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Numbers 8-9
English Standard Version
Numbers 8-9
English Standard Version
The Seven Lamps
8 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and say to him, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.” 3 And Aaron did so: he set up its lamps in front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses. 4 And (A)this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was hammered work; according to the pattern that the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.
Cleansing of the Levites
5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and cleanse them. 7 Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the (B)water of purification upon them, and (C)let them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. 8 Then let them take a bull from the herd and (D)its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, (E)and you shall take another bull from the herd for a sin offering. 9 (F)And you shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting (G)and assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel. 10 When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel (H)shall lay their hands on the Levites, 11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the Lord. 12 Then the Levites (I)shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer (J)the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord to make atonement for the Levites. 13 And you shall set the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as (K)a wave offering to the Lord.
14 “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and (L)the Levites shall be mine. 15 And after that the Levites shall go in to serve at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a (M)wave offering. 16 For they are (N)wholly given to me from among the people of Israel. (O)Instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself. 17 (P)For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, 18 and I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel. 19 (Q)And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and (R)to make atonement for the people of Israel, (S)that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary.”
20 Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel to the Levites. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the people of Israel did to them. 21 And (T)the Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and (U)Aaron offered them as a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22 And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
Retirement of the Levites
23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “This applies to the Levites: (V)from twenty-five years old and upward they[a] shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. 25 And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. 26 They minister[b] to their brothers in the tent of meeting (W)by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.”
The Passover Celebrated
9 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, (X)in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. 3 (Y)On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.” 4 So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. 5 And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. 6 And there were certain men who were (Z)unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and (AA)they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. 7 And those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing the Lord's (AB)offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” 8 And Moses said to them, “Wait, that (AC)I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”
9 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the Lord. 11 (AD)In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. (AE)They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 (AF)They shall leave none of it until the morning, (AG)nor break any of its bones; (AH)according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it. 13 But if anyone who is clean and is not on a journey fails to keep the Passover, (AI)that person shall be cut off from his people because he did not bring the Lord's (AJ)offering at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. 14 And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. (AK)You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.”
The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle
15 (AL)On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And (AM)at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day[c] and the appearance of fire by night. 17 And whenever the cloud (AN)lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. 18 At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. (AO)As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel (AP)kept the charge of the Lord and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp; then according to the command of the Lord they set out. 21 And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. 22 Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel (AQ)remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. 23 At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. (AR)They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 8:24 Hebrew he; also verses 25, 26
- Numbers 8:26 Hebrew He ministers
- Numbers 9:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks by day
Numbers 8-9
New International Version
Numbers 8-9
New International Version
Setting Up the Lamps
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.
The Setting Apart of the Levites
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.”
The Passover
9 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the first month(AM) of the second year after they came out of Egypt.(AN) He said, 2 “Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover(AO) at the appointed time.(AP) 3 Celebrate it at the appointed time, at twilight on the fourteenth day of this month,(AQ) in accordance with all its rules and regulations.(AR)”
4 So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover,(AS) 5 and they did so in the Desert of Sinai(AT) at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.(AU) The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.(AV)
6 But some of them could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were ceremonially unclean(AW) on account of a dead body.(AX) So they came to Moses and Aaron(AY) that same day 7 and said to Moses, “We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the Lord’s offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?(AZ)”
8 Moses answered them, “Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you.”(BA)
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, 10 “Tell the Israelites: ‘When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body(BB) or are away on a journey, they are still to celebrate(BC) the Lord’s Passover, 11 but they are to do it on the fourteenth day of the second month(BD) at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.(BE) 12 They must not leave any of it till morning(BF) or break any of its bones.(BG) When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations.(BH) 13 But if anyone who is ceremonially clean and not on a journey fails to celebrate the Passover, they must be cut off from their people(BI) for not presenting the Lord’s offering at the appointed time. They will bear the consequences of their sin.
14 “‘A foreigner(BJ) residing among you is also to celebrate the Lord’s Passover in accordance with its rules and regulations. You must have the same regulations for both the foreigner and the native-born.’”
The Cloud Above the Tabernacle
15 On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law,(BK) was set up,(BL) the cloud(BM) covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.(BN) 16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.(BO) 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out;(BP) wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.(BQ) 18 At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained(BR) in camp. 19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order(BS) and did not set out.(BT) 20 Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. 21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. 22 Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. 23 At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 8:8 Or purification offering; also in verse 12
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.