8 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Speak to Aaron and say to him, “When you put the lamps on the lampstand, the seven lamps must give light in front of the lampstand.” ’
3 So Aaron did that. He put its lamps at the front of the lampstand, as the Lord had said to Moses. 4 A worker had made the lampstand from one piece of gold that he had made flat with a hammer. From its base to the flowers at the top, he had made it in that way. It was completely like the lampstand that the Lord had shown to Moses. [ a ]
5 Again the Lord spoke to Moses and he said, 6 ‘Take the Levites from among the Israelites and make them clean. 7 You will make them clean like this: Put on them the special water that makes people clean. They must remove all the hair from their whole body, and they must wash their clothes. Then they will be clean. 8 Then they must take a bull with the proper grain offering and oil. And you must take another bull for a sin offering. 9 Then you must bring the Levites in front of the Tent of Meeting. You must also bring all the Israelites there. 10 You must bring the Levites in front of the Lord . Then the Israelites must put their hands on the Levites' heads. 11 Aaron must give the Levites to the Lord as a special offering from the Israelites. Then they will be ready to do the Lord 's work.
12 Then the Levites must put their hands on the heads of the bulls. Then offer one bull for a sin offering and the other one for a burnt offering to the Lord . [ b ] That will make peace with the Lord for the Levites sin. 13 And you must cause the Levites to stand in front of Aaron and his sons. So they will be a special gift to the Lord . 14 That is how you will make the Levites separate from the other Israelites. And then the Levites will be mine.
15 Then after that the Levites can go in to work in the Tent of Meeting. But you must make them clean and you must bring them to me as a special gift. 16 That is because all the Levites among the Israelites are mine. All the Israelites' firstborn sons are mine. But I have taken the Levites for myself instead. 17 Every firstborn son among the Israelites is mine. And all the firstborn male animals are mine too. On the day that I killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt I made them special for myself. 18 But now I have not taken all the firstborn sons among the Israelites. I have taken the Levites instead. 19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the Israelites. They will work at the Tent of Meeting on behalf of the Israelites. And they will make peace with me on behalf of the Israelites. So there will not be a bad disease among the Israelites when they go near to God's Holy Tent.’
20 So Moses and Aaron and all the Israelites did those things to the Levites. The Israelites did everything that the Lord had said to Moses about the Levites. 21 The Levites, too, made themselves clean and they washed their clothes. And Aaron brought them in front of Lord as a special gift. Aaron also burnt sacrifices to make them clean. 22 After that, the Levites went in to do their work in the Tent of Meeting. They helped Aaron and his sons. The Israelites did everything with the Levites that the Lord had said to Moses about them.
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses again and he said, 24 ‘These are the rules about the Levites: The men who are 25 years old or older must go in to work in the Tent of Meeting. 25 But they must stop that work when they are 50 years old. And they must not do that work after that. 26 But they can help the other Levites in the Tent of Meeting. They can help them to do their jobs. But they themselves must not have any jobs. Those are the rules about the Levites and about their jobs.’
8 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron to put the seven lamps in the place I showed you. These lamps will light the area in front of the lampstand.”
3 Aaron did this. He put the lamps in the right place so that they lighted the area in front of the lampstand. He obeyed the command that the Lord gave Moses. 4 This is how the lampstand was made: It was made from hammered gold, all the way from the gold base at the bottom to the gold flowers at the top. It looked just like the pattern that the Lord had shown to Moses.
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Separate the Levites from the other Israelites. Make these Levites clean. 7 This is what you should do to make them clean: Sprinkle the special water from the sin offering [ a ] on them. This water will make them clean. Then they must shave their bodies and wash their clothes. This will make their bodies clean.
8 “They must take a young bull and the grain offering that must be offered with it. This grain offering will be flour mixed with oil. Then take another young bull for a sin offering. 9 Bring the Levites to the area in front of the Meeting Tent. Then bring all the Israelites together at that place. 10 Bring the Levites before the Lord . The Israelites will put their hands on them. [ b ] 11 Aaron will give the Levites to the Lord as an offering from the Israelites. Then the Levites will be ready to do their special work for the Lord .
12 “Tell the Levites to put their hands on the heads of the bulls. One bull will be a sin offering and the other bull will be used as a burnt offering to the Lord . These offerings will make the Levites pure. 13 Tell the Levites to stand in front of Aaron and his sons. Then give the Levites to the Lord . They will be like an offering. 14 This will make the Levites holy. They will be different from the other Israelites. The Levites will belong to me.
15 “So make the Levites pure and give them to the Lord as a special offering. [ c ] After you do this, they can come and do their work at the Meeting Tent. 16 The Israelites will give me the Levites. They will belong to me. In the past I told every Israelite family to give me their firstborn son. But now I am taking the Levites in place of these firstborn sons from the other families in Israel. 17 Every firstborn in Israel—man or animal—is mine, because I killed all the firstborn children and animals in Egypt. And I chose to take the firstborn sons to belong to me. 18 But now I will take the Levites in their place. I will take the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons from the other families in Israel. 19 I chose the Levites from among all the Israelites. And I give them as gifts to Aaron and his sons. I want them to do the work at the Meeting Tent. They will serve for all the Israelites. They will help make the sacrifices that make the Israelites pure. Then no great sickness or trouble will come to the Israelites when they come near the holy place.”
20 So Moses, Aaron, and all the Israelites obeyed the Lord . They did with the Levites everything that the Lord commanded Moses. 21 The Levites washed themselves and their clothes. Then Aaron gave them to the Lord as special offerings. Aaron gave the offerings that covered their sins and made them pure. 22 After that the Levites came to the Meeting Tent to do their work. Aaron and his sons watched them. They were responsible for the work of the Levites. Aaron and his sons did what the Lord commanded Moses.
23 Then the Lord said to Moses, 24 “This is a special command for the Levites: Every Levite man who is 25 years old or older must come and share in the work at the Meeting Tent. 25 But when a man is 50 years old, he will retire from this hard work. 26 Men who are at least 50 years old will be on duty to help their brothers, but they will not do the work themselves. That is what you must do for the Levites so that they can do their duty.”
8 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto Aaron and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.
3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the Lord commanded Moses.
4 And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the Lord had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.
5 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.
7 And thus shalt thou do unto 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.
8 Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering.
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:
10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord : and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:
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 .
12 And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the Lord , to make an atonement for the Levites.
13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the Lord .
14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.
15 And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.
16 For they are wholly given unto 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 unto 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.
18 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.
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 be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.
20 And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them.
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.
22 And after that went the Levites in to do 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 unto them.
23 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
24 This is it that belongeth unto 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:
25 And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no 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 unto the Levites touching their charge.
8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you [ a ] mount the lamps, the seven lamps will ( A ) provide light in the front of the lampstand.’” 3 Therefore Aaron did so; he [ b ] mounted its lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 4 ( B ) Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold; from its base to its flower ornamentation it was hammered work; ( C ) according to the [ c ] pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.
5 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and ( D ) cleanse them. 7 This is what you shall do to them, for their cleansing: sprinkle [ d ] purifying ( E ) water on them, and have them [ e ] ( F ) use a razor over their whole [ f ] body, and they shall ( G ) wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. 8 Then have them take a [ g ] bull with ( H ) its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and you shall take a second [ h ] bull as a sin offering. 9 So ( I ) you shall present the Levites in front of the tent of meeting. ( J ) You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, 10 and present the Levites before the Lord ; and the sons of Israel ( K ) shall lay their hands on the Levites. 11 Aaron then shall [ i ] present the Levites before the Lord as a ( L ) wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may [ j ] qualify to perform the service of the Lord . 12 Now ( M ) the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls; then you are to offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord , to make atonement for the Levites. 13 And you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons so as to present them as a wave offering to the Lord .
14 “So you shall single out the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and ( N ) the Levites shall be Mine. 15 Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the tent of meeting. But you shall cleanse them and ( O ) present them as a wave offering; 16 for they are ( P ) exclusively given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself ( Q ) instead of the firstborn of every womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. 17 For ( R ) every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the people and among the animals; on the day that I fatally struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for Myself. 18 But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel. 19 And ( S ) I have given the Levites as [ k ] a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no ( T ) affliction among the sons of Israel due to [ l ] their approaching the sanctuary.”
20 So this is what Moses, Aaron, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel did to the Levites; according to everything that the Lord had commanded Moses regarding the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. 21 ( U ) The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin 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 Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; just as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
23 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “This is what applies to the Levites: from ( V ) twenty-five years old and upward [ m ] they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. 25 But at the age of fifty years they shall [ n ] retire from service in the work and not work anymore. 26 They may, however, [ o ] assist their brothers in the tent of meeting, ( W ) to fulfill an obligation, but they themselves shall do no work. In this way you shall deal with the Levites in their obligations.”
8 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you set up the lamps, see that all seven light up the area in front of the lampstand. ( A ) ’”
3 Aaron did so; he set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand, just as the Lord commanded Moses. 4 This is how the lampstand was made: It was made of hammered gold ( B ) —from its base to its blossoms. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern ( C ) the Lord had shown Moses.
5 The Lord said to Moses: 6 “Take the Levites from among all the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean. ( D ) 7 To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing ( E ) on them; then have them shave their whole bodies ( F ) and wash their clothes. ( G ) And so they will purify themselves. ( H ) 8 Have them take a young bull with its grain offering of the finest flour mixed with olive oil; ( I ) then you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering. [ a ] ( J ) 9 Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting ( K ) and assemble the whole Israelite community. ( L ) 10 You are to bring the Levites before the Lord , and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them. ( M ) 11 Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering ( N ) from the Israelites, so that they may be ready to do the work of the Lord .
12 “Then the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, ( O ) using one for a sin offering ( P ) to the Lord and the other for a burnt offering, ( Q ) to make atonement ( R ) for the Levites. 13 Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering ( S ) to the Lord . 14 In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine. ( T )
15 “After you have purified the Levites and presented them as a wave offering, ( U ) they are to come to do their work at the tent of meeting. ( V ) 16 They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me. I have taken them as my own in place of the firstborn, ( W ) the first male offspring ( X ) from every Israelite woman. 17 Every firstborn male in Israel, whether human or animal, ( Y ) is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself. ( Z ) 18 And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel. ( AA ) 19 From among all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons ( AB ) to do the work at the tent of meeting on behalf of the Israelites ( AC ) and to make atonement for them ( AD ) so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary.”
20 Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses. 21 The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes. ( AE ) Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord and made atonement ( AF ) for them to purify them. ( AG ) 22 After that, the Levites came to do their work ( AH ) at the tent of meeting under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. They did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses.
23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more ( AI ) shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting, ( AJ ) 25 but at the age of fifty, ( AK ) they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. 26 They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the tent of meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. ( AL ) This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites.”
