15. When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them, so that they will not touch the holy objects and die. These are the things in the tent of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.
16. "The responsibility of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is the oil for the light and the fragrant incense and the continual grain offering and the anointing oil-the responsibility of all the tabernacle and of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings."
17. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
18. "Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites.
19. But do this to them that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his work and to his load;
20. but they shall not go in to see the holy objects even for a moment, or they will die."
21. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
22. "Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' households, by their families;
23. from thirty years and upward to fifty years old, you shall number them; all who enter to perform the service to do the work in the tent of meeting.
24. This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in carrying:
25. they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of porpoise skin that is on top of it, and the screen for the doorway of the tent of meeting,
26. and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the doorway of the gate of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service; and all that is to be done, they shall perform.
27. All the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their loads and in all their work, shall be performed at the command of Aaron and his sons; and you shall assign to them as a duty all their loads.
28. This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their duties shall be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
29. "As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families, by their fathers' households;
30. from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, you shall number them, everyone who enters the service to do the work of the tent of meeting.
31. Now this is the duty of their loads, for all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle and its bars and its pillars and its sockets,
32. and the pillars around the court and their sockets and their pegs and their cords, with all their equipment and with all their service; and you shall assign each man by name the items he is to carry.