Numbers 8
EasyEnglish Bible
The special lampstand
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Speak to Aaron and say to him, “When you put the lamps on the lampstand, the seven lamps must give light in front of the lampstand.” ’
3 So Aaron did that. He put its lamps at the front of the lampstand, as the Lord had said to Moses. 4 A worker had made the lampstand from one piece of gold that he had made flat with a hammer. From its base to the flowers at the top, he had made it in that way. It was completely like the lampstand that the Lord had shown to Moses.[a]
The Levites must be ready to serve God
5 Again the Lord spoke to Moses and he said, 6 ‘Take the Levites from among the Israelites and make them clean. 7 You will make them clean like this: Put on them the special water that makes people clean. They must remove all the hair from their whole body, and they must wash their clothes. Then they will be clean. 8 Then they must take a bull with the proper grain offering and oil. And you must take another bull for a sin offering. 9 Then you must bring the Levites in front of the Tent of Meeting. You must also bring all the Israelites there. 10 You must bring the Levites in front of the Lord. Then the Israelites must put their hands on the Levites' heads. 11 Aaron must give the Levites to the Lord as a special offering from the Israelites. Then they will be ready to do the Lord's work.
12 Then the Levites must put their hands on the heads of the bulls. Then offer one bull for a sin offering and the other one for a burnt offering to the Lord.[b] That will make peace with the Lord for the Levites sin. 13 And you must cause the Levites to stand in front of Aaron and his sons. So they will be a special gift to the Lord. 14 That is how you will make the Levites separate from the other Israelites. And then the Levites will be mine.
15 Then after that the Levites can go in to work in the Tent of Meeting. But you must make them clean and you must bring them to me as a special gift. 16 That is because all the Levites among the Israelites are mine. All the Israelites' firstborn sons are mine. But I have taken the Levites for myself instead. 17 Every firstborn son among the Israelites is mine. And all the firstborn male animals are mine too. On the day that I killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt I made them special for myself. 18 But now I have not taken all the firstborn sons among the Israelites. I have taken the Levites instead. 19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the Israelites. They will work at the Tent of Meeting on behalf of the Israelites. And they will make peace with me on behalf of the Israelites. So there will not be a bad disease among the Israelites when they go near to God's Holy Tent.’
20 So Moses and Aaron and all the Israelites did those things to the Levites. The Israelites did everything that the Lord had said to Moses about the Levites. 21 The Levites, too, made themselves clean and they washed their clothes. And Aaron brought them in front of Lord as a special gift. Aaron also burnt sacrifices to make them clean. 22 After that, the Levites went in to do their work in the Tent of Meeting. They helped Aaron and his sons. The Israelites did everything with the Levites that the Lord had said to Moses about them.
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses again and he said, 24 ‘These are the rules about the Levites: The men who are 25 years old or older must go in to work in the Tent of Meeting. 25 But they must stop that work when they are 50 years old. And they must not do that work after that. 26 But they can help the other Levites in the Tent of Meeting. They can help them to do their jobs. But they themselves must not have any jobs. Those are the rules about the Levites and about their jobs.’
Footnotes
- 8:4 The lampstand was the shape of a tree with 3 branches on the left of it and 3 branches on the right of it. There were models of flowers on the branches. Each branch held one lamp.
- 8:12 The burnt offering showed that Levi's tribe were giving themselves to God completely. The sin offering made them clean from sin.
Numbers 8
King James Version
8 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto Aaron and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.
3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the Lord commanded Moses.
4 And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the Lord had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.
5 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.
7 And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.
8 Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering.
9 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together:
10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:
11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the Lord.
12 And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the Lord, to make an atonement for the Levites.
13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the Lord.
14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.
15 And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.
16 For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.
17 For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.
18 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.
19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.
20 And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them.
21 And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the Lord; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.
22 And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.
23 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
24 This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:
25 And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more:
26 But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.
Numbers 8
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Lamp Stand in the Tent
8 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to Aaron and tell him: When you set up the seven lamps on the lamp stand, they should light up the area in front of it.”
3 So Aaron set up the lamps on the lamp stand to light up the area in front of it, as the Lord commanded Moses.
4 This is how the lamp stand was made: The whole lamp stand, from top to bottom, was hammered out of gold. It was made exactly like the one the Lord had shown Moses.
The Levites Are Made Ready to Do the Lord’s Work
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and make them clean.[a] 7 This is what you must do to make them clean: Sprinkle them with water to take away their sins. Make them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes. Then they will be clean. 8 Next, they must take a young bull and the grain offering of flour mixed with olive oil that is offered with it. You must take a second young bull as an offering for sin. 9 Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting, and assemble the whole community of Israel. 10 Then bring the Levites into the Lord’s presence, and the Israelites will place their hands on them. 11 Aaron will present the Levites to the Lord as an offering from the Israelites. Then they will be ready to do the Lord’s work.
12 “The Levites will place their hands on the heads of the young bulls. Sacrifice one of them as an offering for sin and the other one as a burnt offering to the Lord. These sacrifices will make peace with the Lord for the Levites. 13 Make the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons, and present them as an offering to the Lord. 14 In this way you will separate the Levites from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.
15 “Once you have made them clean and presented them as an offering, the Levites may come and do their work at the tent of meeting. 16 They will be the only Israelites given to me. I have taken them to be mine as substitutes for every firstborn male offspring of the Israelites. 17 Every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal, is mine. The day I killed every firstborn male in Egypt, I set them apart as holy to me. 18 So I have taken the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn sons of the Israelites. 19 The Levites will be the only Israelites I give to Aaron and his sons. They will work for the Israelites at the tent of meeting. They will make peace with the Lord for the Israelites. Then no plague will strike the Israelites when they come near the holy place.”
20 Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel did what the Lord commanded Moses to do to the Levites. 21 The Levites performed the ceremonies to take away their sins and washed their clothes. Aaron presented them as an offering to the Lord and made peace with the Lord for them in order to make them clean. 22 After that, the Levites came and did their work at the tent of meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. They did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “These are the instructions for the Levites: Men 25 years old or older are eligible to serve at the tent of meeting. 25 But when they’re 50 years old, they must retire from active service and not work anymore. 26 They may assist the other Levites in their duties at the tent of meeting, but they may not do any regular work. This is how you will handle the Levites’ duties.”
Footnotes
- 8:6 “Clean ” refers to anything that is presentable to God.
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