13. “They must remove the ashes from the altar for sacrifices and cover the altar with a purple cloth.
14. All 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.
15. The 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.
16. “Eleazar son of Aaron the priest will be responsible for the oil of the lampstand, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. In fact, Eleazar will be responsible for the entire Tabernacle and everything in it, including the sanctuary and its furnishings.”
17. Then the lord said to Moses and Aaron,
18. “Do not let the Kohathite clans be destroyed from among the Levites!
19. This 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.
20. The Kohathites must never enter the sanctuary to look at the sacred objects for even a moment, or they will die.”
21. And the lord said to Moses,
22. “Record the names of the members of the clans and families of the Gershonite division of the tribe of Levi.
23. List all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle.
24. “These Gershonite clans will be responsible for general service and carrying loads.
25. They must carry the curtains of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle itself with its coverings, the outer covering of fine goatskin leather, and the curtain for the Tabernacle entrance.