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Numbers 8:5-22
New American Standard Bible
Numbers 8:5-22
New American Standard Bible
Cleansing the Levites
5 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and (A)cleanse them. 7 This is what you shall do to them, for their cleansing: sprinkle [a]purifying (B)water on them, and have them [b](C)use a razor over their whole [c]body, and they shall (D)wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. 8 Then have them take a [d]bull with (E)its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and you shall take a second [e]bull as a sin offering. 9 So (F)you shall present the Levites in front of the tent of meeting. (G)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 (H)shall lay their hands on the Levites. 11 Aaron then shall [f]present the Levites before the Lord as a (I)wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may [g]qualify to perform the service of the Lord. 12 Now (J)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 (K)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 (L)present them as a wave offering; 16 for they are (M)exclusively given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself (N)instead of the firstborn of every womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. 17 For (O)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 (P)I have given the Levites as [h]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 (Q)affliction among the sons of Israel due to [i]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 (R)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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 8:7 Lit water of expiation
- Numbers 8:7 Lit cause to pass
- Numbers 8:7 Lit flesh
- Numbers 8:8 Lit bull, a son of the herd
- Numbers 8:8 Lit bull, a son of the herd
- Numbers 8:11 Lit wave, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 8:11 Lit be to perform
- Numbers 8:19 Lit given ones
- Numbers 8:19 Lit the sons of Israel’s
Numbers 8:5-22
Revised Standard Version
Numbers 8:5-22
Revised Standard Version
Consecration and Service of the Levites
5 And the Lord said to Moses, 6 “Take the Levites from among the people of Israel, and cleanse them. 7 And thus you shall do to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of expiation upon them, and let them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. 8 Then let them take a young bull and its cereal offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull for a sin offering. 9 And you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting, and assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel. 10 When you present the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites, 11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of the Lord. 12 Then the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bulls; and you shall offer 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 cause the Levites to attend Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as a wave offering to the Lord.
14 “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine. 15 And after that the Levites shall go in to do service at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a wave offering. 16 For they are wholly given to me from among the people of Israel; instead of all that open the womb, the first-born of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself. 17 For all the first-born among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast; on the day that I slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, 18 and I have taken the Levites instead of all the first-born among the people of Israel. 19 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 to make atonement for the people of Israel, that there may be no plague among the people of Israel in case the people of Israel should 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 the Levites purified themselves from sin, and washed their clothes; and 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 in attendance upon Aaron and his sons; as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
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Numbers 8:5-22
New International Version
Numbers 8:5-22
New International Version
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.(A) 7 To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing(B) on them; then have them shave their whole bodies(C) and wash their clothes.(D) And so they will purify themselves.(E) 8 Have them take a young bull with its grain offering of the finest flour mixed with olive oil;(F) then you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.[a](G) 9 Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting(H) and assemble the whole Israelite community.(I) 10 You are to bring the Levites before the Lord, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them.(J) 11 Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering(K) 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,(L) using one for a sin offering(M) to the Lord and the other for a burnt offering,(N) to make atonement(O) for the Levites. 13 Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering(P) to the Lord. 14 In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.(Q)
15 “After you have purified the Levites and presented them as a wave offering,(R) they are to come to do their work at the tent of meeting.(S) 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,(T) the first male offspring(U) from every Israelite woman. 17 Every firstborn male in Israel, whether human or animal,(V) is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself.(W) 18 And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel.(X) 19 From among all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons(Y) to do the work at the tent of meeting on behalf of the Israelites(Z) and to make atonement for them(AA) 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.(AB) Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord and made atonement(AC) for them to purify them.(AD) 22 After that, the Levites came to do their work(AE) at the tent of meeting under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. They did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 8:8 Or purification offering; also in verse 12
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Revised Standard Version (RSV)
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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.
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