Liber Numeri 8

1 Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens:

And the Lord said to Moses,

2 Loquere Aaron, et dices ad eum: Cum posueris septem lucernas, candelabrum in australi parte erigatur. Hoc igitur præcipe ut lucernæ contra boream e regione respiciant ad mensam panum propositionis, contra eam partem, quam candelabrum respicit, lucere debebunt.

Say to Aaron, When you put the lights in their places, the seven lights will give light in front of the support.

3 Fecitque Aaron, et imposuit lucernas super candelabrum, ut præceperat Dominus Moysi.

And Aaron did so; he put the lights in their places so that they gave light in front of the support, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

4 Hæc autem erat factura candelabri, ex auro ductili, tam medius stipes, quam cuncta quæ ex utroque calamorum latere nascebantur: iuxta exemplum quod ostendit Dominus Moysi, ita operatus est candelabrum.

The support for the lights was of hammered gold work, from its base to its flowers it was of hammered work; from the design which the Lord had given to Moses, he made the support for the lights.

5 Et locutus est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens:

And the Lord said to Moses,

6 Tolle Levitas de medio filiorum Israel, et purificabis eos

Take the Levites out from among the children of Israel and make them clean.

7 iuxta hunc ritum: Aspergantur aqua lustrationis, et radant omnes pilos carnis suæ. Cumque laverint vestimenta sua, et mundati fuerint,

And this is how you are to make them clean: let the holy water which takes away sin be put on them, and let the hair all over their bodies be cut off with a sharp blade, and let their clothing be washed and their bodies made clean.

8 tollent bovem de armentis, et libamentum eius similam oleo conspersam: bovem autem alterum de armento tu accipies pro peccato:

Then let them take a young ox and its meal offering, crushed grain mixed with oil, and take another ox for a sin-offering.

9 et applicabis Levitas coram tabernaculo fœderis, convocata omni multitudine filiorum Israel.

And make the Levites come forward in front of the Tent of meeting, and let all the children of Israel come together:

10 Cumque Levitæ fuerint coram Domino, ponent filii Israel manus suas super eos.

And you are to take the Levites before the Lord: and the children of Israel are to put their hands on them:

11 Et offeret Aaron Levitas, munus in conspectu Domini a filiis Israel, ut serviant in ministerio eius.

And Aaron is to give the Levites to the Lord as a wave offering from the children of Israel, so that they may do the Lord's work.

12 Levitæ quoque ponent manus suas super capita boum, e quibus unum facies pro peccato, et alterum in holocaustum Domini, ut depreceris pro eis.

And the Levites are to put their hands on the heads of the oxen, and one of the oxen is to be offered for a sin-offering and the other for a burned offering to the Lord to take away the sin of the Levites.

13 Statuesque Levitas in conspectu Aaron et filiorum eius, et consecrabis oblatos Domino,

Then the Levites are to be put before Aaron and his sons, to be offered as a wave offering to the Lord.

14 ac separabis de medio filiorum Israel, ut sint mei.

So you are to make the Levites separate from the children of Israel, and the Levites will be mine.

15 Et postea ingredientur tabernaculum fœderis, ut serviant mihi. Sicque purificabis et consecrabis eos in oblationem Domini: quoniam dono donati sunt mihi a filiis Israel.

After that, the Levites will go in to do whatever has to be done in the Tent of meeting; you are to make them clean and give them as a wave offering.

16 Pro primogenitis quæ aperiunt omnem vulvam in Israel, accepi eos.

For they have been given to me from among the children of Israel; in place of every mother's first son, the first to come to birth in Israel, I have taken them for myself.

17 Mea sunt enim omnia primogenita filiorum Israel, tam ex hominibus quam ex iumentis. Ex die quo percussi omne primogenitum in Terra Ægypti, sanctificavi eos mihi:

For every mother's first son among the children of Israel is mine, the first male birth of man or beast: on the day when I sent death on all the first sons in the land of Egypt, I made them mine.

18 et tuli Levitas pro cunctis primogenitis filiorum Israel:

And in place of the first sons among the children of Israel, I have taken the Levites.

19 tradidique eos dono Aaron et filiis eius de medio populi, ut serviant mihi pro Israel in tabernaculo fœderis, et orent pro eis ne sit in populo plaga, si ausi fuerint accedere ad Sanctuarium.

And I have given them to Aaron and to his sons, from among the children of Israel, to undertake for them all the work of the Tent of meeting, and to take away sin from the children of Israel so that no evil may come on them when they come near the holy place.

20 Feceruntque Moyses et Aaron et omnis multitudo filiorum Israel super Levitas quæ præceperat Dominus Moysi:

All these things Moses and Aaron and the children of Israel did to the Levites; as the Lord gave orders to Moses about the Levites, so the children of Israel did.

21 purificatique sunt, et laverunt vestimenta sua. Elevavitque eos Aaron in conspectu Domini, et oravit pro eis,

And the Levites were made clean from sin, and their clothing was washed, and Aaron gave them for a wave offering before the Lord; and Aaron took away their sin and made them clean.

22 ut purificati ingrederentur ad officia sua in tabernaculum fœderis coram Aaron et filiis eius. Sicut præceperat Dominus Moysi de Levitis, ita factum est.

And then the Levites went in to do their work in the Tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons: all the orders which the Lord had given Moses about the Levites were put into effect.

23 Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens:

And the Lord said to Moses,

24 Hæc est lex Levitarum, A viginti quinque annis et supra, ingredientur ut ministrent in tabernaculo fœderis.

This is the rule for the Levites: those of twenty-five years old and over are to go in and do the work of the Tent of meeting;

25 Cumque quinquagesimum annum ætatis impleverint, servire cessabunt:

But after they are fifty years old, they are to give up their work and do no more;

26 eruntque ministri fratrum suorum in tabernaculo fœderis, ut custodiant quæ sibi fuerunt commendata, opera autem ipsa non faciant. Sic dispones Levitis in custodiis suis.

But be with their brothers in the Tent of meeting, taking care of it but doing no work. This is what you are to do in connection with the Levites and their work.