Numbers 8

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2 Speak to Aaron, and you shall say to him, Whenever you shall set the lamps in order, the seven lamps shall give light opposite the candlestick.

3 And Aaron did so: on one side opposite the candlestick he lighted its lamps, as the Lord appointed 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 showed Moses, so he made the candlestick.

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

6 Take the Levites out of the midst of the children of Israel, and you shall purify them.

7 And thus shall you perform their purification: you shall 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.

8 And they shall take one calf of the herd, and its meat-offering, fine flour mingled with oil: and you shall take a calf of a year old of the herd for a sin-offering.

9 And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of witness; and you shall assemble all the congregation of the sons of Israel.

10 And you shall bring the Levites before the Lord; and the sons 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.

12 And the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the calves; and you shall offer one for a sin-offering, and the other for a whole burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for them.

13 And you shall set the Levites before the Lord, and before Aaron, and before his sons; and you shall give them as a gift before the Lord.

14 And you shall separate the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and they shall be mine.

15 And afterwards the Levites shall go in to perform the works of the tabernacle of witness; and you shall purify them, and present them before the Lord.

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 firstborn of the sons of Israel that open every womb.

17 For every firstborn amongst the children of Israel [is] mine, whether of man or beast: in the day in which I struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them to myself.

18 And I took the Levites in the place of every firstborn amongst 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 amongst the sons of Israel to draw near to the holy things.

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.

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.

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.

23 And the Lord spoke to 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.

25 And from fifty years old [the Levites] shall cease from the ministry, and shall not work any longer.

26 And his brother shall serve in the tabernacle of witness to keep charges, but he shall not do works: so shall you do to the Levites in their charges.