Numbers 8

1 Yahweh said to Moses/me,

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2 “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.”

Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the candlestick.

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

And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof [so as to give light] in front of the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses.

4 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.

And this was the work of the candlestick, beaten work of gold; unto the base thereof, [and] unto the flowers thereof, it was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.

5 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

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

Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.

7 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.

And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of expiation upon them, and let them cause a razor to pass over all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves.

8 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.

Then let them take a young bullock, and its meal offering, fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering.

9 Then you must summon all the Israeli people to come together in front of the Sacred Tent, to [gather around] the descendants of Levi.

And thou shalt present the Levites before the tent of meeting: and thou shalt assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel:

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

and thou shalt present the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites:

11 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].

and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for a wave offering, on the behalf of the children of Israel, that they may be to do the service of the LORD.

12 “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].

And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and offer thou the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to make atonement for the Levites.

13 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.

And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for a wave offering unto the LORD.

14 This ritual will show that the descendants of Levi are set apart from the other Israelis and that they belong to me.

Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.

15 “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.

And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tent of meeting: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for a wave offering.

16 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].

For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of all that openeth the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.

17 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.

For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.

18 But now I have chosen the descendants of Levi to take the places of the firstborn males of other Israelis.

And I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel.

19 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.”

And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.

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

Thus did Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the Levites: according unto all that the LORD commanded Moses touching the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them.

21 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.

And the Levites purified themselves from sin, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them for a wave offering before the LORD; and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.

22 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.

And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron, and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.

23 Yahweh also said this to Moses/me:

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

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

This is that which belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service in the work of the tent of meeting:

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

and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the work, and shall serve no more;

26 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.”

but shall minister with their brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charges.