¹ Now the Lord ²  spoke ³  to Moses in the tent of meeting ⁴  in the wilderness ⁵  of Sinai ⁶  on the first day of the second month of the second year after ⁷  the Israelites ⁸  departed from the land of Egypt. ⁹  He said:

“Every one ¹  of the Israelites must camp ²  under his standard with the emblems of his family; ³  they must camp at some distance ⁴  around the tent of meeting. ⁵ 

“Then the tent of meeting with the camp of the Levites will travel in the middle of the camps. They will travel in the same order as they camped, each in his own place ¹  under his standard.

This is the service of the families of the Gershonites concerning the tent of meeting. Their responsibilities will be under the authority ¹  of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. ² 

This is the service of the families of the Merarites, their entire service concerning the tent of meeting, under the authority of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”

These were those numbered from the families of the Kohathites, everyone who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord by the authority of Moses.

These were those numbered from the families of the Gershonites, everyone who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord.

from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered to do the work of service and the work of carrying ¹  relating to the tent of meeting –

“‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite: When the days of his separation are fulfilled, he must be brought ¹  to the entrance of the tent of meeting,

“‘Then the Nazirite must shave his consecrated head ¹  at the entrance to the tent of meeting and must take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire ²  where the peace offering is burning. ³ 

“Receive these gifts ¹  from them, that they may be ²  used in doing the work ³  of the tent of meeting; and you must give them to the Levites, to every man ⁴  as his service requires.” ⁵ 

After this, the Levites went in to do their work in the tent of meeting before Aaron and before his sons. As the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did.

They may assist ¹  their colleagues ²  in the tent of meeting, to attend to needs, but they must do no work. This is the way you must establish ³  the Levites regarding their duties.”

Whenever the cloud was taken up ¹  from the tabernacle, then after that the Israelites would begin their journey; and in whatever place ²  the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp.

The Lord spoke immediately to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam: “The three of you come to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them went.

And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent; he then called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.

However, the whole community threatened to stone them. ¹  But ²  the glory ³  of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent ⁴  of meeting.

So everyone took his censer, put fire in it, and set incense on it, and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron.

When ¹  Korah assembled the whole community against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting, then the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community.

When the community assembled ¹  against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting – and ²  the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.