< Numbers 8 >

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak to Aaron, and thou shalt say to him, Whenever thou shalt set the lamps in order, the seven lamps shall give light opposite the candlestick.
Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the candlestick.
3 And Aaron did so: on one side opposite the candlestick he lighted its lamps, as the Lord appointed Moses.
And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof [so as to give light] in front of the candlestick, as Jehovah commanded Moses.
4 And this [is] the construction of the candlestick: [it is] solid, golden—its stem, and its lilies—all solid: according to the pattern which the Lord shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.
And this was the work of the candlestick, beaten work of gold; unto the base thereof, [and] unto the flowers thereof, it was beaten work: according unto the pattern which Jehovah had showed Moses, so he made the candlestick.
5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Take the Levites out of the midst of the children of Israel, and thou shalt purify them.
Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.
7 And thus shalt thou perform their purification: thou shalt sprinkle them with water of purification, and a razor shall come upon the whole of their body, and they shall wash their garments, and shall be clean.
And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of expiation upon them, and let them cause a razor to pass over all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves.
8 And they shall take one calf of the herd, and its meat-offering, fine flour mingled with oil: and thou shalt take a calf of a year old of the herd for a sin-offering.
Then let them take a young bullock, and its meal-offering, fine flour mingled with oil; and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin-offering.
9 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of witness; and thou shalt assemble all the congregation of the sons of Israel.
And thou shalt present the Levites before the tent of meeting: and thou shalt assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel:
10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites.
and thou shalt present the Levites before Jehovah. And the children of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites:
11 And Aaron shall separate the Levites for a gift before the Lord from the children of Israel: and they shall be prepared to perform the works of the Lord.
and Aaron shall offer the Levites before Jehovah for a wave-offering, on the behalf of the children of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of Jehovah.
12 And the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the calves; and thou shalt offer one for a sin-offering, and the other for a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord, to make atonement for them.
And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and offer thou the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, unto Jehovah, to make atonement for the Levites.
13 And thou shalt set the Levites before the Lord, and before Aaron, and before his sons; and thou shalt give them as a gift before the Lord.
And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for a wave-offering unto Jehovah.
14 And thou shalt separate the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and they shall be mine.
Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine.
15 And afterwards the Levites shall go in to perform the works of the tabernacle of witness; and thou shalt purify them, and present them before the Lord.
And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tent of meeting: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for a wave-offering.
16 For these are given to me for a present out of the midst of the children of Israel: I have taken them to myself instead of all the first-born of the sons of Israel that open every womb.
For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of all that openeth the womb, even the first-born of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.
17 For every first-born among the children of Israel [is] mine, whether of man or beast: in the day in which I smote every first-born in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them to myself.
For all the first-born among the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.
18 And I took the Levites in the place of every first-born among the children of Israel.
And I have taken the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel.
19 And I gave the Levites presented as a gift to Aaron and his sons out of the midst of the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of witness, and to make atonement for the children of Israel: thus there shall be none among the sons of Israel to draw nigh to the holy things.
And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel; that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.
20 And Moses and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites as the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them.
Thus did Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the Levites: according unto all that Jehovah commanded Moses touching the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them.
21 So the Levites purified themselves and washed their garments; and Aaron presented them as a gift before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to purify them.
And the Levites purified themselves from sin, and they washed their clothes: and Aaron offered them for a wave-offering before Jehovah; and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.
22 And afterwards the Levites went in to minister in their service in the tabernacle of witness before Aaron, and before his sons; as the Lord appointed Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron, and before his sons: as Jehovah had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.
23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
24 This is the [ordinance] for the Levites; From five and twenty years old and upward, they shall go in to minister in the tabernacle of witness.
This is that which belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service in the work of the tent of meeting:
25 And from fifty years old [the Levites] shall cease from the ministry, and shall not work any longer.
and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the work, and shall serve no more,
26 And his brother shall serve in the tabernacle of witness to keep charges, but he shall not do works: so shalt thou do to the Levites in their charges.
but shall minister with their brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charges.

< Numbers 8 >