1 ¶ And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

The Lord said to Moses,

2 S peak unto Aaron and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the face of the lampstand.

“Say to Aaron, ‘When you put the seven lamps on the lamp-stand, they should give light in front of the lamp-stand.’”

3 A nd Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the face of the lampstand, as the LORD commanded Moses.

And Aaron did so. He put the lamps so they would give light in front of the lamp-stand, as the Lord had told Moses.

4 A nd this work of the lampstand was of beaten gold, from the shaft thereof unto the flowers thereof; it was beaten work; according unto the pattern which the LORD had showed Moses, so he made the lampstand.

Now this is the way the lamp-stand was made. It was made of beaten gold from the base to its flowers. He made the lamp-stand the way the Lord had shown Moses. The Levites Are Set Apart

5 ¶ And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

Then the Lord said to Moses,

6 T ake the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and cleanse them.

“Take the Levites from among the people of Israel, and make them clean.

7 A nd thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of atonement for sin upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and be clean.

To make them clean, put holy water on them that takes away sin. Let them cut all the hair from their body, and wash their clothes, and they shall be clean.

8 T hen let them take a young bullock with his present, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou offer as sin.

Then let them take a young bull and its grain gift of fine flour mixed with oil. Take another young bull for a sin gift.

9 A nd thou shalt offer the Levites before the tabernacle of the testimony, and thou shalt gather the whole congregation of the sons of Israel together;

Bring the Levites in front of the meeting tent and gather together all the people of Israel also.

10 a nd thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD, and the sons of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites;

Bring the Levites before the Lord and the people of Israel will lay their hands on the Levites.

11 a nd Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for a wave offering of the sons of Israel, and they shall serve in the ministry of the LORD.

Aaron will give the Levites to the Lord as a wave gift from the people of Israel so they will be able to do the work of the Lord.

12 A nd the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks; and thou shalt offer the one as the sin, and the other as a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to reconcile the Levites.

The Levites will lay their hands on the heads of the bulls. They will give one for a sin gift and the other for a burnt gift to the Lord, to pay for the sins of the Levites.

13 A nd thou shalt cause the Levites to present themselves before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD.

Then have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons, to give them as a wave gift to the Lord.

14 A nd thou shalt separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine.

“So you will divide the Levites from the people of Israel. And the Levites will be Mine.

15 T hus shall the Levites go in to minister in the tabernacle of the testimony; and thou shalt cleanse them and wave them for an offering.

After that the Levites may go in to work in the meeting tent. But you must make them clean and give them as a wave gift.

16 F or they are completely given unto me from among the sons of Israel, instead of each one that opens the womb; instead of the firstborn of all the sons of Israel, I have taken them for myself.

For they are all given to Me from among the people of Israel. I have taken them for Myself instead of every first child to be born, the first-born of all the people of Israel.

17 F or all the firstborn of the sons of Israel are mine, both of man and of animals; from the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.

For every first-born among the people of Israel is Mine, both of man and animal. I set them apart for Myself on the day that I killed all the first-born in the land of Egypt.

18 A nd I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the sons of Israel.

But I have taken the Levites instead of every first-born among the people of Israel.

19 A nd I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, that they may serve the ministry of the sons of Israel in the tabernacle of the testimony and reconcile the sons of Israel, that there be no plague in the sons of Israel when the sons of Israel come near unto the sanctuary.

And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel. They will do the work of the people of Israel at the meeting tent. By this they take away the sins of the people of Israel. So no trouble will come upon the people of Israel if they come near the meeting tent.”

20 A nd Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the sons of Israel did to the Levites according unto all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the sons of Israel unto them.

Moses and Aaron and all the people of Israel did this to the Levites. The people of Israel did to them all the things the Lord had told Moses about the Levites.

21 A nd the sin was removed from the Levites, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them for a wave offering before the LORD; and Aaron reconciled them to cleanse them.

The Levites made themselves pure, putting away their sin. And they washed their clothes. Aaron gave them as a wave gift before the Lord. He did what had to be done to pay for their sin so they would be clean.

22 A nd thus went the Levites in to serve in their ministry in the tabernacle of the testimony before Aaron and before his sons; in the manner that the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.

After that the Levites went in to do their work in the meeting tent in front of Aaron and his sons. So they did to the Levites just what the Lord had told Moses to do.

23 A nd the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

The Lord said to Moses,

24 T his regarding the Levites from twenty-five years old and upward, they shall go in to serve in the host of the tabernacle of the testimony.

“This is the rule for the Levites. Those who are twenty-five years old and older will go in to do the work of the meeting tent.

25 A nd from the age of fifty years they shall return from their ministry unto the host and shall never serve again,

But when they are fifty years old they will stop these duties and not work any more.

26 b ut shall serve with their brethren in the tabernacle of the testimony, to stand guard, even though they do not serve in the ministry. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.

They may help their brothers in the meeting tent to do what needs to be done but they themselves must not do the work. These are the rules for the Levites when giving them their duties.”