Numbers 8

KING JAMES BIBLE	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,	1 The LORD spoke to Moses, and said,
2 Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.	2 "Give Aaron this command: When you set up the seven lamps, have them throw their light toward the front of the lampstand."
3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses.	3 Aaron did so, setting up the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had 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.	4 The lampstand was made of beaten gold in both its shaft and its branches, according to the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses.
5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,	5 The LORD said to Moses:
6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.	6 "Take the Levites from among the Israelites and purify 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.	7 This is what you shall do to them to purify them. Sprinkle them with the water of remission; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.
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.	8 They shall take a young bull, along with its cereal offering of fine flour mixed with oil; you shall take another young bull 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:	9 Then have the Levites come forward in front of the meeting tent, where you shall assemble also the whole community of the Israelites.
10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:	10 While the Levites are present before the LORD, the Israelites shall lay their hands upon them.
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.	11 Let Aaron then offer the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the Israelites, thus devoting them to 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.	12 The Levites in turn shall lay their hands on the heads of the bullocks, which shall then be immolated, the one as a sin offering and the other as a holocaust to the LORD, in 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.	13 Thus, then, shall you have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, to be offered as a wave offering to the LORD;
14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.	14 and thus shall you set aside the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, that they may 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.	15 "Only then shall the Levites enter upon their service in the meeting tent. You shall purify them and offer them as a wave 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.	16 because they, among the Israelites, are strictly dedicated to me; I have taken them for myself in place of every first-born that opens the womb among the Israelites.
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.	17 Indeed, all the first-born among the Israelites, both of man and of beast, belong to me; I consecrated them to myself on the day I slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt.
18 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.	18 But in place of all the first-born Israelites I have taken the Levites;
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.	19 and I have given these dedicated Israelites to Aaron and his sons to discharge the duties of the Israelites in the meeting tent and to make atonement for them, so that no plague may strike among the Israelites should they come near 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.	20 Thus, then, did Moses and Aaron and the whole community of the Israelites deal with the Levites, carrying out exactly the command which the LORD had given Moses concerning 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.	21 When the Levites had cleansed themselves of sin and washed their clothes, Aaron offered them as a wave offering before the LORD, and made atonement for them to purify 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.	22 Only then did they enter upon their service in the meeting tent under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. The command which the LORD had given Moses concerning the Levites was carried out.
23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,	23 The LORD said to Moses:
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:	24 "This is the rule for the Levites. Each from his twenty-fifth year onward shall perform the required service in the meeting tent.
25 And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more:	25 When he is fifty years old, he shall retire from the required service and work no longer.
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.	26 His service with his fellow Levites shall consist in sharing their responsibilities in the meeting tent, but he shall not do the work. This, then, is how you are to regulate the duties of the Levites."