Numbers 8

1 And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

2 “Speak to Aaron, and you have said to him: In your causing the lights to go up, the seven lights give light toward the front of the face of the lampstand.”

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

3 And Aaron does so; he has caused its lights to go up toward the front of the face of the lampstand, as YHWH has 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 [is] the work of the lampstand: beaten work of gold; from its thigh to its flower it [is] beaten work; as the appearance which YHWH showed Moses, so he has made the lampstand.

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 YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

6 “Take the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and you have cleansed them.

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

7 And thus you do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle waters of atonement on them, and they have caused a razor to pass over all their flesh, and have washed their garments, and cleansed themselves,

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 have taken a bullock, a son of the herd, and its present, flour mixed with oil, and you take a second bullock, a son 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 you have brought the Levites near before the Tent of Meeting, and you have assembled all the congregation of the sons 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 you have brought the Levites near before YHWH, and the sons of Israel have laid their hands on the Levites,

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

11 and Aaron has waved the Levites [as] a wave-offering before YHWH, from the sons of Israel, and they have been [consecrated] for doing the service of YHWH.

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 lay their hands on the head of the bullocks, and make one a sin-offering and one a burnt-offering to YHWH, to atone 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 you have caused the Levites to stand before Aaron, and before his sons, and have waved them [as] a wave-offering to YHWH;

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

14 and you have separated the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and the Levites have become 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 afterward the Levites come in to serve the Tent of Meeting, and you have cleansed them, and have waved 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 certainly given to Me out of the midst of the sons of Israel, instead of him who opens any womb—the firstborn of all; I have taken them for Myself from the sons of 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 every firstborn among the sons of Israel [is] Mine, among man and among beast; in the day of My striking every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for 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 take the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel.

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

19 And I give the Levites [as] 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 drawing near to the holy place.”

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 does—Aaron also, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel—to the Levites according to all that YHWH has commanded Moses concerning the Levites; so the sons of Israel have done 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 cleanse themselves, and wash their garments, and Aaron waves them [as] a wave-offering before YHWH, and Aaron makes 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 afterward the Levites have gone in to do their service in the Tent of Meeting, before Aaron and before his sons; as YHWH has commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they have done 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 YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

24 “This [is] who [is] for the Levites: from a son of twenty-five years and upward he goes in to serve the host in 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 a son of fifty years he returns from the host of the service, and does not serve anymore,

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

26 and he has ministered with his brothers in the Tent of Meeting, to keep the charge, and does not do service; thus you do to the Levites concerning 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.”