13. And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it.
14. And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles.
15. And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.
16. “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”
17. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
18. “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites,
19. but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden,
20. but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”
21. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
22. “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses and by their clans.
23. From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting.
24. This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: