Numbers 8

1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

Yahweh said to Moses/me,

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.'

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

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

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.

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 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

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

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

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,

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 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,

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 and thou hast brought near the Levites before the tent of meeting, and thou hast assembled the whole company of the sons 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 and thou hast brought near the Levites before Jehovah, and the sons of Israel have laid their hands on the Levites,

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

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.

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 '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,

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

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

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

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.

“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 '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;

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 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;

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

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

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.'

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 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.

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

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,

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 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.

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 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

Yahweh also said this to Moses/me:

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,

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

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

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

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.'

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.”