Numbers 8

1 And the Lord said to Moses,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

2 Say to Aaron, When you put the lights in their places, the seven lights will give light in front of the support.

Speak to Aaron, and thou shalt say to him: When thou shalt place the seven lamps, let the candlestick be set up on the south side. Give orders therefore that the lamps look over against the north, towards the table of the leaves of proposition, over against that part shall they give light, towards which the candlestick looketh.

3 And Aaron did so; he put the lights in their places so that they gave light in front of the support, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

And Aaron did so, and he put the lamps upon the candlestick, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

4 The support for the lights was of hammered gold work, from its base to its flowers it was of hammered work; from the design which the Lord had given to Moses, he made the support for the lights.

Now this was the work of the candlestick, it was of beaten gold, both the shaft in the middle, and all that came out of both sides of the branches: according to the pattern which the Lord had shewn to Moses, so he made the candlestick.

5 And the Lord said to Moses,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

6 Take the Levites out from among the children of Israel and make them clean.

Take the Levites out of the midst of the children of Israel, and thou shalt purify them,

7 And this is how you are to make them clean: let the holy water which takes away sin be put on them, and let the hair all over their bodies be cut off with a sharp blade, and let their clothing be washed and their bodies made clean.

According to this rite: Let them be sprinkled with the water of purification, and let them shave all the hairs of their flesh. And when they shall have washed their garments, and are cleansed,

8 Then let them take a young ox and its meal offering, crushed grain mixed with oil, and take another ox for a sin-offering.

They shall take an ox of the herd, and for the offering thereof fine flour tempered with oil: and thou shalt take another ox of the herd for a sin offering:

9 And make the Levites come forward in front of the Tent of meeting, and let all the children of Israel come together:

And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the covenant, calling together all the multitude of the children of Israel:

10 And you are to take the Levites before the Lord: and the children of Israel are to put their hands on them:

And when the Levites are before the Lord, the children of Israel shall put their hands upon them:

11 And Aaron is to give the Levites to the Lord as a wave offering from the children of Israel, so that they may do the Lord's work.

And Aaron shall offer the Levites, as a gift in the sight of the Lord from the children of Israel, that they may serve in his ministry.

12 And the Levites are to put their hands on the heads of the oxen, and one of the oxen is to be offered for a sin-offering and the other for a burned offering to the Lord to take away the sin of the Levites.

The Levites also shall put their hands upon the heads of the oxen, of which thou shalt sacrifice one for sin, and the other for a holocaust to the Lord, to pray for them.

13 Then the Levites are to be put before Aaron and his sons, to be offered as a wave offering to the Lord.

And thou shalt set the Levites in the sight of Aaron and of his sons, and shalt consecrate them being offered to the Lord,

14 So you are to make the Levites separate from the children of Israel, and the Levites will be mine.

And shalt separate them from the midst of the children of Israel, to be mine.

15 After that, the Levites will go in to do whatever has to be done in the Tent of meeting; you are to make them clean and give them as a wave offering.

And afterwards they shall enter into the tabernacle of the covenant, to serve me. And thus shalt thou purify and consecrate them for an oblation of the Lord: for as a gift they were given me by the children of Israel.

16 For they have been given to me from among the children of Israel; in place of every mother's first son, the first to come to birth in Israel, I have taken them for myself.

I have taken them instead of the firstborn that open every womb in Israel,

17 For every mother's first son among the children of Israel is mine, the first male birth of man or beast: on the day when I sent death on all the first sons in the land of Egypt, I made them mine.

For all the firstborn of the children of Israel, both of men and of beasts, are mine. From the day that I slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, have I sanctified them to myself:

18 And in place of the first sons among the children of Israel, I have taken the Levites.

And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel:

19 And I have given them to Aaron and to his sons, from among the children of Israel, to undertake for them all the work of the Tent of meeting, and to take away sin from the children of Israel so that no evil may come on them when they come near the holy place.

And have delivered them for a gift to Aaron and his sons out of the midst of the people, to serve me for Israel in the tabernacle of the covenant, and to pray for them, lest there should be a plague among the people, if they should presume to approach unto my sanctuary.

20 All these things Moses and Aaron and the children of Israel did to the Levites; as the Lord gave orders to Moses about the Levites, so the children of Israel did.

And Moses and Aaron and all the multitude of the children of Israel did with the Levites all that the Lord had commanded Moses:

21 And the Levites were made clean from sin, and their clothing was washed, and Aaron gave them for a wave offering before the Lord; and Aaron took away their sin and made them clean.

And they were purified, and washed their garments. And Aaron lifted them up in the sight of the Lard, and prayed for them,

22 And then the Levites went in to do their work in the Tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons: all the orders which the Lord had given Moses about the Levites were put into effect.

That being purified they might go into the tabernacle of the covenant to do their services before Aaron and his sons. As the Lord had commanded Moses touching the Levites, so was it done.

23 And the Lord said to Moses,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

24 This is the rule for the Levites: those of twenty-five years old and over are to go in and do the work of the Tent of meeting;

This is the law of the Levites: From twenty-five years old and upwards, they shall go in to minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.

25 But after they are fifty years old, they are to give up their work and do no more;

And when they shall have accomplished the fiftieth year of their age, they shall cease to serve:

26 But be with their brothers in the Tent of meeting, taking care of it but doing no work. This is what you are to do in connection with the Levites and their work.

And they shall be the ministers of their brethren in the tabernacle of the covenant, to keep the things that are committed to their care, but not to do the works. Thus shalt thou order the Levites touching their charge.