Numbers 8

1 Yahweh said to Moses/me,

And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

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.”

“Speak to Aaron, and you have said to him: In your causing the lights to go up, the seven lights give light toward the front of the face of the lampstand.”

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

And Aaron does so; he has caused its lights to go up toward the front of the face of the lampstand, as YHWH has commanded 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.

And this [is] the work of the lampstand: beaten work of gold; from its thigh to its flower it [is] beaten work; as the appearance which YHWH showed Moses, so he has made the lampstand.

5 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

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

“Take the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and you have cleansed 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.

And thus you do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle waters of atonement on them, and they have caused a razor to pass over all their flesh, and have washed their garments, and cleansed themselves,

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.

and have taken a bullock, a son of the herd, and its present, flour mixed with oil, and you take a second bullock, a son of the herd, for 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.

and you have brought the Levites near before the Tent of Meeting, and you have assembled all the congregation of the sons of Israel,

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

and you have brought the Levites near before YHWH, and the sons of Israel have laid their hands on the Levites,

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].

and Aaron has waved the Levites [as] a wave-offering before YHWH, from the sons of Israel, and they have been [consecrated] for doing the service of YHWH.

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].

And the Levites lay their hands on the head of the bullocks, and make one a sin-offering and one a burnt-offering to YHWH, to atone for the Levites.

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.

And you have caused the Levites to stand before Aaron, and before his sons, and have waved them [as] a wave-offering to YHWH;

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

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

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.

and afterward the Levites come in to serve the Tent of Meeting, and you have cleansed them, and have waved 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].

For they are certainly given to Me out of the midst of the sons of Israel, instead of him who opens any womb—the firstborn of all; I have taken them for Myself from the sons of Israel;

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.

for every firstborn among the sons of Israel [is] Mine, among man and among beast; in the day of My striking every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself;

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

and I take the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel.

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.”

And I give the Levites [as] 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 drawing near to the holy place.”

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

And Moses does—Aaron also, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel—to the Levites according to all that YHWH has commanded Moses concerning the Levites; so the sons of Israel have done to them.

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.

And the Levites cleanse themselves, and wash their garments, and Aaron waves them [as] a wave-offering before YHWH, and Aaron makes atonement for them to cleanse them,

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.

and afterward the Levites have gone in to do their service in the Tent of Meeting, before Aaron and before his sons; as YHWH has commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they have done to them.

23 Yahweh also said this to Moses/me:

And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

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

“This [is] who [is] for the Levites: from a son of twenty-five years and upward he goes in to serve the host in the service of the Tent of Meeting,

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

and from a son of fifty years he returns from the host of the service, and does not serve anymore,

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.”

and he has ministered with his brothers in the Tent of Meeting, to keep the charge, and does not do service; thus you do to the Levites concerning their charge.”