Numbers 8
New American Standard Bible
The Seven Lamps
8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you [a]mount the lamps, the seven lamps will (A)provide light in the front of the lampstand.’” 3 Therefore Aaron did so; he [b]mounted its lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 4 (B)Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold; from its base to its flower ornamentation it was hammered work; (C)according to the [c]pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.
Cleansing the Levites
5 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and (D)cleanse them. 7 This is what you shall do to them, for their cleansing: sprinkle [d]purifying (E)water on them, and have them [e](F)use a razor over their whole [f]body, and they shall (G)wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. 8 Then have them take a [g]bull with (H)its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and you shall take a second [h]bull as a sin offering. 9 So (I)you shall present the Levites in front of the tent of meeting. (J)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 (K)shall lay their hands on the Levites. 11 Aaron then shall [i]present the Levites before the Lord as a (L)wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may [j]qualify to perform the service of the Lord. 12 Now (M)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 (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)exclusively given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself (Q)instead of the firstborn of every womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. 17 For (R)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 (S)I have given the Levites as [k]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)affliction among the sons of Israel due to [l]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 (U)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.
Retirement for the Levites
23 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “This is what applies to the Levites: from (V)twenty-five years old and upward [m]they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. 25 But at the age of fifty years they shall [n]retire from service in the work and not work anymore. 26 They may, however, [o]assist their brothers in the tent of meeting, (W)to fulfill an obligation, but they themselves shall do no work. In this way you shall deal with the Levites in their obligations.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 8:2 Lit put up
- Numbers 8:3 Lit put up
- Numbers 8:4 Lit appearance
- 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 8:24 Lit he
- Numbers 8:25 Lit return
- Numbers 8:26 Lit serve
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
Living Bible
8 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron that when he lights the seven lamps in the lampstand, he is to set them so that they will throw their light forward.”
3 So Aaron did this. 4 The lampstand, including the floral decorations on the base and branches, was made entirely of beaten gold. It was constructed according to the exact design the Lord had shown Moses.
5-6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now set apart the Levites from the other people of Israel. 7 Do this by sprinkling water of purification upon them, then having them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothing and themselves. 8 Have them bring a young bull and a grain offering of fine flour mingled with oil, along with another young bull for a sin offering. 9 Then bring the Levites to the door of the Tabernacle as all the people watch. 10 There the leaders[a] of the tribes shall lay their hands upon them, 11 and Aaron, with a gesture of offering, shall present them to the Lord as a gift from the entire nation of Israel. The Levites will represent all the people in serving the Lord.
12 “Next, the Levite leaders shall lay their hands upon the heads of the young bulls and offer them before the Lord; one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites. 13 Then the Levites are to be presented to Aaron and his sons, just as any other gift to the Lord is given to the priests! 14 In this way you will dedicate the Levites from among the rest of the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine. 15 After you have sanctified them and presented them in this way, they shall go in and out of the Tabernacle to do their work.
16 “They are mine from among all the people of Israel, and I have accepted them in place of all the firstborn children of the Israelites: I have taken the Levites as their substitutes. 17 For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both men and animals; I claimed them for myself the night I killed all the firstborn Egyptians. 18 Yes, I have accepted the Levites in place of all the eldest sons of Israel. 19 And I will give the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons. The Levites will carry out the sacred duties required of the people of Israel in the Tabernacle, and will offer the people’s sacrifices, making atonement for them. There will be no plague among the Israelites—as there would be if the ordinary people entered the Tabernacle.”
20 So Moses and Aaron and all the people of Israel dedicated the Levites, carefully following Jehovah’s instructions to Moses. 21 The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them to the Lord in a gesture of offering. He then performed the rite of atonement over them to purify them. 22 After that they went into the Tabernacle as assistants to Aaron and his sons; everything was done just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
23-24 The Lord also instructed Moses, “The Levites are to begin serving in the Tabernacle at the age of twenty-five, and are to retire at the age of fifty. 25-26 After retirement they can assist with various light duties in the Tabernacle, but will have no regular responsibilities.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 8:10 There the leaders, implied. Also in v. 12.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.