Numbers 8

1 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

Yahweh said to Moses/me,

2 Speake vnto Aaron, and say vnto him, When thou lightest the lampes, the seuen lampes shall giue light towarde the forefront of the Candlesticke.

“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, lighting the lampes thereof towarde ye forefront of the Candlesticke, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

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

4 And this was the worke of the Candlesticke, euen of golde beaten out with the hammer, both the shafte, and the flowres thereof was beaten out with the hammer: according to the paterne, which the Lord had shewed Moses, so made he the Candlesticke.

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 spake vnto Moses, saying,

Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

6 Take the Leuites from among the children of Israel, and purifie them.

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

7 And thus shalt thou doe vnto them, when thou purifiest them, Sprinckle water of purification vpon them, and let them shaue all their flesh, and wash their clothes: so they shalbe cleane.

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 Then they shall take a yong bullocke with his meate offring of fine floure, mingled with oyle, and another yong bullocke shalt thou take for a sinne offring.

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 Then thou shalt bring the Leuites before the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and asseble all the Congregation 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 Thou shalt bring the Leuites also before the Lord, and the children of Israel shall put their handes vpon the Leuites.

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

11 And Aaron shall offer the Leuites before the Lord, as a shake offring of ye childre of Israel, that they may execute the seruice of the Lord.

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 And the Leuites shall put their handes vpon the heades of the bullockes, and make thou the one a sinne offring, and the other a burnt offring vnto the Lord, that thou mayest make an atonement for the Leuites.

“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 Leuites before Aaron and before his sonnes, and offer the as a shake offring 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 Thus thou shalt separate the Leuites from among the children of Israel, and the Leuites shall 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 afterwarde shall the Leuites goe in, to serue in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and thou shalt purifie them and offer them, as a shake offering.

“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 For they are freely giuen vnto me from among the children of Israel, for such as open any wombe: for all the first borne of the children of Israel haue I taken them vnto me.

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 first borne of the children of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast: since the day that I smote euery first borne in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for my selfe.

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 haue taken the Leuites for all the first borne 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 haue giuen the Leuites as a gift vnto Aaron, and to his sonnes from among the children of Israel, to do the seruice of the children of Israel in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel, that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come neere vnto the Sanctuarie.

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 Then Moses and Aaron and all the Cogregation of the children of Israel did with the Leuites, according vnto all that the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Leuites: so did the children of Israel vnto them.

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

21 So the Leuites were purified, and washed their clothes, and Aaron offred them as a shake offring before the Lord, and Aaron made an atonement for them, to purifie 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 And after that, went the Leuites in to doe their seruice in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, before Aaron and before his sonnes: as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Leuites, so they did vnto them.

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 spake vnto Moses, saying,

Yahweh also said this to Moses/me:

24 This also belongeth to the Leuites: from fiue and twentie yeere olde and vpwarde, they shall goe in, to execute their office in the seruice of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

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

25 And after the age of fiftie yeere, they shall cease from executing the office, and shall serue no more:

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

26 But they shall minister with their brethre in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, to keepe things committed to their charge, but they shall doe no seruice: thus shalt thou doe vnto the Leuites touching their charges.

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.”