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.
24. This is the task of the clans of the Gershonites, what they must do and what they must carry:
25. they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting with its covering and the outer wrapping of yellow-orange skin, the curtain at the entrance of the tent of meeting,
26. the hangings of the court, the curtain at the entrance to the gate of the court that encloses both the tabernacle and the altar, together with their ropes and all other objects necessary for their use. Whatever is to be done to maintain these things, they shall do.
27. The service of the Gershonites shall be entirely under the direction of Aaron and his sons, with regard to what they must carry and what they must do; you shall list for them by name what they are to carry.
28. This, then, is the task of the clans of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting; and they shall be under the supervision of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.
29. The Merarites, too, you shall enroll by clans and ancestral houses,
30. enrolling all between thirty and fifty years of age who will join the personnel to maintain the tent of meeting.
31. This is what they shall be responsible for carrying, with respect to all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle with its bars, columns and pedestals,
32. and the columns of the surrounding court with their pedestals, pegs and ropes, including all their accessories and everything for their maintenance. You shall list by name the objects they shall be responsible for carrying.