14. On this they shall put all the utensils with which it is served: the fire pans, forks, shovels, basins, and all the utensils of the altar. They shall then spread a covering of yellow-orange skin over this, and put the poles in place.
15. Only after Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sacred objects and all their utensils on breaking camp, can the Kohathites enter to carry them. But they shall not touch the sacred objects; if they do they will die. These, then, are the objects in the tent of meeting that the Kohathites shall carry.
16. Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, shall be in charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the established grain offering, and the anointing oil. He shall be in charge of the whole tabernacle with all the sacred objects and utensils that are in it.
17. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:
18. Do not let the group of Kohathite clans perish from among the Levites.
19. That they may live and not die when they approach the most sacred objects, this is what you shall do for them: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign to each of them his task and what he must carry;
20. but the Kohathites shall not go in to look upon the sacred objects even for an instant, or they will die.
21. The Lord said to Moses:
22. Take a census of the Gershonites also, by ancestral houses and clans,
23. enrolling all between thirty and fifty years of age who will join the personnel to do the work in the tent of meeting.