He said,“ Only Levites can carry the ark of God. That’s because the Lord chose them to carry his ark. He chose them to serve him forever in front of the place where his throne is.”

那时大卫说：“除了利未人之外，无人可抬神的约柜；因为耶和华拣选他们抬神的约柜，且永远侍奉他。”

那时大卫说：“除了利未人之外，无人可抬上帝的约柜，因为耶和华拣选他们抬上帝的约柜，永远事奉他。”

那时大卫说：“除了利未人之外，无人可抬神的约柜，因为耶和华拣选他们抬神的约柜，永远事奉他。”

大卫说：“除了利未人以外，谁也不可抬上帝的约柜，因为耶和华只拣选他们抬上帝的约柜，永远事奉祂。”

那时大卫说：“神的约柜，除了利未人以外，没有人可以抬，因为耶和华拣选了他们抬神的约柜，并且永远事奉他。”

那時大衛說：「除了利未人之外，無人可擡神的約櫃；因為耶和華揀選他們擡神的約櫃，且永遠事奉他。」

那時大衛說：「除了利未人之外，無人可抬上帝的約櫃，因為耶和華揀選他們抬上帝的約櫃，永遠事奉他。」

那時大衛說：「除了利未人之外，無人可抬神的約櫃，因為耶和華揀選他們抬神的約櫃，永遠事奉他。」

大衛說：「除了利未人以外，誰也不可抬上帝的約櫃，因為耶和華只揀選他們抬上帝的約櫃，永遠事奉祂。」

那時大衛說：“神的約櫃，除了利未人以外，沒有人可以抬，因為耶和華揀選了他們抬神的約櫃，並且永遠事奉他。”

那時大衛說：『上帝的櫃、除了利未人之外、沒有人可以抬；因為永恆主所揀選來抬永恆主的櫃、並永遠伺候他的、乃是他們。』

大衛曰、耶和華既簡利未人舁上帝匱、永久奉事之、他人不可舁也、

大闢曰、耶和華簡利未人、舁上帝匱、供其役事、歷代勿替、自是舁匱、必以利未人。

其時大衛曰、利未人之外、無人可舁天主之匱、因主特選利未人、舁天主之匱、且奉事之、至於永遠、

Then David said,“ No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister before him forever.”

Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever.

Then he commanded,“ No one except the Levites may carry the Ark of God. The Lord has chosen them to carry the Ark of the Lord and to serve him forever.”

Then David said,“ No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before him forever.”

Then David said,“ No one is to carry the ark of God except the Levites; for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to serve Him forever.”

Then David said,“ No one may carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever.”

Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath Jehovah chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.

Then David said,“ No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister before Him forever.”

Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.

Then David said,“ Only the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD and to serve before him perpetually.

Then David said,“ No one ought to carry God’s ark but the Levites. For Yahweh has chosen them to carry God’s ark, and to minister to him forever.”

At that time the Lord set the tribe of Levi apart. He appointed them to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord. He wanted them to serve him. He told them to bless the people in his name. And they still do it today.

The Lord says,“ David will always have a son to sit on the throne of Israel.The priests, who are Levites, will always have a man to serve me. He will sacrifice burnt offerings. He will burn grain offerings. And he will offer sacrifices.”A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah.The Lord said,“ Could you ever break my covenant with the day? Could you ever break my covenant with the night? Could you ever stop day and night from coming at their appointed times?Only then could my covenant with my servant David be broken. Only then could my covenant with the Levites who serve me as priests be broken. Only then would David no longer have someone from his family line to rule on his throne.Here is what I will do for my servant David. And here is what I will do for the Levites who serve me. I will make their children after them as many as the stars in the sky. And I will make them as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. It will be impossible to count them.”

The Lord spoke to Aaron. He said,“ You, your sons and your family are in charge of the sacred tent. You will be responsible for sins connected with the tent. And you and your sons alone will be responsible for sins connected with the office of priest.Bring the Levites from your tribe to join you. They will help you when you and your sons serve at the tent of meeting. That is where the tablets of the covenant law are kept.The Levites will work for you. They must do everything that needs to be done at the tent. But they must not go near anything that belongs to the sacred tent. And they must not go near the altar. If they do, they and you will die.They will help you take care of the tent of meeting. They will join you in all the work at the tent. No one else can come near you there.“ You will be responsible for taking care of the sacred tent and the altar. Then I will not be angry with the Israelites again.I myself have chosen the Levites. I have chosen them from among the Israelites. They are a gift to you. I have set them apart to do the work at the tent of meeting.But only you and your sons can serve as priests. Only you and your sons can work with everything at the altar and behind the curtain. I am letting you serve as priests. It is a gift from me. Anyone else who comes near the sacred tent must be put to death.”Then the Lord spoke to Aaron. He said,“ I have put you in charge of the offerings brought to me. The Israelites will give me holy offerings. I will give all their offerings to you and your sons. They are the part that belongs to you. They are your share for all time to come.

Moses wrote down this law. He gave it to the priests, who are sons of Levi. They carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. He also gave the law to all the elders of Israel.

“ Here is what the Levites must do. Men 25 years old or more must come and take part in the work at the tent of meeting.But when they reach the age of 50, they must not work any longer. They must stop doing their regular work.They can help their brothers with their duties at the tent of meeting. But they themselves should not do the work. That is how you must direct the Levites to do their work.”

“ Count the Levites who belong to the families of Kohath. Make a list of them family by family.Count all the men 30 to 50 years old. Those are the men who must come and serve at the tent of meeting.“ Here is the work the men of Kohath must do at the tent of meeting. They must take care of the things that are very holy.When the camp is ready to move, Aaron and his sons must go into the tent. They must take down the curtain that hides the ark where the tablets of the covenant law are kept. They must cover the ark with the curtain.Then they must cover that with strong leather. They must spread a solid blue cloth over the leather. And they must put the poles in place.“ They must spread a blue cloth over the table for the holy bread. They must put the plates, dishes and bowls on the cloth. They must also put the jars for drink offerings on it. The bread that is always kept there must remain on it.They must spread a bright red cloth over everything. Then they must cover that with the strong leather. And they must put the poles of the table in place.“ They must get a blue cloth. With it they must cover the lampstand that gives light. They must also cover its lamps, trays and wick cutters. And they must cover all its jars. The jars are for the olive oil used in the lampstand.Then Aaron and his sons must wrap the lampstand and all the things used with it. They must cover it with the strong leather. And they must put it on a frame to carry it.“ They must spread a blue cloth over the gold altar for burning incense. They must cover that with the strong leather. And they must put the poles of the altar in place.“ They must get all the things used for serving in the sacred tent. They must wrap them in a blue cloth. They must cover that with the strong leather. Then they must put those things on a frame to carry them.“ They must remove the ashes from the bronze altar for burnt offerings. They must spread a purple cloth over it.Then they must place all the tools on it. The tools are used for serving at the altar. They include the pans for carrying ashes. They also include the meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Aaron and his sons must cover the altar with the strong leather. And they must put its poles in place.“ Aaron and his sons must cover all the holy things that belong to the holy tent. Only then are the men of Kohath to come and carry everything. They must do so only when the camp is ready to move. But they must not touch the holy things. If they do, they will die. The men of Kohath must carry everything in the tent of meeting.

They gave orders to the people. They said,“ Watch for the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. The priests, who are Levites, will be carrying it. When you see it, you must move out from where you are and follow it.

Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons. Then give them as a wave offering to me.That is how I want you to set apart the Levites from the other Israelites. The Levites will belong to me.

I want them to live and not die when they come near the very holy things. So here is what you must do for them. Aaron and his sons must go into the sacred tent and tell each man what to do. They must tell each man what to carry.But the men of Kohath must not go in and look at the holy things. They must not look at them even for a moment. If they do, they will die.”

But Moses didn’t give any carts or oxen to the men from the family of Kohath. They had to carry the holy things on their shoulders. They were responsible for the holy things.

So Joshua, the son of Nun, called for the priests. He said to them,“ Go and get the ark of the covenant of the Lord. I want seven of you to carry trumpets in front of it.”

And I will choose some of them to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

The Levites taught all the people of Israel. The Levites had been set apart to the Lord. Josiah said to them,“ Put the sacred ark of the covenant in the temple Solomon built. He was the son of David and king of Israel. The ark must not be carried around on your shoulders. Serve the Lord your God. Serve his people Israel.