Numbers 8

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Then the LORD said to Moses,

2 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.

“Speak to Aaron and tell him: ‘When you set up the seven lamps, they are to light the area in front of the lampstand.’”

3 And Aaron did so: on one side opposite the candlestick he lighted its lamps, as the Lord appointed Moses.

And Aaron did so; he set up the lamps facing toward the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

4 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.

This is how the lampstand was constructed: it was made of hammered gold from its base to its blossoms, fashioned according to the pattern the LORD had shown Moses.

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

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

“Take the Levites from among the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean.

7 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.

This is what you must do to cleanse them: Sprinkle them with the water of purification. Have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.

8 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.

Then have them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.

9 And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of witness; and you shall assemble all the congregation of the sons of Israel.

Bring the Levites before the Tent of Meeting and assemble the whole congregation of Israel.

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

You are to present the Levites before the LORD and have the Israelites lay their hands upon them.

11 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.

Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may perform the service of the LORD.

12 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.

And the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and offer to the LORD one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites.

13 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.

You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and then present them before the LORD as a wave offering.

14 And you shall separate the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and they shall be mine.

In this way you shall separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites will belong to Me.

15 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.

After you have cleansed them and presented them as a wave offering, they may come to serve at the Tent of Meeting.

16 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.

For the Levites have been wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself in place of all who come first from the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel.

17 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.

For every firstborn male in Israel is Mine, both man and beast. I set them apart for Myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.

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

But I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel.

19 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.

And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service for the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting and to make atonement on their behalf, so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach the sanctuary.”

20 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.

So Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel did with the Levites everything that the LORD had commanded Moses they should do.

21 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.

The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them.

22 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.

After that, the Levites came to perform their service at the Tent of Meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. Thus they did with the Levites just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

And the LORD said to Moses,

24 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.

“This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years of age or older shall enter to perform the service in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

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

But at the age of fifty, they must retire from performing the work and no longer serve.

26 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.

After that, they may assist their brothers in fulfilling their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves are not to do the work. This is how you are to assign responsibilities to the Levites.”