8 2 The order of the lamps. 6 The purifying and offering of the Levites. 24 The age of the Levites when they are received to service, and when they are dismissed.
1 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 toward the [a]forefront of the Candlestick.
3 And Aaron did so, lighting the lamps thereof toward the forefront of the Candlestick, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
4 And this was the work of the Candlestick, even of gold beaten out with the hammer, both the shaft, and the flower thereof (A)was beaten out with the hammer: [b]according to the pattern which the Lord had showed Moses, so made he the Candlestick.
5 ¶ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and purify them.
7 And thus shalt thou do unto them, when thou purifiest them, Sprinkle [c]water of purification upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and wash their clothes: so they shall be clean.
8 Then they shall take a young bullock with his meat offering of fine flour, mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering.
9 Then thou shalt bring the Levites before the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and assemble [d]all the Congregation of the children of Israel.
10 Thou shalt bring the Levites also before the Lord, and the [e]children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites.
11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord, as a shake offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the Lord.
12 And the Levites shall put their hands upon the heads of the bullocks, and make thou the one a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering unto the Lord, that thou mayest make an atonement for the Levites.
13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, and offer them as a shake offering to the Lord.
14 Thus thou shalt separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be (B)mine.
15 And afterward shall the Levites go in, to serve in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and thou shalt purify them, and offer them as a shake offering.
16 For they are freely given (C)unto me from among the children of Israel, for [f]such as open any womb: for all the firstborn of the children of Israel have I taken them unto me.
17 (D)For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both of man and beast: since 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 have given the Levites as a gift unto Aaron, and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the [g]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 near unto the [h]Sanctuary.
20 ¶ Then Moses and Aaron and all the Congregation of the children of Israel did with the Levites, according unto all that the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites: so did the children of Israel unto them.
21 So the Levites were purified, and washed their clothes, and Aaron offered them as a shake offering before the Lord, and Aaron made an atonement for them, to purify them.
22 And after that, went the Levites in to do their service in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, [i]before Aaron and before his sons: as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did unto them.
23 ¶ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
24 This also belongeth to the Levites: from five and twenty years old and upward, they shall go in, to execute their office in the service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
25 And after the age of fifty years, they shall cease from executing the [j]office, and shall serve no more.
26 But they shall minister [k]with their brethren in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, to keep things committed to their charge, but they shall do no service: thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.
Footnotes
- Numbers 8:2 To that part which is over against the Candlestick, Exod. 25:37.
- Numbers 8:4 And not set together of divers pieces.
- Numbers 8:7 In Hebrew it is called the water of sin, because it is made to purge sin, as Num. 19:9.
- Numbers 8:9 That thou mayest do this in presence of them all.
- Numbers 8:10 Meaning, certain of them in the name of the whole.
- Numbers 8:16 That is, they that are the firstborn.
- Numbers 8:19 Which service the Israelites should else do.
- Numbers 8:19 Because the Levites go into the Sanctuary in their name.
- Numbers 8:22 In their presence, to serve them.
- Numbers 8:25 Such office as was painful, as to bear burdens and such like.
- Numbers 8:26 In singing Psalms, instructing, counseling and keeping the things in order.