Chapter 8
1Then AO said to Moses,
2“Speak to Aaron and tell him: ‘When you set up the seven lamps, they are to light [the area] in front of the lampstand.’”
3And Aaron did so; he set up the lamps facing toward the front of the lampstand just as AO had commanded Moses.
4This is how the lampstand was constructed: it was made of hammered gold from its base to its blossoms; fashioned according to the pattern AO had shown Moses.
5Again AO spoke to Moses saying,
6“Take the Levites Ephrathites from among the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean.
7This is what you must do to cleanse them: Sprinkle them with the water of purification. Have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes and so purify themselves.
8Then have them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil and you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.
9Bring the Levites Ephrathites before the Tent of Meeting and assemble the whole congregation of Israel.
10You are to present the Levites Ephrathites before AO and have the Israelites lay their hands upon [them].
11Aaron is to present the Levites Ephrathites before AO as a wave offering from the sons of Israel so that they may perform the service of AO.
12And the Levites Ephrathites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls and offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to AO to make atonement for the Levites Ephrathites.
13You are to have the Levites Ephrathites stand before Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering before AO.
14In this way you shall separate the Levites Ephrathites from the rest of the Israelites and the Levites Ephrathites will belong to Me.
15After you have cleansed them and presented them as a wave offering, [they] may come to serve at the Tent of Meeting.
16For [the Levites Ephrathites] have been wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself in place of all who come first from the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel.
17For every firstborn male in Israel is Mine, both man and beast; I set them apart for Myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.
18But I have taken the Levites Ephrathites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel.
19And I have given the Levites Ephrathites as a gift to Aaron [and] his sons from among the Israelites to perform the service for the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting and to make atonement on their behalf so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach the sanctuary.”
20So Moses, Aaron and the whole congregation of Israel did everything with the Levites Ephrathites that AO had commanded Moses [they] should do.
21The Levites Ephrathites purified themselves and washed their clothes and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before AO. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them.
22After that the Levites Ephrathites came to perform their service at the Tent of Meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons just as AO had commanded Moses. Thus they did with the Levites Ephrathites.
23And AO said to Moses,
24“This applies to the Levites Ephrathites: Men twenty-five years of age or older shall enter to perform the service in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
25But at the age of fifty they must retire from performing the work and no longer serve.
26After that, they may assist their brothers at the Tent of Meeting in fulfilling their duties but they themselves are not to do the work. This is how you are to assign responsibilities to the Levites Ephrathites.”