| New Living Translation | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1The LORD said to Moses, | 1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, |
| 2“Give Aaron the following instructions: When you set up the seven lamps in the lampstand, place them so their light shines forward in front of the lampstand.” | 2"Speak to Aaron and say to him, 'When you mount the lamps, the seven lamps will give light in the front of the lampstand.'" |
| 3So Aaron did this. He set up the seven lamps so they reflected their light forward, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. | 3Aaron therefore did so; he mounted its lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. |
| 4The entire lampstand, from its base to its decorative blossoms, was made of beaten gold. It was built according to the exact design the LORD had shown Moses. The Levites Dedicated | 4Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold; from its base to its flowers it was hammered work; according to the pattern which the LORD had showed Moses, so he made the lampstand. |
| 5Then the LORD said to Moses, | 5Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, |
| 6“Now set the Levites apart from the rest of the people of Israel and make them ceremonially clean. | 6"Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them. |
| 7Do this by sprinkling them with the water of purification, and have them shave their entire body and wash their clothing. Then they will be ceremonially clean. | 7"Thus you shall do to them, for their cleansing: sprinkle purifying water on them, and let them use a razor over their whole body and wash their clothes, and they will be clean. |
| 8Have them bring a young bull and a grain offering of choice flour moistened with olive oil, along with a second young bull for a sin offering. | 8"Then let them take a bull with its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and a second bull you shall take for a sin offering. |
| 9Then assemble the whole community of Israel, and present the Levites at the entrance of the Tabernacle. | 9"So you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting. You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, |
| 10When you present the Levites before the LORD, the people of Israel must lay their hands on them. | 10and present the Levites before the LORD; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites. |
| 11Raising his hands, Aaron must then present the Levites to the LORD as a special offering from the people of Israel, thus dedicating them to the LORD’s service. | 11"Aaron then shall present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, that they may qualify to perform the service of the LORD. |
| 12“Next the Levites will lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls. Present one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the LORD, to purify the Levites and make them right with the LORD. | 12"Now the 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 LORD, to make atonement for the Levites. |
| 13Then have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons, and raise your hands and present them as a special offering to the LORD. | 13"You shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and before his sons so as to present them as a wave offering to the LORD. |
| 14In this way, you will set the Levites apart from the rest of the people of Israel, and the Levites will belong to me. | 14"Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine. |
| 15After this, they may go into the Tabernacle to do their work, because you have purified them and presented them as a special offering. | 15"Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the tent of meeting. But you shall cleanse them and present them as a wave offering; |
| 16“Of all the people of Israel, the Levites are reserved for me. I have claimed them for myself in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites; I have taken the Levites as their substitutes. | 16for they are wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself instead of every first issue of the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. |
| 17For all the firstborn males among the people of Israel are mine, both of people and of animals. I set them apart for myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. | 17"For every 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. |
| 18Yes, I have claimed the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons of Israel. | 18"But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel. |
| 19And of all the Israelites, I have assigned the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They will serve in the Tabernacle on behalf of the Israelites and make sacrifices to purify the people so no plague will strike them when they approach the sanctuary.” | 19"I have given the Levites as a 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 plague among the sons of Israel by their coming near to the sanctuary." |
| 20So Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel dedicated the Levites, carefully following all the LORD’s instructions to Moses. | 20Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the sons of Israel to the Levites; according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. |
| 21The Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and Aaron lifted them up and presented them to the LORD as a special offering. He then offered a sacrifice to purify them and make them right with the LORD. | 21The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. |
| 22After that the Levites went into the Tabernacle to perform their duties, assisting Aaron and his sons. So they carried out all the commands that the LORD gave Moses concerning the Levites. | 22Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and before his sons; just as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them. |
| 23The LORD also instructed Moses, | 23Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, |
| 24“This is the rule the Levites must follow: They must begin serving in the Tabernacle at the age of twenty-five, | 24"This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. |
| 25and they must retire at the age of fifty. | 25"But at the age of fifty years they shall retire from service in the work and not work any more. |
| 26After retirement they may assist their fellow Levites by serving as guards at the Tabernacle, but they may not officiate in the service. This is how you must assign duties to the Levites.” | 26"They may, however, assist their brothers in the tent of meeting, to keep an obligation, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their obligations." |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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