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.
Numbers 8
English Standard Version
The Seven Lamps
8 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and say to him, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.” 3 And Aaron did so: he set up its lamps in front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses. 4 And (A)this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was hammered work; according to the pattern that the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.
Cleansing of the Levites
5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and cleanse them. 7 Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the (B)water of purification upon them, and (C)let them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. 8 Then let them take a bull from the herd and (D)its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, (E)and you shall take another bull from the herd for a sin offering. 9 (F)And you shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting (G)and assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel. 10 When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel (H)shall lay their hands on the Levites, 11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the Lord. 12 Then the Levites (I)shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer (J)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 set the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as (K)a wave offering to the Lord.
14 “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and (L)the Levites shall be mine. 15 And after that the Levites shall go in to serve at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a (M)wave offering. 16 For they are (N)wholly given to me from among the people of Israel. (O)Instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself. 17 (P)For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, 18 and I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel. 19 (Q)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 (R)to make atonement for the people of Israel, (S)that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel 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 (T)the Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and (U)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 before Aaron and his sons; as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
Retirement of the Levites
23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “This applies to the Levites: (V)from twenty-five years old and upward they[a] shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. 25 And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. 26 They minister[b] to their brothers in the tent of meeting (W)by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 8:24 Hebrew he; also verses 25, 26
- Numbers 8:26 Hebrew He ministers
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