⁷⁸ On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan, leader of the tribe of Naphtali, presented his offering.

⁷⁹ His offering consisted of a silver platter weighing 3 1⁄4 pounds and a silver basin weighing 1 3⁄4 pounds (as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel). These were both filled with grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil. ⁸⁰ He also brought a gold container weighing four ounces, which was filled with incense. ⁸¹ He brought a young bull, a ram, and a one-year-old male lamb for a burnt offering, ⁸² and a male goat for a sin offering. ⁸³ For a peace offering he brought two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs. This was the offering brought by Ahira son of Enan.

⁸⁴ So this was the dedication offering brought by the leaders of Israel at the time the altar was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver basins, and twelve gold incense containers. ⁸⁵ Each silver platter weighed 3 1⁄4 pounds, and each silver basin weighed 1 3⁄4 pounds. The total weight of the silver was 60 pounds^[a] (as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel). ⁸⁶ Each of the twelve gold containers that was filled with incense weighed four ounces (as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel). The total weight of the gold was three pounds.^{[b] 87} Twelve young bulls, twelve rams, and twelve one-year-old male lambs were donated for the burnt offerings, along with their prescribed grain offerings. Twelve male goats were brought for the sin offerings. ⁸⁸ Twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty male goats, and sixty one-year-old male lambs were donated for the peace offerings. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed.

⁸⁹ Whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant.^[c] The Lord spoke to him from there.

Preparing the Lamps

8 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Give Aaron the following instructions: When you set up the seven lamps in the lampstand, place them so their light shines forward in front of the lampstand.” ³ So Aaron did this. He set up the seven lamps so they reflected their light forward, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴ The entire lampstand, from its base to its decorative blossoms, was made of beaten gold. It was built according to the exact design the Lord had shown Moses.

The Levites Dedicated

⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, ⁶ “Now set the Levites apart from the rest of the people of Israel and make them ceremonially clean. ⁷ Do this by sprinkling them with the water of purification, and have them shave their entire body and wash their clothing. Then they will be ceremonially clean. ⁸ Have them bring a young bull and a grain offering of choice flour moistened with olive oil, along with a second young bull for a sin offering. ⁹ Then assemble the whole community of Israel, and present the Levites at the entrance of the Tabernacle.^{[d] 10} When you present the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel must lay their hands on them. ¹¹ Raising his hands, Aaron must then present the Levites to the Lord as a special offering from the people of Israel, thus dedicating them to the Lord’s service.

¹² “Next the Levites will lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls. Present one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to purify the Levites and make them right with the Lord.^{[e] 13} Then have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons, and raise your hands and present them as a special offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ In this way, you will set the Levites apart from the rest of the people of Israel, and the Levites will belong to me. ¹⁵ After this, they may go into the Tabernacle to do their work, because you have purified them and presented them as a special offering.

¹⁶ “Of all the people of Israel, the Levites are reserved for me. I have claimed them for myself in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites; I have taken the Levites as their substitutes. ¹⁷ For all the firstborn males among the people of Israel are mine, both of people and of animals. I set them apart for myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. ¹⁸ Yes, I have claimed the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons of Israel. ¹⁹ And of all the Israelites, I have assigned the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They will serve in the Tabernacle on behalf of the Israelites and make sacrifices to purify^[f] the people so no plague will strike them when they approach the sanctuary.”

²⁰ So Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel dedicated the Levites, carefully following all the Lord’s instructions to Moses. ²¹ The Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and Aaron lifted them up and presented them to the Lord as a special offering. He then offered a sacrifice to purify them and make them right with the Lord.^{[g] 22} After that the Levites went into the Tabernacle to perform their duties, assisting Aaron and his sons. So they carried out all the commands that the Lord gave Moses concerning the Levites.

²³ The Lord also instructed Moses, ²⁴ “This is the rule the Levites must follow: They must begin serving in the Tabernacle at the age of twenty-five, ²⁵ and they must retire at the age of fifty. ²⁶ After retirement they may assist their fellow Levites by serving as guards at the Tabernacle, but they may not officiate in the service. This is how you must assign duties to the Levites.”

The Second Passover

9 A year after Israel’s departure from Egypt, the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. In the first month^[h] of that year he said, ² “Tell the Israelites to celebrate the Passover at the prescribed time, ³ at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.^[i] Be sure to follow all my decrees and regulations concerning this celebration.”

⁴ So Moses told the people to celebrate the Passover ⁵ in the wilderness of Sinai as twilight fell on the fourteenth day of the month. And they celebrated the festival there, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁶ But some of the men had been ceremonially defiled by touching a dead body, so they could not celebrate the Passover that day. They came to Moses and Aaron that day ⁷ and said, “We have become ceremonially unclean by touching a dead body. But why should we be prevented from presenting the Lord’s offering at the proper time with the rest of the Israelites?”

⁸ Moses answered, “Wait here until I have received instructions for you from the Lord.”

⁹ This was the Lord’s reply to Moses. ¹⁰ “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If any of the people now or in future generations are ceremonially unclean at Passover time because of touching a dead body, or if they are on a journey and cannot be present at the ceremony, they may still celebrate the Lord’s Passover. ¹¹ They must offer the Passover sacrifice one month later, at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month.^[j] They must eat the Passover lamb at that time with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast. ¹² They must not leave any of the lamb until the next morning, and they must not break any of its bones. They must follow all the normal regulations concerning the Passover.

¹³ “But those who neglect to celebrate the Passover at the regular time, even though they are ceremonially clean and not away on a trip, will be cut off from the community of Israel. If they fail to present the Lord’s offering at the proper time, they will suffer the consequences of their guilt. ¹⁴ And if foreigners living among you want to celebrate the Passover to the Lord, they must follow these same decrees and regulations. The same laws apply both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you.”