Numbers 8:19-26

English Standard Version

^19 (A)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 ^(B)to make atonement for the people of Israel, ^(C)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 ^(D)the Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and ^(E)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: ^(F)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 ^(G)by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.”