1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying:
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 And Aaron did so; he set up the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
4 And the workmanship of the lampstand was hammered gold; from its shaft to its flowers it was hammered work. According to the pattern which Jehovah had shown Moses, so he had made the lampstand.
5 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying:
6 Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them.
7 Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of sin offering on them, and they shall pass a razor over all their flesh and wash their clothes, and thus purify themselves.
8 And let them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering.
9 And you shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting, and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel.
10 And you shall bring the Levites before Jehovah, and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites;
11 and Aaron shall wave the Levites before Jehovah, as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, to serve in the service of Jehovah.
12 And the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, and you shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering unto Jehovah, to make atonement for the Levites.
13 And you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, and offer them as a wave offering unto Jehovah.
14 Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine.
15 Afterward the Levites shall go in to serve the tent of meeting. Thus you shall cleanse them and wave them, a wave offering.
16 For they are wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel; I have taken them for Myself instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel.
17 For every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, both man and beast; on the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them to Myself.
18 I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel.
19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the sons of Israel, to serve in the service of the children of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, that there be no plague among the children of Israel by the children of Israel coming near the sanctuary.
20 Thus Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the sons of Israel did to the Levites; according to all that Jehovah had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, thus the sons of Israel did to them.
21 And the Levites were purified and washed their clothes; and Aaron waved them as a wave offering before Jehovah, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.
22 Afterward the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as Jehovah had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, thus they did to them.
23 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
24 This is what applies to the Levites: From twenty-five years old and above one shall enter to go forth to serve in the service of the tent of meeting;
25 and at the age of fifty years they shall return from going forth to this service, and shall serve no more.
26 They shall minister with their brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, but they shall not serve in any service. Thus you shall do to the Levites concerning their charge.