Numeri 8
Conferenza Episcopale Italiana
Le lampade del candelabro
8 Il Signore disse ancora a Mosè: 2 «Parla ad Aronne e riferisci: Quando collocherai le lampade, le sette lampade dovranno proiettare la luce davanti al candelabro». 3 Aronne fece così: collocò le lampade in modo che facessero luce davanti al candelabro, come il Signore aveva ordinato a Mosè. 4 Ora il candelabro aveva questa fattura: era d'oro lavorato a martello, dal suo fusto alle sue corolle era un solo lavoro a martello. Mosè aveva fatto il candelabro secondo la figura che il Signore gli aveva mostrato.
I leviti sono offerti al Signore
5 Il Signore parlò a Mosè: 6 «Prendi i leviti tra gli Israeliti e purificali. 7 Per purificarli farai così: li aspergerai con l'acqua dell'espiazione; faranno passare il rasoio su tutto il loro corpo, laveranno le loro vesti e si purificheranno. 8 Poi prenderanno un giovenco con l'oblazione consueta di fior di farina intrisa in olio e tu prenderai un altro giovenco per il sacrificio espiatorio. 9 Farai avvicinare i leviti dinanzi alla tenda del convegno e convocherai tutta la comunità degli Israeliti. 10 Farai avvicinare i leviti davanti al Signore e gli Israeliti porranno le mani sui leviti; 11 Aronne presenterà i leviti come offerta da farsi con il rito di agitazione davanti al Signore da parte degli Israeliti ed essi faranno il servizio del Signore. 12 Poi i leviti porranno le mani sulla testa dei giovenchi e tu ne offrirai uno in sacrificio espiatorio per i leviti. 13 Farai stare i leviti davanti ad Aronne e davanti ai suoi figli e li presenterai come un'offerta da farsi con il rito di agitazione in onore del Signore. 14 Così separerai i leviti dagli Israeliti e i leviti saranno miei. 15 Dopo, i leviti verranno a fare il servizio nella tenda del convegno; tu li purificherai e li presenterai come un'offerta fatta con la rituale agitazione; 16 poiché mi sono tutti dediti tra gli Israeliti, io li ho presi con me, invece di quanti nascono per primi dalla madre, invece dei primogeniti di tutti gli Israeliti. 17 Poiché tutti i primogeniti degli Israeliti, tanto degli uomini quanto del bestiame, sono miei; io me li sono consacrati il giorno in cui percossi tutti i primogeniti nel paese d'Egitto. 18 Ho preso i leviti invece di tutti i primogeniti degli Israeliti. 19 Ho dato in dono ad Aronne e ai suoi figli i leviti tra gli Israeliti, perché facciano il servizio degli Israeliti nella tenda del convegno e perché compiano il rito espiatorio per gli Israeliti, perché nessun flagello colpisca gli Israeliti, qualora gli Israeliti si accostino al santuario».
20 Così fecero Mosè, Aronne e tutta la comunità degli Israeliti per i leviti; gli Israeliti fecero per i leviti quanto il Signore aveva ordinato a Mosè a loro riguardo. 21 I leviti si purificarono e lavarono le loro vesti; Aronne li presentò come un'offerta da agitare secondo il rito davanti al Signore e fece l'espiazione per essi, per purificarli. 22 Dopo, i leviti vennero a fare il servizio nella tenda del convegno alla presenza di Aronne e dei suoi figli. Come il Signore aveva ordinato a Mosè per i leviti, così si fece per loro.
Le età del servizio
23 Il Signore parlò a Mosè: 24 «Questo riguarda i leviti: da venticinque anni in su il levita entrerà a formare la squadra per il servizio nella tenda del convegno. 25 Dall'età di cinquant'anni si ritirerà dalla squadra del servizio e non servirà più. 26 Aiuterà i suoi fratelli nella tenda del convegno sorvegliando ciò che è affidato alla loro custodia; ma non farà più servizio. Così farai per i leviti, per quel che riguarda i loro uffici».
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
Legacy Standard Bible
The Seven Lamps
8 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you [a]mount the lamps, the seven lamps will (A)give light in the front of the lampstand.’” 3 Aaron therefore did so; he [b]mounted its lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses. 4 (B)Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold; from its base to its flowers it was hammered work; (C)according to the pattern which Yahweh had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.
Cleansing of the Levites
5 Again Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and (D)cleanse them. 7 Thus you shall do to them, for their [c]cleansing: sprinkle [d]purifying (E)water on them, and let them [e](F)use a razor over their whole [f]body and (G)wash their clothes, and they will be clean. 8 Then let them take a bull from the herd with (H)its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and a second bull from the herd you shall take for a sin offering. 9 So (I)you shall bring the Levites near before the tent of meeting. (J)You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, 10 and bring the Levites near before Yahweh; and the sons of Israel (K)shall lay their hands on the Levites. 11 Aaron then shall [g]present the Levites before Yahweh as a (L)wave offering from the sons of Israel, that they may be qualified to perform the service of Yahweh. 12 Now (M)the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls; then offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to Yahweh, to make atonement for the Levites. 13 And you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and before his sons so as to present them as a wave offering to Yahweh.
14 “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and (N)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 (O)present them as a wave offering; 16 for they are (P)wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself (Q)instead of every first issue of the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. 17 For (R)every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the men and among the animals; on the day that I struck down 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 (S)And 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 (T)plague among the sons of Israel by [i]their coming near to the sanctuary.”
20 Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the sons of Israel to the Levites; according to all that Yahweh had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. 21 (U)The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before Yahweh. 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 before his sons; just as Yahweh had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
Retirement of the Levites
23 Now Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “This is what applies to the Levites: from (V)twenty-five years old and upward [j]they shall enter to perform their duty in the service of the tent of meeting. 25 But at the age of fifty years they shall [k]retire from their duty in the service and not serve anymore. 26 They may, however, minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting (W)in order to keep up their responsibility, but they themselves shall perform no service. Thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their responsibilities.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 8:2 Lit raise up
- Numbers 8:3 Lit raised up
- Numbers 8:7 Lit this their cleansing
- Numbers 8:7 Lit water of sin
- Numbers 8:7 Lit cause to pass
- Numbers 8:7 Lit flesh
- Numbers 8:11 Lit wave, so in ch
- Numbers 8:19 Lit given ones
- Numbers 8:19 Lit the sons of Israel’s
- Numbers 8:24 Lit he
- Numbers 8:25 Lit return
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.