24. The Gershonites will be responsible
25. for carrying the curtains of the sacred tent, its two outer coverings, the curtain for the entrance to the tent,
26. the curtains hanging around the courtyard of the tent, and the curtain and ropes for the entrance to the courtyard. The Gershonites are to do whatever needs to be done to take care of these things,
27. and they will carry them wherever Aaron and his sons tell them to.
28. These are the duties of the Gershonites at the sacred tent, and Ithamar son of Aaron will make sure they do their work.
29-30. The Lord said:Moses, find out how many men between thirty and fifty are in the two Levite clans of Merari, but count only those who are able to work at the sacred tent.
31. The Merarites will be responsible for carrying the frames of the tent and its other pieces, including the bars, the posts, the stands,
32. as well as the posts that support the courtyard, together with their stands, tent pegs, and ropes. The Merarites are to be told exactly what objects they are to carry,
33. and Ithamar son of Aaron will make sure they do their work.
34-49. Moses, Aaron, and the other Israelite leaders obeyed the Lord and counted the Levi tribe by families and clans, to find out how many men there were between the ages of thirty and fifty who could work at the sacred tent. There were two thousand seven hundred and fifty Kohathites, two thousand six hundred and thirty Gershonites, and three thousand two hundred Merarites, making a total of eight thousand five hundred and eighty. Then they were all assigned their duties.