1. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:
2. “Take a census of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families.
3. Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.
4. “This is the work of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting: the care of the most holy things.
5. When the camp is to move, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and put it over the ark of the covenant law.
6. Then they are to cover the curtain with a durable leather, spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles in place.
7. “Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls, and the jars for drink offerings; the bread that is continually there is to remain on it.
8. They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover that with the durable leather and put the poles in place.