Numbers 8

8 ¹ Our Father spoke to Moses, saying:

Seven Lamps, Full Light

² "Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand."

³ Aaron did so; he set up its lamps to give light in front of the lampstand, as our Father commanded Moses. ⁴ This was the workmanship of the lampstand: hammered work of gold, from its base to its blossoms it was hammered work. He made the lampstand just as our Father had shown Moses.

Set Apart for Our Father

⁵ Our Father spoke to Moses, saying:

Cleansing the Levites

⁶ "Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and cleanse them." ⁷ "This is what you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification upon them, and let them pass a razor over all their body, wash their clothes, and so cleanse themselves." ¹ 1 v7 The water of purification was a special cleansing water used in the Levites' setting-apart, marking them as made clean to serve in our Father's presence. ⁸ "Then let them take a young bull from the herd with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take a second young bull from the herd for a sin offering." ⁹ "You shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel." ¹⁰ "When you bring the Levites before our Father, the people of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites," ¹¹ "And Aaron shall present the Levites before our Father as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of our Father." ² 2 v11 A wave offering was a ceremony in which the priest lifted and presented an offering before our Father as an act of dedication. ¹² "Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to our Father, to make atonement for the Levites." ¹³ "You shall set the Levites before Aaron and his sons and present them as a wave offering to our Father." ¹⁴ "Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine." ¹⁵ "After that the Levites shall go in to serve the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and presented them as a wave offering." ¹⁶ "For they are wholly given to me from among the people of Israel. In place of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself." ¹⁷ "For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself." ¹⁸ "And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the people of Israel." ¹⁹ "And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service of the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Israel, so that no plague may strike the people of Israel when they come near the sanctuary."

²⁰ So Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel did to the Levites according to all that our Father had commanded Moses concerning the Levites; so the people of Israel did to them. ²¹ The Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before our Father, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²² After that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as our Father had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

Years of Service

²³ Our Father spoke to Moses, saying:

²⁴ "This applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall come to take part in the work of the service of the tent of meeting." ²⁵ "And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no longer." ²⁶ "They may assist their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus you shall do for the Levites in assigning their duties."