Numbers 8

1 And Yahweh spake unto Moses saying:

Then the LORD said to Moses,

2 Speak unto Aaron, and thou shalt say unto him, —When thou lightest up the lamps, over against the front of the lampstand, shall the seven lamps give light.

“Speak to Aaron and tell him: ‘When you set up the seven lamps, they are to light the area in front of the lampstand.’”

3 And Aaron did so, over against the front of the lampstand, lighted he up the lamps thereof, —As Yahweh commanded Moses,

And Aaron did so; he set up the lamps facing toward the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

4 Now, this, was the work of the lampstand—beaten work of gold both in the shaft thereof and in the flowers thereof, was it beaten work, according to the appearance which Yahweh caused to appear unto Moses, so, made he the lampstand.

This is how the lampstand was constructed: it was made of hammered gold from its base to its blossoms, fashioned according to the pattern the LORD had shown Moses.

5 And Yahweh spake unto Moses, saying:

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

6 Take the Levites, out of the midst of the sons of Israel, —and thou shalt purify them.

“Take the Levites from among the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean.

7 And, thus, shalt thou do unto them, to purify them, sprinkle upon them sin-cleansing water, —then shall they, cause a razor to pass over all their flesh, and shall wash their clothes and so make themselves pure.

This is what you must do to cleanse them: Sprinkle them with the water of purification. Have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.

8 Then shall they take a choice young bullock, with the meal-offering thereof even fine meal overflowed with oil, —and a second choice young bullock, shalt thou take. as a sin-bearer.

Then have them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.

9 Then shalt thou bring the Levites near, before the tent of meeting, —and shalt call together all the assembly of the sons of Israel;

Bring the Levites before the Tent of Meeting and assemble the whole congregation of Israel.

10 and shalt bring the Levites near before Yahweh, —and the sons of Israel shall lean their hands upon the Levites;

You are to present the Levites before the LORD and have the Israelites lay their hands upon them.

11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites as a wave-offering before Yahweh, from among the sons of Israel, —so shall they be for performing the laborious work of Yahweh.

Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may perform the service of the LORD.

12 And, the Levites, shall lean their hands upon the head of the bullocks; then make thou of the one a sin-bearer and of the other an ascending-sacrifice unto Yahweh, to put a propitiatory-covering over the Levites.

And the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and offer to the LORD one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites.

13 Thus shalt thou cause the Levites to stand before Aaron and before his sons, —thus shalt thou offer them as a wave-offering unto Yahweh;

You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and then present them before the LORD as a wave offering.

14 thus shalt thou separate the Levites out of the midst of the sons of Israel, —thus shall the Levites become mine.

In this way you shall separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites will belong to Me.

15 And after that, shall the Levites enter to do the labour of the tent of meeting, —so shalt thou purify them, and offer them as a wave-offering,

After you have cleansed them and presented them as a wave offering, they may come to serve at the Tent of Meeting.

16 For, given, given, they are unto me, out of the midst of the sons of Israel, —instead of every firstborn that a mother beareth from among the sons of Israel, have I taken them unto me.

For the Levites have been wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself in place of all who come first from the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel.

17 For mine, is every firstborn among the sons of Israel, among men and among beasts, —on the day when I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, did I hallow them unto me.

For every firstborn male in Israel is Mine, both man and beast. I set them apart for Myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.

18 Therefore have I taken the Levites, —instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel;

But I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel.

19 therefore have I given the Levites as a gift unto Aaron and unto his sons, out of the midst of the sons of Israel, to do the laborious work of the sons of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to put a propitiatory-covering over the sons of Israel, —so shall there be among the sons of Israel, no plague, by the coming nigh of the sons of Israel unto the sanctuary.

And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service for the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting and to make atonement on their behalf, so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach the sanctuary.”

20 And Moses and Aaron and all the assembly of the sons of Israel did thus unto the Levites, —according to all that Yahweh commanded Moses as touching the Levites, so, did the sons of Israel unto them.

So Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel did with the Levites everything that the LORD had commanded Moses they should do.

21 And the Levites accepted the cleansing from sin and washed their clothes, and Aaron offered them as a wave-offering before Yahweh, —and Aaron put a propitiatory-covering over them to make them pure.

The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them.

22 And after that, went the Levites in to do their laborious work in the tent of meeting, before Aaron and before his sons, —as Yahweh commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so, did they unto them.

After that, the Levites came to perform their service at the Tent of Meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. Thus they did with the Levites just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

23 And Yahweh spake unto Moses saying;

And the LORD said to Moses,

24 This is what concerneth the Levites, —from twenty-five years old and upwards, shall they enter to take rank in the host, for doing the laborious work of the tent of meeting;

“This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years of age or older shall enter to perform the service in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

25 but from the age of fifty years, shall they retire from taking rank in the labour, and shall do laborious work no more;

But at the age of fifty, they must retire from performing the work and no longer serve.

26 yet shall they wait upon their brethren in the tent of meeting, by keeping charge, but laborious work, shall they not perform, —thus, shalt thou do unto the Levites, as touching their charges.

After that, they may assist their brothers in fulfilling their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves are not to do the work. This is how you are to assign responsibilities to the Levites.”