Numbers 8

1 And he spoke Yahweh to Moses saying.

The Lord told Moses,

2 Speak to Aaron and you will say to him when lifting up you the lamps to [the] front of [the] face of the lampstand they will give light [the] seven the lamps.

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

3 And he did so Aaron to [the] front of [the] face of the lampstand he lifted up lamps its just as he had commanded Yahweh 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 [was] [the] work of the lampstand hammered work gold to base its to blossom its [was] hammered work it like the appearance which he had shown Yahweh Moses so he 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 he spoke Yahweh to Moses saying.

The Lord told Moses,

6 Take the Levites from among [the] people of Israel and you will purify them.

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

7 And thus you will do to them to purify them spatter on them water of sin offering and they will cause to pass a razor over all body their and they will wash clothes their and they will purify 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 they will take a young bull a young one of cattle and grain offering its fine flour mixed with oil and a young bull second a young one of cattle you will take to 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 will bring near the Levites before [the] tent of meeting and you will assemble all [the] congregation of [the] people 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 will bring near the Levites before Yahweh and they will lay [the] people of Israel hands their on the Levites.

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

11 And he will wave Aaron the Levites a wave-offering before Yahweh from with [the] people of Israel and they will be to serve [the] service of Yahweh.

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 they will lay hands their on [the] head of the young bulls and offer the one a sin offering and the one a burnt offering to Yahweh to make atonement on 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 will make stand the Levites before Aaron and before sons his and you will wave them a wave-offering to Yahweh.

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

14 And you will separate the Levites from among [the] people of Israel and they will belong to me the Levites.

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

15 And after thus they will go the Levites to serve [the] tent of meeting and you will purify them and you will wave them 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 [are] assigned assigned they to me from among [the] people of Israel in place of [the] firstborn of every womb [the] firstborn of all from [the] people of Israel I have taken them for myself.

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 [belongs] to me every firstborn among [the] people of Israel among humankind and among the livestock on [the] day struck I every firstborn in [the] land of Egypt I set apart 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 have taken the Levites in place of every firstborn among [the] people of Israel.

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

19 And I have given! the Levites given [things] - to Aaron and to sons his from among [the] people of Israel to serve [the] service of [the] people of Israel in [the] tent of meeting and to make atonement on [the] people of Israel and not it will be among [the] people of Israel a plague when draw near [the] people of Israel 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 he did Moses and Aaron and all [the] congregation of [the] people of Israel to the Levites according to all that he had commanded Yahweh Moses of the Levites so they did to them [the] people of Israel.

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

21 And they purified themselves the Levites and they washed clothes their and he waved Aaron them a wave-offering before Yahweh and he made atonement on them Aaron to purify 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 after thus they went the Levites to serve service their in [the] tent of meeting before Aaron and before sons his just as he had commanded Yahweh Moses on the Levites so they did 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 he spoke Yahweh to Moses saying.

The Lord told Moses,

24 This [is that] which [is] to the Levites from a son of five and twenty year[s] and up-wards he will go to serve service 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 year[s] he will turn back from [the] service of the service and not he will serve again.

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

26 And he will serve brothers his in [the] tent of meeting by keeping a duty and service not he will serve thus you will do to the Levites in duties their.

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.”