Numbers
Chapter 8
1 God spoke to Moses, saying,
2 Tell Aaron, when you light the lamps, the seven lamps should shine in front of the lampstand.
3 Aaron did as told; he lit the lamps facing the lampstand, just as God ordered Moses.
4 The candlestick was made of hammered gold, from its base to its flowers, just as God had shown Moses.
5 God spoke to Moses, saying,
6 Choose the Levites from the people of Israel and make them clean.
7 Do this to make them clean: Sprinkle purifying water on them, have them shave all their body hair, wash their clothes, and they will be clean.
8 Let them bring a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you must bring another young bull for a sin offering.
9 Bring the Levites to the tent of meeting and gather all the Israelites.
10 Bring the Levites before God, and let the Israelites lay their hands on them.
11 Aaron will present the Levites to God on behalf of the Israelites, so they can do God’s work.
12 The Levites will put their hands on the bulls’ heads. You will sacrifice one bull for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to God, to ask for forgiveness for the Levites.
13 Place the Levites in front of Aaron and his sons, and present them as an offering to God.
14 You must set apart the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites will belong to me.
15 After that, the Levites will enter to work in the meeting tent; you must clean them and present them as an offering.
16 They are completely given to me from the Israelites; in place of those who are the first to be born, I have chosen them for myself.
17 All the firstborn of Israel’s children belong to me, including humans and animals. On the day I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself.
18 I have chosen the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites.
19 I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from the Israelites, to serve the Israelites in the meeting tent and to seek forgiveness for the Israelites, so that no disease will come to the Israelites when they come close to the holy place.
20 Moses, Aaron, and all the Israelite community did to the Levites just as God had commanded Moses. So the Israelites followed these instructions with the Levites.
21 The Levites were made clean, and they washed their clothes. Aaron presented them to God as a gift and made a sacrifice to purify them.
22 After that, the Levites went to work in the meeting tent before Aaron and his sons, just as God told Moses to do for the Levites.
23 God spoke to Moses, saying,
24 This means that the Levites, starting at age twenty-five and older, will work and serve at the meeting tent.
25 At fifty years old they will stop serving and not work anymore.
26 They should help their brothers at the tent of meeting and carry out their duties, but they should not do the work. This is what you must require of the Levites regarding their responsibilities.