Numbers 8

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Speak to Aaron. Say to him, 'The seven lamps must give light in front of the lampstand when you light them.'”

Speak to Aaron, and you shall say to him, Whenever you shall set the lamps in order, the seven lamps shall give light opposite the candlestick.

3 Aaron did this. He lit the lamps on the lampstand to give light toward the front of it, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

And Aaron did so: on one side opposite the candlestick he lighted its lamps, as the Lord appointed Moses.

4 The lampstand was made in this way and Yahweh showed Moses the pattern for it. It was to be hammered gold from its base to its top, with hammered cups like blossoms.

And this [is] the construction of the candlestick: [it is] solid, golden—its stem, and its lilies—all solid: according to the pattern which the Lord showed Moses, so he made the candlestick.

5 Again, Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

6 “Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and purify them.

Take the Levites out of the midst of the children of Israel, and you shall purify them.

7 Do this to them to purify them: Sprinkle the water of atonement on them. Make them shave their entire body, wash their clothes, and in this way purify themselves.

And thus shall you perform their purification: you shall sprinkle them with water of purification, and a razor shall come upon the whole of their body, and they shall wash their garments, and shall be clean.

8 Then have them take a young bull and its grain offering of fine flour mingled with oil. Let them take another young bull as a sin offering.

And they shall take one calf of the herd, and its meat-offering, fine flour mingled with oil: and you shall take a calf of a year old of the herd for a sin-offering.

9 You will bring the Levites in front of the tent of meeting and assemble the whole community of the people of Israel.

And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of witness; and you shall assemble all the congregation of the sons of Israel.

10 When you bring the Levites before Yahweh, the people of Israel must lay their hands on the Levites.

And you shall bring the Levites before the Lord; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites.

11 Aaron must offer the Levites before Yahweh, as a wave offering from the people of Israel so that they may do the service of Yahweh.

And Aaron shall separate the Levites for a gift before the Lord from the children of Israel: and they shall be prepared to perform the works of the Lord.

12 The Levites must place their hands on the heads of the bulls. You must offer one bull for a sin offering and the other bull for a burnt offering to me, to atone for the Levites.

And the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the calves; and you shall offer one for a sin-offering, and the other for a whole burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for them.

13 Present the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, and lift them up as a wave offering to me.

And you shall set the Levites before the Lord, and before Aaron, and before his sons; and you shall give them as a gift before the Lord.

14 In this way you must separate the Levites from among the people of Israel. The Levites will belong to me.

And you shall separate the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and they shall be mine.

15 After that, the Levites must go in to serve in the tent of meeting. You must purify them. You must offer them as a wave offering.

And afterwards the Levites shall go in to perform the works of the tabernacle of witness; and you shall purify them, and present them before the Lord.

16 Do this, because they are entirely mine from among the people of Israel. They will take the place of each male child who opens the womb, the firstborn of all the descendants of Israel. I have taken the Levites for myself.

For these are given to me for a present out of the midst of the children of Israel: I have taken them to myself instead of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel that open every womb.

17 All the firstborn from among the people of Israel are mine, both of people and of animals. On the day that I took the lives of all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set them apart for myself.

For every firstborn amongst the children of Israel [is] mine, whether of man or beast: in the day in which I struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them to myself.

18 I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of all the firstborn.

And I took the Levites in the place of every firstborn amongst the children of Israel.

19 I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons. I have taken them from among the people of Israel to do the work of the people of Israel in the tent of meeting. I have given them to atone for the people of Israel so that no plague will harm the people when they come near to the holy place.”

And I gave the Levites presented as a gift to Aaron and his sons out of the midst of the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of witness, and to make atonement for the children of Israel: thus there shall be none amongst the sons of Israel to draw near to the holy things.

20 Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of the people of Israel did this with the Levites. They did everything that Yahweh had commanded Moses concerning the Levites. The people of Israel did this with them.

And Moses and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites as the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them.

21 The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothing, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering to Yahweh and he made atonement for them to cleanse them.

So the Levites purified themselves and washed their garments; and Aaron presented them as a gift before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to purify them.

22 After that, the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and before Aaron's sons. This was as Yahweh had commanded Moses about the Levites. They treated all the Levites in this way.

And afterwards the Levites went in to minister in their service in the tabernacle of witness before Aaron, and before his sons; as the Lord appointed Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

23 Yahweh spoke again to Moses. He said,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

24 “All of this is for the Levites who are twenty-five years old and more. They must join the company to serve in the tent of meeting.

This is the [ordinance] for the Levites; From five and twenty years old and upward, they shall go in to minister in the tabernacle of witness.

25 They must stop serving in this way at the age of fifty years. At that age they must not serve any longer.

And from fifty years old [the Levites] shall cease from the ministry, and shall not work any longer.

26 They may help their brothers who continue to work at the tent of meeting, but they must serve no more. You must direct the Levites in all these matters.”

And his brother shall serve in the tabernacle of witness to keep charges, but he shall not do works: so shall you do to the Levites in their charges.