1 Then the Loʀᴅ spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you 1Lit raise upmount the lamps, the seven lamps will AEx 25:37; Lev 24:2, 4give light in the front of the lampstand.’ ” 3 Aaron therefore did so; he 1Lit raised upmounted its lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the Loʀᴅ had commanded Moses. 4 AEx 25:31-40Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold; from its base to its flowers it was hammered work; BEx 25:9, 31-40; 26:30; 37:17-24according to the pattern which the Loʀᴅ had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

5 Again the Loʀᴅ spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and AIs 52:11cleanse them. 7  “Thus you shall do to them, for their 1Lit this their cleansingcleansing: sprinkle 2Lit water of sinpurifying ANum 19:9, 13, 20water on them, and let them 3Lit cause to passBLev 14:8, 9use a razor over their whole 4Lit fleshbody and CNum 8:21wash their clothes, and they will be clean. 8  “Then let them take a 1Or bull of the herdbull with ALev 2:1; Num 15:8-10its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and a second 1Or bull of the herdbull you shall take for a sin offering. 9  “So AEx 29:4; 40:12you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting. BLev 8:3You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, 10 and present the Levites before the Loʀᴅ; and the sons of Israel ALev 1:4shall lay their hands on the Levites. 11  “Aaron then shall 1Lit wave, and so throughout the chpresent the Levites before the Loʀᴅ as a ALev 7:30, 34wave offering from the sons of Israel, that they may 2Lit be ablequalify to perform the service of the Loʀᴅ. 12  “Now AEx 29:10the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls; then offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Loʀᴅ, to make atonement for the Levites. 13  “You shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and before his sons so as to present them as a wave offering to the Loʀᴅ.

14 “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and ANum 3:12; 16:9the Levites shall be Mine. 15  “Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the tent of meeting. But you shall cleanse them and AEx 29:24present them as a wave offering; 16 for they are ANum 3:9wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself BEx 13:2; Num 3:12, 45instead of every first issue of the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. 17  “For AEx 13:2, 12, 13, 15; Luke 2:23every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the men and among the animals; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself. 18  “But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel. 19  “ANum 3:9I have given the Levites as 1Lit given onesa gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no BNum 1:53; 16:46plague among the sons of Israel by 2Lit the sons of Israel’stheir coming near to the sanctuary.”

20 Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the sons of Israel to the Levites; according to all that the Loʀᴅ had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. 21 ANum 8:7The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Loʀᴅ. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22 Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and before his sons; just as the Loʀᴅ had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

23 Now the Loʀᴅ spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “This is what applies to the Levites: from ANum 4:3; 1 Chr 23:3, 24, 27twenty-five years old and upward 1Lit hethey shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. 25  “But at the age of fifty years they shall 1Lit returnretire from service in the work and not work any more. 26  “They may, however, 1Lit serveassist their brothers in the tent of meeting, ANum 1:53to keep an obligation, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their obligations.”