Numbers 8

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 The LORD spoke to Moses, and said,	1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 "Give Aaron this command: When you set up the seven lamps, have them throw their light toward the front of the lampstand."	2 “Speak to Aaron, and you shall say to him: When you place the seven lamps, let the lampstand be set up on the south side. Therefore, give this instruction: that the lamps should look out from the region opposite the north, toward the table of the bread of the presence; they shall give light opposite that area, toward the area that the lampstand faces.”
3 Aaron did so, setting up the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.	3 And Aaron did so, and he placed the lamps on the lampstand, just as the Lord had instructed Moses.
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.	4 Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand: it was of ductile gold, both the main shaft and all that originated from both sides of the branches. According to the example that the Lord revealed to Moses, so did he make the lampstand.
5 The LORD said to Moses:	5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
6 "Take the Levites from among the Israelites and purify them.	6 “Take the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and you shall purify them
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.	7 according to this ritual: Let them be sprinkled with the water of illumination, and let them shave off all the hairs of their body. And when they have washed their garments and have been cleansed,
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.	8 they shall take an ox from the herd, with its libation of fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil; then you shall receive another ox from the herd for sin.
9 Then have the Levites come forward in front of the meeting tent, where you shall assemble also the whole community of the Israelites.	9 And you shall bring forward the Levites before the tabernacle of the covenant, calling together all the multitude of the sons of Israel.
10 While the Levites are present before the LORD, the Israelites shall lay their hands upon them.	10 And when the Levites are before the Lord, the sons of Israel shall place their hands upon them.
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.	11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites as a gift in the sight of the Lord, from the sons of Israel, so that they may serve in his ministry.
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.	12 Likewise, the Levites shall place their hands upon the heads of the oxen; you shall make use of one of these for sin, and the other as a holocaust to the Lord, so that you may intercede for them.
13 Thus, then, shall you have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, to be offered as a wave offering to the LORD;	13 And you shall set the Levites in the sight of Aaron and his sons, and you shall consecrate those being offered to the Lord,
14 and thus shall you set aside the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, that they may be mine.	14 and you shall separate them from the midst of the sons of Israel, so that they may be for me.
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;	15 And after this, they shall enter the tabernacle of the covenant, in order to serve me. And so shall you purify and consecrate them as an oblation to the Lord. For they were given to me as a gift from the sons of Israel.
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.	16 I have accepted them in place of the firstborn which open every womb in Israel.
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.	17 For all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, as much from men as from beasts, are mine. From the day when I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I have sanctified them to myself.
18 But in place of all the first-born Israelites I have taken the Levites;	18 And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel.
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."	19 And I have delivered them as a gift to Aaron and his sons, from the midst of the people, in order to serve me, for Israel, in the tabernacle of the covenant, and in order to pray for them, lest there be a scourge among the people, if they were to dare to approach to my Sanctuary.”
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.	20 And Moses and Aaron, and all the multitude of the sons of Israel, accomplished all that the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites.
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.	21 And they were purified, and they washed their garments. And Aaron lifted them up in the sight of the Lord, and he prayed for 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.	22 so that, having been purified, they might enter to their duties in the tabernacle of the covenant before Aaron and his sons. Just as the Lord had instructed Moses about the Levites, so was it done.
23 The LORD said to Moses:	23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
24 "This is the rule for the Levites. Each from his twenty-fifth year onward shall perform the required service in the meeting tent.	24 “This is the law of the Levites: From twenty-five years and above, they shall enter to minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.
25 When he is fifty years old, he shall retire from the required service and work no longer.	25 And when they will have completed the fiftieth year of age, they shall cease to serve.
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."	26 And they shall be the ministers of their brothers in the tabernacle of the covenant, in order to care for the things that have been commended to them, but not to perform the works themselves. So shall you assign the Levites in their duties.”