Numbers 8
Modern English Version
The Seven Lamps
8 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps will give light before the lampstand.
3 Aaron did so. He lit the lamps before the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses. 4 And this was the work of the lampstand: hammered gold, to its shaft, to its flowers was beaten work. According to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.
Consecrating the Levites
5 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them. 7 Thus you will do to them to cleanse them: Splash purifying water on them, and let them shave their whole body, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. 8 Then let them take a young bull with its grain offering, also fine flour mixed with oil, and you will take another young bull as a sin offering. 9 You will bring the Levites before the tent of meeting. And you will gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together. 10 And you will bring the Levites before the Lord. And the children of Israel will put their hands on the Levites. 11 And Aaron will offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering of the children of Israel, that they may do the service of the Lord.
12 The Levites will lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you will offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make an atonement for the Levites. 13 You will set the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, and offer them as a wave offering to the Lord. 14 Thus will you separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites will be Mine.
15 And afterwards the Levites will go in to do the service of the tent of meeting, and you will cleanse them and offer them as a wave offering. 16 For they are completely set aside for Me by the children of Israel. Instead of all who open the womb, instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them for Myself. 17 For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are Mine, both man and animal. On the day that I struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself. 18 I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel. 19 I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to serve the service of the children of Israel in the tent of meeting and to make an atonement for the children of Israel, so there will be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel approach the sanctuary.
20 Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did to the Levites; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the children of Israel did to them. 21 The Levites cleansed themselves from sin, and they washed their clothes, and Aaron offered them as a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made an 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 before his sons. As the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
23 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 24 This is what belongs to the Levites: From twenty-five years old and older they will go in to do their duty concerning the service of the tent of meeting. 25 And from the age of fifty years they will cease doing their duty concerning its service and will serve no more. 26 But they will minister with their brothers in the tent of meeting, to attend to their needs, but will not do the work. Thus you will do to the Levites concerning their duties.
Numbers 8
Expanded Bible
The Lampstand
8 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to Aaron and tell him, ‘Put the seven lamps where they can light the area in front of the ·lampstand [L Menorah; Ex. 25:31–40].’”
3 Aaron did this, putting the lamps so they lighted the area in front of the ·lampstand [L Menorah]; he obeyed the command the Lord gave Moses. 4 The ·lampstand [L Menorah] was made from hammered gold, from its base to the flowers [C like a flowering tree, reminding worshipers of Eden]. It was made exactly the way the Lord had showed Moses.
The Levites Are Given to God
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Take the Levites away from the other ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] and make them clean [C in a ritual sense]. 7 This is what you should do to make them clean: Sprinkle the cleansing water on them, and have them shave their bodies and wash their clothes so they will be clean. 8 They must take a young bull and the grain offering of flour mixed with oil that goes with it. Then take a second young bull for a ·sin [or purification] offering [Lev. 4:3]. 9 Bring the Levites to the front of the Meeting Tent, and gather all the ·Israelites [L community/congregation/assembly of the sons/T children of Israel] around. 10 When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] should put their hands on them [C a ritual of identification, showing that the Israelites had a part in their consecration]. 11 Aaron will present the Levites before the Lord as an offering presented from the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. Then the Levites will be ready to do the work of the Lord.
12 “The Levites will ·put [lay] their hands [8:10; Ex. 29:10] on the bulls’ heads—one bull will be a ·sin [or purification] offering [Lev. 4:3] to the Lord, and the other will be a burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17], to ·remove the sins of the Levites so they will belong to the Lord [make atonement for the Levites]. 13 Make the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and present the Levites as an elevation offering to the Lord. 14 In this way you must ·set apart [separate] the Levites from the other ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]; the Levites will be mine.
15 “Make the Levites pure [C in a ritual sense], and ·present [elevate] them as an offering so that they may come to work at the Meeting Tent. 16 They will be given completely to me from the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]; I have taken them for myself instead of ·the firstborn of every Israelite woman [L those who open the womb, the firstborn of all the sons/T children of Israel]. 17 All the firstborn ·in Israel—people or animals[—L among the sons/T children of Israel and among people and among animals] are mine. When I ·killed [L struck] all the firstborn in Egypt [Ex. 12:12–13], I ·set the firstborn in Israel aside for myself [L consecrated/sanctified them to me; Ex. 13:2, 11–16; 22:29–30; 34:19–20]. 18 But I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn ·in Israel [L among the sons/T children of Israel]. 19 From all the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] I have given the Levites to Aaron and his sons so that they may serve the Israelites at the Meeting Tent. They will ·help remove the Israelites’ sins so they will belong to the Lord [L make atonement for the sons/T children of Israel] and so that no ·disaster [plague] will strike the Israelites when they approach the ·Holy Place [Tabernacle].”
20 So Moses, Aaron, and all the ·Israelites [L community/congregation/assembly of the sons/T children of Israel] obeyed and did with the Levites what the Lord commanded Moses. 21 The Levites made themselves clean from sin and washed their clothes. Then Aaron ·presented [elevated] them as an offering to the Lord. He also ·removed their sins [made atonement for them] so they would be pure [C in a ritual sense]. 22 After that, the Levites came to the Meeting Tent to work, and Aaron and his sons told them what to do. They did with the Levites what the Lord commanded Moses.
23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “This command is for the Levites. Everyone twenty-five years old or older must come to the Meeting Tent, because they all have jobs to do there. 25 At the age of fifty, they must retire from their jobs and not work again. 26 They may ·help [serve; minister to] their fellow Levites with their work at the Meeting Tent, but they must not do the work themselves. This is the way you are to give the Levites their jobs.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.