The Seven Lamps

8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you ^[a]mount the lamps, the seven lamps will ^(A)provide light in the front of the lampstand.’” ³ Therefore Aaron did so; he ^[b]mounted its lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ^4 (B)Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold; from its base to its flower ornamentation it was hammered work; ^(C)according to the ^[c]pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

Cleansing the Levites

⁵ Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and ^(D)cleanse them. ⁷ This is what you shall do to them, for their cleansing: sprinkle ^[d]purifying ^(E)water on them, and have them ^[e](F)use a razor over their whole ^[f]body, and they shall ^(G)wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. ⁸ Then have them take a ^[g]bull with ^(H)its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and you shall take a second ^[h]bull as a sin offering. ⁹ So ^(I)you shall present the Levites in front of the tent of meeting. ^(J)You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰ and present the Levites before the Lord; and the sons of Israel ^(K)shall lay their hands on the Levites. ¹¹ Aaron then shall ^[i]present the Levites before the Lord as a ^(L)wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may ^[j]qualify to perform the service of the Lord. ¹² Now ^(M)the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls; then you are to offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³ And you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons so as to present them as a wave offering to the Lord.

¹⁴ “So you shall single out the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and ^(N)the Levites shall be Mine. ¹⁵ Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the tent of meeting. But you shall cleanse them and ^(O)present them as a wave offering; ¹⁶ for they are ^(P)exclusively given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself ^(Q)instead of the firstborn of every womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. ¹⁷ For ^(R)every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the people and among the animals; on the day that I fatally struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for Myself. ¹⁸ But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel. ¹⁹ And ^(S)I have given the Levites as ^[k]a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no ^(T)affliction among the sons of Israel due to ^[l]their approaching the sanctuary.”

²⁰ So this is what Moses, Aaron, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel did to the Levites; according to everything that the Lord had commanded Moses regarding the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. ^21 (U)The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²² Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; just as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

Retirement for the Levites

²³ Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “This is what applies to the Levites: from ^(V)twenty-five years old and upward ^[m]they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. ²⁵ But at the age of fifty years they shall ^[n]retire from service in the work and not work anymore. ²⁶ They may, however, ^[o]assist their brothers in the tent of meeting, ^(W)to fulfill an obligation, but they themselves shall do no work. In this way you shall deal with the Levites in their obligations.”

The Passover

9 Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in ^(X)the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ² “Now the sons of Israel are to ^[p]celebrate the Passover at ^(Y)its appointed time. ³ On the fourteenth day of this month, ^[q]at twilight, you shall celebrate it at its appointed time; you shall celebrate it in accordance with all its statutes and all its ordinances.” ⁴ So Moses ^[r]told the sons of Israel to celebrate the Passover. ⁵ And ^(Z)they celebrated the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; ^(AA)in accordance with everything that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel did. ⁶ But there were some men who were ^(AB)unclean because of contact with a ^[s]dead person, so that they could not celebrate Passover on that day; and ^(AC)they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. ⁷ Those men said to him, “Though we are unclean because of a ^[t]dead person, why are we kept from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” ⁸ Moses then said to them, “^[u](AD)Wait, and I will listen to what the Lord will command concerning you.”

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If any one of you or of your generations becomes unclean because of a dead ^[v]person, or is on a distant journey, he may, however, celebrate the Passover to the Lord. ¹¹ In the second month on the ^(AE)fourteenth day at twilight, they shall celebrate it; they ^(AF)shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ¹² They ^(AG)shall not leave any of it until morning, ^(AH)nor break a bone of it; they shall celebrate it in accordance with the whole statute of the Passover. ^13 (AI)But the person who is clean and is not on a journey, yet refrains from celebrating the Passover, that ^[w]person shall then be cut off from his people, because he did not present the offering of the Lord at its appointed time. That person ^(AJ)will bear the responsibility for his sin. ¹⁴ And ^(AK)if a stranger resides among you and ^[x]celebrates the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and its ordinance, so he shall celebrate it; you shall have ^[y]the ^(AL)same statute, both for the stranger and for the native of the land.’”

The Law of Burnt Offerings

1 Now ^(A)the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When anyone of you brings an ^(B)offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of livestock from ^(C)the herd or the flock. ³ If his offering is a ^(D)burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male ^(E)without defect; he shall offer it ^(F)at the doorway of the tent of meeting, so that he may be accepted before the Lord. ⁴ And ^(G)he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so that it may be accepted for him to make ^(H)atonement on his behalf. ⁵ Then ^(I)he shall ^[a]slaughter the ^[b]bull before the Lord; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer up ^(J)the blood and ^(K)sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ^6 (L)He shall then skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. ⁷ And ^(M)the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. ⁸ Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, with the head and the ^(N)suet, on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. ⁹ Its ^(O)entrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water. And ^(P)the priest shall offer all of it up in smoke on the altar as a burnt offering, an offering by fire as ^(Q)a soothing aroma to the Lord.

¹⁰ ‘But if his offering is from the flock, either from the sheep or from the goats, as a burnt offering, he shall offer a ^(R)male without defect. ¹¹ And ^(S)he shall slaughter it on the side of the altar northward before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. ¹² He shall then cut it into its pieces with its head and its ^(T)suet, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. ¹³ The entrails, however, and the legs he shall wash with water. And ^(U)the priest shall offer all of it, and offer it up in smoke on the altar; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord.

¹⁴ ‘But if his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering from the ^(V)turtledoves or from young doves. ¹⁵ The priest shall bring it to the altar, and pinch off its head, and offer it up in smoke on the altar; and its blood is to be drained out ^(W)on the side of the altar. ¹⁶ He shall also remove its craw with its feathers and throw it beside the altar eastward, to the place of the ^(X)fatty ashes. ¹⁷ Then he shall tear it by its wings, but ^(Y)shall not sever it. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, on the wood which is on the fire; ^(Z)it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord.

The Law of Grain Offerings

2 ‘Now when anyone presents a ^(AA)grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it. ² He shall then bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests; and he shall take from it ^(AB)his handful of its fine flour and of its oil, with all of its frankincense. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke as its ^(AC)memorial portion on the altar, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. ^3 (AD)The remainder of the grain offering belongs to ^(AE)Aaron and his sons: a most holy part of the offerings to the Lord by fire.

⁴ ‘Now when you bring an offering of a grain offering baked in an oven, it shall be ^(AF)unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers ^[c]spread with oil. ⁵ And if your offering is a grain offering made ^(AG)on the griddle, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil; ⁶ you shall break it into bits and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. ⁷ Now if your offering is a grain offering made ^(AH)in a ^[d]pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. ⁸ When you bring in the grain offering which is made of these things to the Lord, it shall be presented to the priest, and he shall bring it to the altar. ⁹ The priest then shall take up from the grain offering ^(AI)its memorial portion, and shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. ^10 (AJ)The remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons: a most holy part of the offerings to the Lord by fire.

¹¹ ‘^(AK)No grain offering, which you bring to the Lord, shall be made with leaven, for you shall not offer ^[e]up in smoke any leaven or any honey as an ^(AL)offering by fire to the Lord. ^12 (AM)As an offering of first fruits you shall bring them to the Lord, but they shall not ascend as a soothing aroma on the altar. ¹³ Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that ^(AN)the salt of the covenant of your God will not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.

¹⁴ ‘Also if you bring a grain offering of early ripened things to the Lord, you shall bring ^(AO)fresh heads of grain roasted in the fire, crushed grain of new growth, for the grain offering of your early ripened produce. ¹⁵ You shall then put oil on it and place incense on it; it is a grain offering. ¹⁶ Then the priest shall offer up in smoke ^(AP)its memorial portion, part of its crushed grain and its oil with all its incense as an offering by fire to the Lord.

The Law of Peace Offerings

3 ‘Now if his offering is a ^(AQ)sacrifice of peace offerings, if he is going to offer from the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it ^(AR)without defect before the Lord. ² And ^(AS)he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and ^(AT)slaughter it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood around on the altar. ³ From the sacrifice of the peace offerings he shall then present an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, ⁴ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the ^[f]lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. ⁵ Then ^(AU)Aaron’s sons shall offer it up in smoke on the altar ^(AV)on the burnt offering, which is on the wood that is on the fire; ^(AW)it is an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. ⁶ But if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord is from the flock, he shall offer it, male or female, ^(AX)without defect. ⁷ If he is going to offer ^(AY)a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it ^(AZ)before the Lord, ⁸ and ^(BA)he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and ^(BB)slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall ^(BC)sprinkle its blood around on the altar. ⁹ From the ^(BD)sacrifice of peace offerings he shall then bring as an offering by fire to the Lord, its fat, the entire fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails, ¹⁰ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the ^[g]lobe of the liver, which he shall remove ^(BE)with the kidneys. ¹¹ Then the priest shall offer it up in smoke ^(BF)on the altar as ^(BG)food, an offering by fire to the Lord.

¹² ‘Now if his offering is ^(BH)a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord, ¹³ and he shall lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. ¹⁴ From it he shall present his offering as an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, ¹⁵ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the ^[h]lobe of the liver, which he shall remove ^(BI)with the kidneys. ¹⁶ The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire as a soothing aroma; ^(BJ)all fat is the Lord’s. ¹⁷ It is a ^(BK)permanent statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places: you shall not eat any fat ^(BL)or any blood.’”