Numbers 8

1 The Lord told Moses,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Tell Aaron, ‘When you place the seven lamps on the lampstand, make sure they shine towards the front.’”

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 So that's what Aaron did. He placed the lamps facing towards the front of the lampstand, as the Lord had ordered 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 of hammered gold from its base to the flower decorations on the top, in accordance with the design that the Lord had shown Moses.

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 The Lord told Moses,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

6 “Separate the Levites from the other Israelites and purify them.

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

7 This is how you will purify them. Sprinkle on them the water of purification. They are to shave off all the hair from their bodies and wash their clothes so they will be clean.

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 Have them bring a young bull with its grain offering of the best flour mixed with olive oil, and you are to bring a second 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 Take the Levites and have them stand in front of the Tent of Meeting and have all the Israelites gather there.

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 to the Lord the Israelites are to place their hands upon them.

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

11 Aaron shall present the Levites to the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites so that they can do the Lord's work.

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 are to place their hands on the heads of the bulls. One is to be sacrificed as a sin offering to the Lord, and the other as a burnt offering to set the Levites right with the Lord.

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 Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and present them to the Lord as a wave offering.

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 This is how you are to separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and 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 They can come and serve at the Tent of Meeting once you've purified them and presented 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 The Levites have been completely given over to me by the Israelites. I have accepted them as mine in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites.

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 Every firstborn male in Israel belongs to me, both human and animal. I reserved them for myself at the time when I killed all the firstborn in Egypt.

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 in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites.

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

19 Of all the Israelites, the Levites are a gift from me to Aaron and his sons to serve the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting, and on their behalf to set them right, so that nothing bad will happen to them when they come to the sanctuary.”

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 all the Israelites did everything that the Lord had ordered Moses that they should do regarding the Levites.

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 clothes. Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering to the Lord. Aaron also presented the sacrifice to make them right with the Lord so they would be clean.

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 Afterwards the Levites came to perform their service at the Tent of Meeting under the direction of Aaron and his sons. They followed all the instructions regarding the Levites that the Lord had given to Moses.

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 The Lord told Moses,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

24 “This rule applies to the Levites. Those twenty-five or older shall serve at 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 However, once they reach the age of fifty they need to retire from the work and won't serve any longer.

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

26 They can still help their fellow Levites in their assignments, but they are not to do the actual work themselves. These are the arrangements in the case of the Levites.”

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.