Numbers 8

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

And the Lord said to Moses,

2 “Speak to Aaron, and you shall say to him: When you place the seven lamps, let the lampstand be set up on the south side. Therefore, give this instruction: that the lamps should look out from the region opposite the north, toward the table of the bread of the presence; they shall give light opposite that area, toward the area that the lampstand faces.”

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

3 And Aaron did so, and he placed the lamps on the lampstand, just as the Lord had instructed Moses.

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.

4 Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand: it was of ductile gold, both the main shaft and all that originated from both sides of the branches. According to the example that the Lord revealed to Moses, so did he make the lampstand.

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.

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

And the Lord said to Moses,

6 “Take the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and you shall purify them

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

7 according to this ritual: Let them be sprinkled with the water of illumination, and let them shave off all the hairs of their body. And when they have washed their garments and have been cleansed,

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.

8 they shall take an ox from the herd, with its libation of fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil; then you shall receive another ox from the herd for sin.

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

9 And you shall bring forward the Levites before the tabernacle of the covenant, calling together all the multitude of the sons of Israel.

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

10 And when the Levites are before the Lord, the sons of Israel shall place their hands upon them.

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

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

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.

12 Likewise, the Levites shall place their hands upon the heads of the oxen; you shall make use of one of these for sin, and the other as a holocaust to the Lord, so that you may intercede for them.

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.

13 And you shall set the Levites in the sight of Aaron and his sons, and you shall consecrate those being offered to the Lord,

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

14 and you shall separate them from the midst of the sons of Israel, so that they may be for me.

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

15 And after this, they shall enter the tabernacle of the covenant, in order to serve me. And so shall you purify and consecrate them as an oblation to the Lord. For they were given to me as a gift from the sons of Israel.

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.

16 I have accepted them in place of the firstborn which open every womb in Israel.

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.

17 For all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, as much from men as from beasts, are mine. From the day when I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I have sanctified them to myself.

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.

18 And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel.

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

19 And I have delivered them as a gift to Aaron and his sons, from the midst of the people, in order to serve me, for Israel, in the tabernacle of the covenant, and in order to pray for them, lest there be a scourge among the people, if they were to dare to approach to my Sanctuary.”

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.

20 And Moses and Aaron, and all the multitude of the sons of Israel, accomplished all that the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites.

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.

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

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.

22 so that, having been purified, they might enter to their duties in the tabernacle of the covenant before Aaron and his sons. Just as the Lord had instructed Moses about the Levites, so was it done.

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.

23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

And the Lord said to Moses,

24 “This is the law of the Levites: From twenty-five years and above, they shall enter to minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.

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;

25 And when they will have completed the fiftieth year of age, they shall cease to serve.

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

26 And they shall be the ministers of their brothers in the tabernacle of the covenant, in order to care for the things that have been commended to them, but not to perform the works themselves. So shall you assign the Levites in their duties.”

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.