Numbers 4:13-21
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 4
13Then they shall clean away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. 14They shall also put on it all its utensils by which they serve in connection with it: the firepans, the forks, shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread a cover of fine leather over it and insert its carrying poles. 15When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them by the poles, so that they will not touch the holy objects and die. These are the things in the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.
17Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
18Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be eliminated from among the Levites.
19Rather, do this for them so that they will live and not die when they approach the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his work and to his load;
20but they shall not come in to see the holy objects even for a moment, or they will die.'
King James Version
Chapter 4
13And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon: 14And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basons, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skins, and put to the staves of it. 15And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation. 16And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof. 17And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 18Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites: 19But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden: 20But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 4
13"They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it, 14and place all the equipment on it that they use in serving: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and basins--all the equipment of the altar. They are to spread a covering made of fine leather over it and insert its poles.
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."
New Living Translation
Chapter 4
13They must remove the ashes from the altar for sacrifices and cover the altar with a purple cloth. 14All the altar utensils — the firepans, meat forks, shovels, basins, and all the containers — must be placed on the cloth, and a covering of fine goatskin leather must be spread over them. Finally, they must put the carrying poles in place. 15The camp will be ready to move when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the sacred articles. The Kohathites will come and carry these things to the next destination. But they must not touch the sacred objects, or they will die. So these are the things from the Tabernacle that the Kohathites must carry.
17Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
18Do not let the Kohathite clans be destroyed from among the Levites!
19This is what you must do so they will live and not die when they approach the most sacred objects. Aaron and his sons must always go in with them and assign a specific duty or load to each person.
20The Kohathites must never enter the sanctuary to look at the sacred objects for even a moment, or they will die.'
English Standard Version
Chapter 4
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 the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but 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.
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 the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden,
20but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”
New International Version
Chapter 4
13They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14Then they are to place on it all the utensils used for ministering at the altar, including the firepans, meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Over it they are to spread a covering of the durable leather and put the poles in place.
17The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
18See that the Kohathite tribal clans are not destroyed from among the Levites.
19So that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work and what he is to carry.
20But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die.'
New King James Version
Chapter 4
13Also they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. 14They shall put on it all its implements with which they minister there—the firepans, the forks, the shovels, the basins, and all the utensils of the altar—and they shall spread on it a covering of badger skins, and insert its poles.
17Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
18“Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;
19but do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint each of them to his service and his task.
20But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die.”