Numbers 8

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Yahweh said to Moses/me,

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 to put the seven lamps on the lampstand and place them in such a way that they shine toward the front of the lampstand.”

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

So [Moses/I told him what Yahweh said], and he did that.

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 had been made from gold that had been hammered [from one large lump of gold], from its base to the decorations at the top [that resembled] flowers. The lampstand was made exactly like Yahweh had told Moses/me that it should be made.

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

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

“You must cause the descendants of Levi to be acceptable to me by setting them apart from the other Israeli people.

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,

Do that by sprinkling them with water [which will symbolize] their being freed/cleansed from [the guilt of] their sins. Then they must shave [off all the hair on] their bodies and wash their clothes.

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:

Then they must bring to the Sacred Tent one bull and some grain mixed with [olive] oil. [Those things will be burned] as sacrifices. They must also bring another bull [that will enable me to forgive them] for the sins they have committed.

9 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the covenant, calling together all the multitude of the children of Israel:

Then you must summon all the Israeli people to come together in front of the Sacred Tent, to [gather around] the descendants of Levi.

10 And when the Levites are before the Lord, the children of Israel shall put their hands upon them:

Then the Israeli people must lay their hands on the descendants of Levi.

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 must then present them to me to be a gift from the Israeli people, in order that they can work for me [at the Sacred Tent].

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.

“After that, the descendants of Levi must place their hands on the heads of the two bulls. Then the bulls will be [killed and] burned on the altar. One will be an offering to enable me [to forgive them for] sins they have committed, and the other will be completely burned [to please me].

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,

The descendants of Levi must stand [at the altar] in front of Aaron and his sons, and you must then dedicate to me the descendants of Levi.

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

This ritual will show that the descendants of Levi are set apart from the other Israelis and that they 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.

“After the descendants of Levi have been made acceptable to me, and presented to me like a special offering, they may start to work at the Sacred Tent.

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

They will belong to me. They will work for me as substitutes for the firstborn males of all the Israelis, [who also belong to me].

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:

All the firstborn males in Israel, both the people and the animals, are mine. When I caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die, [I (spared/did not kill) the firstborn males of the Israelis]. I set them apart to belong to me. I said that the firstborn males of all their domestic animals would also belong to me.

18 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel:

But now I have chosen the descendants of Levi to take the places of the firstborn males of other Israelis.

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.

I have appointed the descendants of Levi to help Aaron and his sons at the Sacred Tent, as Aaron and his sons offer the sacrifices so that the Israeli people’s sins will be forgiven, and to prevent the Israelis from coming close to the tent with the result that a plague would cause many of them to become sick and die.”

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:

Aaron and Moses/I and the other Israelis helped the descendants of Levi to do everything that Yahweh had commanded.

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 descendants of Levi [sprinkled themselves with water to symbolize that] they had been freed/cleansed from [the guilt of] their sins, and they washed their clothes. Then Aaron brought them to [the altar to] present them to Yahweh, and he offered sacrifices to cleanse them from [the guilt of] their sins and cause them to become acceptable to Yahweh.

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.

After that, the descendants of Levi started to work at the Sacred Tent to assist Aaron and his sons. They did that just as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.

23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Yahweh also said this to Moses/me:

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.

“The descendants of Levi who are between 25 and 50 years old will work at the Sacred Tent.

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

But after they become 50 years old, they must (retire/not do that work any more).

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 may help the other descendants of Levi to do their work at the Sacred Tent, but they must not do the work themselves. That is what you must tell them about the work they will do.”