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And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

`Speak unto Aaron, and thou hast said unto him, In thy causing the lights to go up, over-against the face of the candlestick do the seven lights give light.'

And Aaron doth so; over-against the face of the candlestick he hath caused its lights to go up, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

And this [is] the work of the candlestick: beaten work of gold; unto its thigh, unto its flower it [is] beaten work; as the appearance which Jehovah shewed Moses, so he hath made the candlestick.

And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

`Take the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and thou hast cleansed them.

`And thus thou dost to them to cleanse them: sprinkle upon them waters of atonement, and they have caused a razor to pass over all their flesh, and have washed their garments, and cleansed themselves,

and have taken a bullock, a son of the herd, and its present, flour mixed with oil, -- and a second bullock a son of the herd thou dost take for a sin-offering,

and thou hast brought near the Levites before the tent of meeting, and thou hast assembled the whole company of the sons of Israel,

10 and thou hast brought near the Levites before Jehovah, and the sons of Israel have laid their hands on the Levites,

11 and Aaron hath waved the Levites -- a wave-offering before Jehovah, from the sons of Israel, and they have been -- for doing the service of Jehovah.

12 `And the Levites lay their hands on the head of the bullocks, and make thou the one a sin-offering, and the one a burnt-offering to Jehovah, to atone for the Levites,

13 and thou hast caused the Levites to stand before Aaron, and before his sons, and hast waved them -- a wave-offering to Jehovah;

14 and thou hast separated the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and the Levites have become Mine;

15 and afterwards do the Levites come in to serve the tent of meeting, and thou hast cleansed them, and hast waved them -- a wave-offering.

16 `For they are certainly given to Me out of the midst of the sons of Israel, instead of him who openeth any womb -- the first-born of all -- from the sons of Israel I have taken them to Myself;

17 for Mine [is] every first-born among the sons of Israel, among man and among beast; in the day of my smiting every first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself;

18 and I take the Levites instead of every first-born among the sons of Israel:

19 `And I give the Levites 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's drawing nigh unto the sanctuary.'

20 And Moses doth -- Aaron also, and all the company of the sons of Israel -- to the Levites according to all that Jehovah hath commanded Moses concerning the Levites; so have the sons of Israel done to them.

21 And the Levites cleanse themselves, and wash their garments, and Aaron waveth them a wave-offering before Jehovah, and Aaron maketh atonement for them to cleanse them,

22 and afterwards have the Levites gone in to do their service in the tent of meeting, before Aaron and before his sons; as Jehovah hath commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they have done to them.

23 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

24 `This [is] that which [is] the Levites': from a son of five and twenty years and upward he doth go in to serve the host in the service of the tent of meeting,

25 and from a son of fifty years he doth return from the host of the service, and doth not serve any more,

26 and he hath ministered with his brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, and doth not do service; thus thou dost to the Levites concerning their charge.'

Setting Up the Lamps

The Lord said to Moses, “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)’”

Aaron did so; he set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand, just as the Lord commanded Moses. 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.

The Setting Apart of the Levites

The Lord said to Moses: “Take the Levites from among all the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean.(D) 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) 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) 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.”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 8:8 Or purification offering; also in verse 12