THE BOOK OF NUMBERS

 

Numbers Chapter 8

1 ¶ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2 Speak to Aaron, and say to him, When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.

3 And Aaron did so; he set up its lamps to give light in front of the lampstand, as the LORD commanded Moses.

4 And this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold, from its base to its flowers: it was hammered according to the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

5 ¶ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.

7 And this is what you shall do to them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave their entire body, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.

8 Then let them take a young bullock with its grain offering, even fine flour mixed with oil, and take another young bullock for a sin offering.

9 And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and you shall gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together:

10 And you shall bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites:

11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD as an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD.

12 And the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bullocks: and you shall offer one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, to the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites.

13 And you shall set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them as an offering to the LORD.

14 Thus shall you separate the Levites from the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.

15 And after that the Levites shall go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: when you have cleansed them, and offered them as a wave offering.

16 For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them to myself.

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: so that there is no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come near to the sanctuary.

20 And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according to all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel to 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 the Levites went 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 they did to them.

23 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

24 This is it what belongs to the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to perform the work of the tabernacle of the congregation:

25 And from the age of fifty years they shall cease from the work of the service, and shall serve no more:

26 But shall help their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, but shall do no heavy work. Thus shall you do to the Levites in regard to their duties.