundred.
This is the number of the sons of Merari, numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.
And all the Levites who were numbered by Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the people, by families, in the order of their fathers' houses,
Those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work of the Tent of meeting and of its transport,
Came to eight thousand, five hundred and eighty.
At the order of the Lord they were numbered by Moses, every one in relation to his work and to his part in the transport; so they were numbered by Moses at the order of the Lord.
— Numbers 4:7-1964, Bible in Basic English
““On the table of the presence they must spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the pitchers for pouring, and the Bread of the Presence must be on it continually. They must spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of fine leather; and they must insert its poles. “They must take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand of the light, with its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it. Then they must put it with all its utensils in a covering of fine leather, and put it on a carrying beam. “They must spread a blue cloth on the gold altar, and cover it with a covering of fine leather; and they must insert its poles. Then they must take all the utensils of the service, with which they serve in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of fine leather, and put them on a carrying beam. Also, they must take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. Then they must place on it all its implements with which they serve there– the trays, the meat forks, the shovels, the basins, and all the utensils of the altar– and they must spread on it a covering of fine leather, and then insert its poles. “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is ready to journey, then the Kohathites will come to carry them; but they must not touch any holy thing, or they will die. These are the responsibilities of the Kohathites with the tent of meeting. “The appointed responsibility of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest is for the oil for the light, and the spiced incense, and the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil; he also has the appointed responsibility over all the tabernacle with all that is in it, over the sanctuary and over all its furnishings.” Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron: “Do not allow the tribe of the families of the Kohathites to be cut off from among the Levites; but in order that they will live and not die when they approach the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons will go in and appoint each man to his service and his responsibility. But the Kohathites are not to go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, or they will die.” The Service of the Gershonites Then the LORD spoke to Moses: “Also take a census of the Gershonites, by their clans and by their families. You must number them from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, all who enter the company to do the work of the tent of meeting. This is the service of the families of Gershonites, as they serve and carry it. They must carry the curtains for the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering, the covering of fine leather that is over it, the curtains for the entrance of the tent of meeting, the hangings for the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance of the gate of the court, which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their ropes, along with all the furnishings for their service and everything that is made for them. So they are to serve. “All the service of the Gershonites, whether carrying loads or for any of their work, will be at the direction of Aaron and his sons. You will assign them all their tasks as their responsibility. This is the service of the families of the Gershonites concerning the tent of meeting. Their responsibilities will be under the authority of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. The Service of the Merarites“As for the sons of Merari, you are to number them by their families and by their clans. You must number them from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, all who enter the company to do the work of the tent of meeting. This is what they are responsible to carry as their entire service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, its posts, its sockets, and the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their sockets, tent pegs, and ropes, along with all their furnishings and everything for their service. You are to assign by names the items that each man is responsible to carry. This is the service of the families of the Merarites, their entire service concerning the tent of meeting, under the authority of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.” Summary So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the community numbered the Kohathites by their families and by clans, from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered the company for the work in the tent of meeting; and those of them numbered by their families were 2,750. These were those numbered from the families of the Kohathites, everyone who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the LORD by the authority of Moses. Those numbered from the Gershonites, by their families and by their clans, from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered the company for the work in the tent of meeting– those of them numbered by their families, by their clans, were 2,630. These were those numbered from the families of the Gershonites, everyone who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the LORD. Those numbered from the families of the Merarites, by their families, by their clans, from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered the company for the work in the tent of meeting– those of them numbered by their families were 3,200. These are those numbered from the families of the Merarites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the LORD by the authority of Moses. All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered by their families and by their clans, from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered to do the work of service and the work of carrying relating to the tent of meeting– those of them numbered were 8,580. According to the word of the LORD they were numbered, by the authority of Moses, each according to his service and according to what he was to carry. Thus were they numbered by him, as the LORD had commanded Moses.”
And this is to be the work of the sons of Kohath in connection with the most holy things.
When all the people go forward, Aaron is to go in with his sons, and take down the veil of the curtain, covering the ark of witness with it;
And putting over it the leather cover and over that a blue cloth; and putting its rods in place.
And on the table of the holy bread they are to put a blue cloth, and on it all the vessels, the spoons and the basins and the cups; and the holy bread with them;
And over them they are to put a red cloth, covering it with a leather cover, and putting its rods in their places.
And they are to take a blue cloth, covering with it the light-support with its lights and its instruments and its trays and all the oil vessels which are used for it:
All these they are to put in a leather cover, and put it on the frame.
On the gold altar they are to put a blue cloth, covering it with a leather cover; and they are to put its rods in their places.
All the vessels which are used in the holy place they are to put in a blue cloth, covering them with a leather cover, and put them on the frame.
And they are to take away the burned waste from the altar, and put a purple cloth on it;
Placing on the cloth all its vessels, the fire-baskets, the meat-hooks, the spades, and the basins; all the vessels of the altar; they are to put a leather cover over all these, and put its rods in their places.
And after the holy place and all its vessels have been covered up by Aaron and his sons, when the tents of the people go forward, the sons of Kohath are to come and take it up; but the holy things may not be touched by them for fear of death.
And Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, is to be responsible for the oil for the light, and the sweet perfumes for burning, and the regular meal offering, and the holy oil; the House and the holy place and everything in it will be in his care.
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
Do not let the family of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites;
But do this to them, so that life and not death may be theirs when they come near the most holy things; let Aaron and his sons go in and give to every one his work and that which he is to take up;
But they themselves are not to go in to see the holy place, even for a minute, for fear of death.
And the Lord said to Moses,
Let the sons of Gershon be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;
All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.
This is to be the work of the Gershonites, the things they are to do and take up.
They are to take up the curtains of the House, and the Tent of meeting with its cover and the leather cover over it, and the hangings for the door of the Tent of meeting;
And the hangings for the open space round the House and the altar, and the curtain for its doorway, with the cords and all the things used for them; whatever is necessary for these, they are to do.
From the mouth of Aaron and his sons the Gershonites will have word about all the things they are to do and take up; you are to give them their orders.
This is the work of the family of the Gershonites in the Tent of meeting, and they will be under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.
The sons of Merari are to be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;
Every one from thirty to fifty years old who is able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.
And this is their part in the work of the Tent of meeting: the transport of the boards and the rods of the Tent, with the pillars and their bases;
And the pillars of the open space outside it, with their bases and their nails and cords and all the instruments used, and everything which has to be done there; all the instruments for which they are responsible are to be numbered by name.
This is the work which the sons of Merari are to do in connection with the Tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.
So Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the people took in hand the numbering of the sons of the Kohathites, by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;
Numbering all those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work in the Tent of meeting;
And the number of all these was two thousand, seven hundred and fifty.
This is the number of those of the Kohathites who did the work in the Tent of meeting, as they were numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.
And those of the sons of Gershon who were numbered by families,
All those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work in the Tent of meeting,
Who were numbered by families in the order of their fathers' houses, were two thousand, six hundred and thirty.
This is the number of the sons of Gershon who did the work in the Tent of meeting, as they were numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.
And those of the sons of Merari who were numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses,
All those from thirty to fifty years old who did the work in the Tent of meeting,
Who were numbered by families, were three thousand, two hundred.
This is the number of the sons of Merari, numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.
And all the Levites who were numbered by Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the people, by families, in the order of their fathers' houses,
Those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work of the Tent of meeting and of its transport,
Came to eight thousand, five hundred and eighty.
At the order of the Lord they were numbered by Moses, every one in relation to his work and to his part in the transport; so they were numbered by Moses at the order of the Lord.