Numbers 8

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

Yahweh said to Moses/me,

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

“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.”

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

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

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.

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.

5 Again, Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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].

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.

“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].

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

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.

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

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

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.

“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.

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.

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].

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.

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.

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

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

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.”

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.”

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

23 Yahweh spoke again to Moses. He said,

Yahweh also said this to Moses/me:

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.

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

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

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

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.”

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.”