13. “They must clean the ashes out of the bronze altar and spread a purple cloth over it.
14. Then they must gather together all the things that are used for worship at the altar. These are the firepans, forks, shovels, and the bowls. They must put these things on the bronze altar. Then they must spread a covering of fine leather over the altar and put the poles for carrying it in the rings on the altar.
15. “Aaron and his sons must finish covering all the holy things in the Holy Place. Then the men from the Kohath family can go in and begin carrying these things. In this way they will not touch the holy things and die.
16. “Eleazar son of Aaron the priest will be responsible for the Holy Tent. He will be responsible for everything in it, including the holy things. He will be responsible for the oil for the lamp, the sweet-smelling incense, the daily offering, and the anointing oil.”
17. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
18. “Be careful! Don’t let these Kohathite men be destroyed.
19. You must do these things so that the Kohathite men can go near the most holy things and not die. Aaron and his sons must go in and show each Kohathite man what to do and what to carry.
20. If you don’t do this, the Kohathite men might go in and look at the holy things. If they look at these things, even for a moment, they must die.”
21. The Lord said to Moses,
22. “Count all the people of the Gershon family. List them by family and family group.
23. Count all the men who are from 30 to 50 years old who come to serve. These men will have the job of caring for the Meeting Tent.
24. “This is what the Gershonite family must do and the things they must carry:
25. They must carry the curtains of the Holy Tent, the Meeting Tent, its covering, and the covering made from fine leather. They must also carry the curtain at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.
26. They must carry the curtains of the courtyard that are around the Holy Tent and the altar. And they must carry the curtain for the entrance of the courtyard. They must also carry all the ropes and all the things that are used with the curtains. The Gershonite men will be responsible for anything that needs to be done with these things.