Numbers 8

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	DOUAI-RHEIMS
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 thou shalt say to him: When thou shalt place the seven lamps, let the candlestick be set up on the south side. Give orders therefore that the lamps look over against the north, towards the table of the leaves of proposition, over against that part shall they give light, towards which the candlestick looketh.
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 put the lamps upon the candlestick, as the Lord had commanded 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 work of the candlestick, it was of beaten gold, both the shaft in the middle, and all that came out of both sides of the branches: according to the pattern which the Lord had shewn to Moses, so he made the candlestick.
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 out of the midst of the children of Israel, and thou shalt 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 rite: Let them be sprinkled with the water of purification, and let them shave all the hairs of their flesh. And when they shall have washed their garments, and are 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 of the herd, and for the offering thereof fine flour tempered with oil: and thou shalt take another ox of the herd for a sin offering:
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 thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the covenant, calling together all the multitude of the children 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 children of Israel shall put 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 children of Israel, 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 The Levites also shall put their hands upon the heads of the oxen, of which thou shalt sacrifice one for sin, and the other for a holocaust to the Lord, to pray 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 thou shalt set the Levites in the sight of Aaron and of his sons, and shalt consecrate them 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 shalt separate them from the midst of the children of Israel, to be mine.
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 afterwards they shall enter into the tabernacle of the covenant, to serve me. And thus shalt thou purify and consecrate them for an oblation of the Lord: for as a gift they were given me by the children 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 taken them instead of the firstborn that 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 children of Israel, both of men and of beasts, are mine. From the day that I slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, have I 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 for all the firstborn of the children 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 have delivered them for a gift to Aaron and his sons out of the midst of the people, to serve me for Israel in the tabernacle of the covenant, and to pray for them, lest there should be a plague among the people, if they should presume to approach unto 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 children of Israel did with the Levites all that the Lord had commanded Moses:
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 washed their garments. And Aaron lifted them up in the sight of the Lard, and 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 That being purified they might go into the tabernacle of the covenant to do their services before Aaron and his sons. As the Lord had commanded Moses touching 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 old and upwards, they shall go in 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 shall have accomplished the fiftieth year of their 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 brethren in the tabernacle of the covenant, to keep the things that are committed to their care, but not to do the works. Thus shalt thou order the Levites touching their charge.