Numbers 8

1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.

3And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses.

4And 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.

5And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

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

7And 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.footnote a

8Then 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.

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

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

11And 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.footnote bfootnote cfootnote d

12And 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.

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

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

15And 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.

16For 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.

17For 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.

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

19And 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.footnote e

20And 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.

21And 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.

22And 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.

23And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

24This 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:footnote f

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

26But 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.

The Lampstand

1Then the LORD said to Moses, 2“Speak to Aaron and tell him: ‘When you set up the seven lamps, they are to light the area in front of the lampstand.’”

3And Aaron did so; he set up the lamps facing toward the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

4This is how the lampstand was constructed: it was made of hammered gold from its base to its blossoms, fashioned according to the pattern the LORD had shown Moses.

Cleansing the Levites

5Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6“Take the Levites from among the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean. 7This is what you must do to cleanse them: Sprinkle them with the water of purification. Have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.

8Then have them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering. 9Bring the Levites before the Tent of Meeting and assemble the whole congregation of Israel. 10You are to present the Levites before the LORD and have the Israelites lay their hands upon them. 11Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may perform the service of the LORD. 12And the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and offer to the LORD one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites.

13You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and then present them before the LORD as a wave offering. 14In this way you shall separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites will belong to Me. 15After you have cleansed them and presented them as a wave offering, they may come to serve at the Tent of Meeting.

16For the Levites have been wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself in place of all who come first from the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. 17For every firstborn male in Israel is Mine, both man and beast. I set them apart for Myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. 18But I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel. 19And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service for the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting and to make atonement on their behalf, so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach the sanctuary.”

20So Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel did with the Levites everything that the LORD had commanded Moses they should do. 21The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22After that, the Levites came to perform their service at the Tent of Meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. Thus they did with the Levites just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Retirement for Levites

23And the LORD said to Moses, 24“This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years of age or older shall enter to perform the service in the work at the Tent of Meeting. 25But at the age of fifty, they must retire from performing the work and no longer serve.

26After that, they may assist their brothers in fulfilling their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves are not to do the work. This is how you are to assign responsibilities to the Levites.”