Numbers 8

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh said to Moses/me,

2 Speak to Aaron, and say to him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light opposite the lampstand.

“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.”

3 And Aaron did so; he lighted its lamps opposite the lampstand, as the LORD commanded Moses.

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

4 And this work of the lampstand was of beaten gold, to its shaft, to the flowers of it, was beaten work: according to the pattern which the LORD had showed Moses, so he made the lampstand.

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.

5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.

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

7 And thus shalt thou do to them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.

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.

8 Then let them take a young bull with its meat offering, even fine flour mixed with oil, and another young bull shalt thou take for a sin offering.

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.

9 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together:

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

10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:

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

11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD.

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].

12 And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bulls: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, to the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites.

“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].

13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering to the LORD.

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.

14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.

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

15 And after that shall the Levites go in to perform the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.

“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.

16 For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them to me.

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].

17 For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.

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.

18 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.

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

19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there may be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come near to the sanctuary.

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.”

20 And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according to all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel to them.

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

21 And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the LORD; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.

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.

22 And after that went the Levites in to perform their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they to them.

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.

23 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh also said this to Moses/me:

24 This is it that which pertaineth to the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:

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

25 And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service of it, and shall serve no more:

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

26 But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do to the Levites concerning their charge.

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.”