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Bamidbar 8
Orthodox Jewish Bible
Bamidbar 8
Orthodox Jewish Bible
[BEHAALOSECHA]
8 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,
2 Speak unto Aharon and say unto him, When thou set up the Nerot (lamps), the seven Nerot (lamps) shall cast light in front of the Menorah.
3 And Aharon did so; he set up the Nerot (lamps) thereof to give light in front of the Menorah, as Hashem commanded Moshe.
4 And the Menorah was made thus of hammered zahav, from its base unto its flower was it hammered out; according unto the mar’eh (pattern) which Hashem had shown Moshe, so he made the Menorah.
5 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,
6 Take the Levi’im from among the Bnei Yisroel, and make them tahor.
7 And thus shalt thou do unto them, to make them tahor: Sprinkle water of purification upon them, and let them cause a razor to pass over their basar, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves tahor.
8 Then let them take a young bull with its minchah, even fine flour mixed with shemen, and another young bull shalt thou take for a chattat.
9 And thou shalt bring the Levi’im before the Ohel Mo’ed: and thou shalt gather Kol Adat Bnei Yisroel together;
10 And thou shalt bring the Levi’im before Hashem; and the Bnei Yisroel shall lay their hands upon the Levi’im;
11 And Aharon shall offer the Levi’im before Hashem for a tenufah from the Bnei Yisroel, that they may perform the Avodat Hashem.
12 And the Levi’im shall lay their hands upon the rosh of the bulls; and thou shalt offer the one for a chattat, and the other for an olah, unto Hashem, to make kapporah for the Levi’im.
13 And thou shalt set the Levi’im before Aharon, and before his Banim, and offer them for a tenufah unto Hashem.
14 Thus shalt thou set apart as separate the Levi’im from among the Bnei Yisroel; and the Levi’im shall be Mine.
15 And after that shall the Levi’im go in to do the service of the Ohel Mo’ed; and thou shalt make them tahor and offer them for a tenufah.
16 For they are wholly given unto Me from among the Bnei Yisroel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the Bechor Kol Bnei Yisroel, have I taken them unto Me.
17 For Kol Bechor Bnei Yisroel are Mine, both adam and behemah; on the day that I struck down kol bechor in Eretz Mitzrayim I set them apart as kodesh for Myself.
18 And I have taken the Levi’im tachat (instead of) Kol Bechor Bnei Yisroel.
19 And I have given the Levi’im as a gift to Aharon and to his Banim from among the Bnei Yisroel, to do the Avodat Bnei Yisroel in the Ohel Mo’ed, and to make kapporah for the Bnei Yisroel; so that there be no plague among the Bnei Yisroel, when the Bnei Yisroel come near unto HaKodesh.
20 And Moshe, and Aharon, and Kol Adat Bnei Yisroel, did with the Levi’im according unto all that Hashem commanded Moshe concerning the Levi’im, so did the Bnei Yisroel unto them.
21 And the Levi’im purified themselves, and they immersed their clothes; and Aharon offered them as a tenufah before Hashem; and Aharon made kapporah for them to make them tahor.
22 And after that went the Levi’im in to do their Avodah in the Ohel Mo’ed before Aharon, and before his Banim; just as Hashem had commanded Moshe concerning the Levi’im, so did they with them.
23 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,
24 This is it that belongeth unto the Levi’im: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the Avodat Ohel Mo’ed;
25 And from the age of fifty years they shall retire from the service of the Avodah and shall serve no more;
26 But shall assist with their brethren in the Ohel Mo’ed, in performing their duties, and shall do no Avodah. Thus shalt thou do with the Levi’im regarding their duties.
Numbers 8
New International Version
Numbers 8
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.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 8:8 Or purification offering; also in verse 12
Numbers 8
English Standard Version
Numbers 8
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.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 8:24 Hebrew he; also verses 25, 26
- Numbers 8:26 Hebrew He ministers
Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)
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English Standard Version (ESV) 
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