Numbers 8

1 Yahweh said to Moses/me,

The Lord told Moses,

2 “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.”

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

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

So that's what Aaron did. He placed the lamps facing towards the front of the lampstand, as the Lord had ordered Moses.

4 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.

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.

5 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

The Lord told Moses,

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

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

7 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.

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.

8 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.

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.

9 Then you must summon all the Israeli people to come together in front of the Sacred Tent, to [gather around] the descendants of Levi.

Take the Levites and have them stand in front of the Tent of Meeting and have all the Israelites gather there.

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

When you bring the Levites to the Lord the Israelites are to place their hands upon them.

11 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].

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

12 “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].

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.

13 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.

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

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

This is how you are to separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites will belong to me.

15 “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.

They can come and serve at the Tent of Meeting once you've purified them and presented them as a wave offering.

16 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].

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.

17 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.

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.

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

I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites.

19 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.”

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.”

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

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

21 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.

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.

22 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.

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.

23 Yahweh also said this to Moses/me:

The Lord told Moses,

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

“This rule applies to the Levites. Those twenty-five or older shall serve at the Tent of Meeting.

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

However, once they reach the age of fifty they need to retire from the work and won't serve any longer.

26 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.”

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.”