Numbers 8

1 The Lord told Moses,

And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

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

'Speak unto Aaron, and thou hast said unto him, In thy causing the lights to go up, over-against the face of the candlestick do the seven lights give light.'

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

And Aaron doth so; over-against the face of the candlestick he hath caused its lights to go up, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

4 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.

And this [is] the work of the candlestick: beaten work of gold; unto its thigh, unto its flower it [is] beaten work; as the appearance which Jehovah shewed Moses, so he hath made the candlestick.

5 The Lord told Moses,

And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

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

'Take the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and thou hast cleansed them.

7 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.

'And thus thou dost to them to cleanse them: sprinkle upon them waters of atonement, and they have caused a razor to pass over all their flesh, and have washed their garments, and cleansed themselves,

8 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.

and have taken a bullock, a son of the herd, and its present, flour mixed with oil, — and a second bullock a son of the herd thou dost take for a sin-offering,

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

and thou hast brought near the Levites before the tent of meeting, and thou hast assembled the whole company of the sons of Israel,

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

and thou hast brought near the Levites before Jehovah, and the sons of Israel have laid their hands on the Levites,

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

and Aaron hath waved the Levites — a wave-offering before Jehovah, from the sons of Israel, and they have been — for doing the service of Jehovah.

12 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.

'And the Levites lay their hands on the head of the bullocks, and make thou the one a sin-offering, and the one a burnt-offering to Jehovah, to atone for the Levites,

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

and thou hast caused the Levites to stand before Aaron, and before his sons, and hast waved them — a wave-offering to Jehovah;

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

and thou hast separated the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and the Levites have become Mine;

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

and afterwards do the Levites come in to serve the tent of meeting, and thou hast cleansed them, and hast waved them — a wave-offering.

16 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.

'For they are certainly given to Me out of the midst of the sons of Israel, instead of him who openeth any womb — the first-born of all — from the sons of Israel I have taken them to Myself;

17 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.

for Mine [is] every first-born among the sons of Israel, among man and among beast; in the day of my smiting every first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself;

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

and I take the Levites instead of every first-born among the sons of Israel:

19 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.”

'And I give the Levites gifts to Aaron and to his sons, from the midst of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the sons of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the sons of Israel, and there is no plague among the sons of Israel in the sons of Israel's drawing nigh unto the sanctuary.'

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

And Moses doth — Aaron also, and all the company of the sons of Israel — to the Levites according to all that Jehovah hath commanded Moses concerning the Levites; so have the sons of Israel done to them.

21 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.

And the Levites cleanse themselves, and wash their garments, and Aaron waveth them a wave-offering before Jehovah, and Aaron maketh atonement for them to cleanse them,

22 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.

and afterwards have the Levites gone in to do their service in the tent of meeting, before Aaron and before his sons; as Jehovah hath commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they have done to them.

23 The Lord told Moses,

And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

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

'This [is] that which [is] the Levites': from a son of five and twenty years and upward he doth go in to serve the host in the service of the tent of meeting,

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

and from a son of fifty years he doth return from the host of the service, and doth not serve any more,

26 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.”

and he hath ministered with his brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, and doth not do service; thus thou dost to the Levites concerning their charge.'