Numbers 8

1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

2 'Speak unto Aaron, and thou hast said unto him, In thy causing the lights to go up, over-against the face of the candlestick do the seven lights give light.'

Speak to Aaron, and thou shalt say to him: When thou shalt place the seven lamps, let the candlestick be set up on the south side. Give orders therefore that the lamps look over against the north, towards the table of the leaves of proposition, over against that part shall they give light, towards which the candlestick looketh.

3 And Aaron doth so; over-against the face of the candlestick he hath caused its lights to go up, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

And Aaron did so, and he put the lamps upon the candlestick, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

4 And this [is] the work of the candlestick: beaten work of gold; unto its thigh, unto its flower it [is] beaten work; as the appearance which Jehovah shewed Moses, so he hath made the candlestick.

Now this was the work of the candlestick, it was of beaten gold, both the shaft in the middle, and all that came out of both sides of the branches: according to the pattern which the Lord had shewn to Moses, so he made the candlestick.

5 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

6 'Take the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and thou hast cleansed them.

Take the Levites out of the midst of the children of Israel, and thou shalt purify them,

7 'And thus thou dost to them to cleanse them: sprinkle upon them waters of atonement, and they have caused a razor to pass over all their flesh, and have washed their garments, and cleansed themselves,

According to this rite: Let them be sprinkled with the water of purification, and let them shave all the hairs of their flesh. And when they shall have washed their garments, and are cleansed,

8 and have taken a bullock, a son of the herd, and its present, flour mixed with oil, — and a second bullock a son of the herd thou dost take for a sin-offering,

They shall take an ox of the herd, and for the offering thereof fine flour tempered with oil: and thou shalt take another ox of the herd for a sin offering:

9 and thou hast brought near the Levites before the tent of meeting, and thou hast assembled the whole company of the sons of Israel,

And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the covenant, calling together all the multitude of the children of Israel:

10 and thou hast brought near the Levites before Jehovah, and the sons of Israel have laid their hands on the Levites,

And when the Levites are before the Lord, the children of Israel shall put their hands upon them:

11 and Aaron hath waved the Levites — a wave-offering before Jehovah, from the sons of Israel, and they have been — for doing the service of Jehovah.

And Aaron shall offer the Levites, as a gift in the sight of the Lord from the children of Israel, that they may serve in his ministry.

12 'And the Levites lay their hands on the head of the bullocks, and make thou the one a sin-offering, and the one a burnt-offering to Jehovah, to atone for the Levites,

The Levites also shall put their hands upon the heads of the oxen, of which thou shalt sacrifice one for sin, and the other for a holocaust to the Lord, to pray for them.

13 and thou hast caused the Levites to stand before Aaron, and before his sons, and hast waved them — a wave-offering to Jehovah;

And thou shalt set the Levites in the sight of Aaron and of his sons, and shalt consecrate them being offered to the Lord,

14 and thou hast separated the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and the Levites have become Mine;

And shalt separate them from the midst of the children of Israel, to be mine.

15 and afterwards do the Levites come in to serve the tent of meeting, and thou hast cleansed them, and hast waved them — a wave-offering.

And afterwards they shall enter into the tabernacle of the covenant, to serve me. And thus shalt thou purify and consecrate them for an oblation of the Lord: for as a gift they were given me by the children of Israel.

16 'For they are certainly given to Me out of the midst of the sons of Israel, instead of him who openeth any womb — the first-born of all — from the sons of Israel I have taken them to Myself;

I have taken them instead of the firstborn that open every womb in Israel,

17 for Mine [is] every first-born among the sons of Israel, among man and among beast; in the day of my smiting every first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself;

For all the firstborn of the children of Israel, both of men and of beasts, are mine. From the day that I slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, have I sanctified them to myself:

18 and I take the Levites instead of every first-born among the sons of Israel:

And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel:

19 'And I give the Levites gifts to Aaron and to his sons, from the midst of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the sons of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the sons of Israel, and there is no plague among the sons of Israel in the sons of Israel's drawing nigh unto the sanctuary.'

And have delivered them for a gift to Aaron and his sons out of the midst of the people, to serve me for Israel in the tabernacle of the covenant, and to pray for them, lest there should be a plague among the people, if they should presume to approach unto my sanctuary.

20 And Moses doth — Aaron also, and all the company of the sons of Israel — to the Levites according to all that Jehovah hath commanded Moses concerning the Levites; so have the sons of Israel done to them.

And Moses and Aaron and all the multitude of the children of Israel did with the Levites all that the Lord had commanded Moses:

21 And the Levites cleanse themselves, and wash their garments, and Aaron waveth them a wave-offering before Jehovah, and Aaron maketh atonement for them to cleanse them,

And they were purified, and washed their garments. And Aaron lifted them up in the sight of the Lard, and prayed for them,

22 and afterwards have the Levites gone in to do their service in the tent of meeting, before Aaron and before his sons; as Jehovah hath commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they have done to them.

That being purified they might go into the tabernacle of the covenant to do their services before Aaron and his sons. As the Lord had commanded Moses touching the Levites, so was it done.

23 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

24 'This [is] that which [is] the Levites': from a son of five and twenty years and upward he doth go in to serve the host in the service of the tent of meeting,

This is the law of the Levites: From twenty-five years old and upwards, they shall go in to minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.

25 and from a son of fifty years he doth return from the host of the service, and doth not serve any more,

And when they shall have accomplished the fiftieth year of their age, they shall cease to serve:

26 and he hath ministered with his brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, and doth not do service; thus thou dost to the Levites concerning their charge.'

And they shall be the ministers of their brethren in the tabernacle of the covenant, to keep the things that are committed to their care, but not to do the works. Thus shalt thou order the Levites touching their charge.