Numbers 8

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

The Lord told Moses,

2 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.

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

3 And Aaron did so, and he put the lamps upon the candlestick, as the Lord 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 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.

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 the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

The Lord told Moses,

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

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

7 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,

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 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:

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 tabernacle of the covenant, calling together all the multitude 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 when the Levites are before the Lord, the children of Israel shall put their hands upon them:

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 gift in the sight of the Lord from the children of Israel, that they may serve in his ministry.

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 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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 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:

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 for all the firstborn of the children of Israel:

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

19 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.

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

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

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

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 the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

The Lord told Moses,

24 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.

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

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

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

26 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.

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.”