Numbers 8

1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses saying,

The Lord told Moses,

2 Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.

“Tell Aaron, ‘When you place the seven lamps on the lampstand, make sure they shine towards the front.’”

3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

So that's what Aaron did. He placed the lamps facing towards the front of the lampstand, as the Lord had ordered Moses.

4 And this was the work of the candlestick: [it was] of beaten gold; from its base to its flowers was it beaten work; according to the form which Jehovah had shewn Moses, so had he made the candlestick.

The lampstand was made of hammered gold from its base to the flower decorations on the top, in accordance with the design that the Lord had shown Moses.

5 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.

“Separate the Levites from the other Israelites and purify them.

7 And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: sprinkle upon them water of purification from sin; and they shall pass the razor over all their flesh, and shall wash their garments, and make themselves clean.

This is how you will purify them. Sprinkle on them the water of purification. They are to shave off all the hair from their bodies and wash their clothes so they will be clean.

8 And they shall take a young bullock and its oblation of fine flour mingled with oil; and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin-offering.

Have them bring a young bull with its grain offering of the best flour mixed with olive oil, and you are to bring a second young bull as a sin offering.

9 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tent of meeting; and thou shalt gather together the whole assembly of the children of Israel.

Take the Levites and have them stand in front of the Tent of Meeting and have all the Israelites gather there.

10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before Jehovah; and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites.

When you bring the Levites to the Lord the Israelites are to place their hands upon them.

11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites as a wave-offering before Jehovah from the children of Israel, and they shall perform the service of Jehovah.

Aaron shall present the Levites to the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites so that they can do the Lord's work.

12 And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks, and thou shalt offer the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, to Jehovah, to make atonement for the Levites.

The Levites are to place their hands on the heads of the bulls. One is to be sacrificed as a sin offering to the Lord, and the other as a burnt offering to set the Levites right with the Lord.

13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them as a wave-offering to Jehovah.

Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and present them to the Lord as a wave offering.

14 And thou shalt separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, that the Levites may be mine.

This is how you are to separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites will belong to me.

15 And afterwards shall the Levites come in to do the service of the tent of meeting. And thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them as a wave-offering.

They can come and serve at the Tent of Meeting once you've purified them and presented them as a wave offering.

16 For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of every one that breaketh open the womb, instead of every firstborn among the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.

The Levites have been completely given over to me by the Israelites. I have accepted them as mine in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites.

17 For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both of man and beast; on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed them to myself.

Every firstborn male in Israel belongs to me, both human and animal. I reserved them for myself at the time when I killed all the firstborn in Egypt.

18 And I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel.

I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites.

19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons, from among the children of Israel, to perform 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 draw near to the sanctuary.

Of all the Israelites, the Levites are a gift from me to Aaron and his sons to serve the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting, and on their behalf to set them right, so that nothing bad will happen to them when they come to the sanctuary.”

20 And Moses and Aaron, and all the assembly of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according to all that Jehovah had commanded Moses concerning the Levites: so did the children of Israel to them.

Moses, Aaron, and all the Israelites did everything that the Lord had ordered Moses that they should do regarding the Levites.

21 And the Levites purified themselves from sin, and they washed their garments; and Aaron offered them as a wave-offering before Jehovah; and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.

The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering to the Lord. Aaron also presented the sacrifice to make them right with the Lord so they would be clean.

22 And afterwards the Levites came in to perform their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron, and before his sons; as Jehovah had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they to them.

Afterwards the Levites came to perform their service at the Tent of Meeting under the direction of Aaron and his sons. They followed all the instructions regarding the Levites that the Lord had given to Moses.

23 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

24 This is that which concerneth the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward shall he come to labour in the work of the service of the tent of meeting.

“This rule applies to the Levites. Those twenty-five or older shall serve at the Tent of Meeting.

25 And from fifty years old he shall retire from the labour of the service, and shall serve no more;

However, once they reach the age of fifty they need to retire from the work and won't serve any longer.

26 but he shall minister with his brethren in the tent of meeting, and keep the charge, but he shall not serve [in] the service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites with regard to their charges.

They can still help their fellow Levites in their assignments, but they are not to do the actual work themselves. These are the arrangements in the case of the Levites.”