1Now the Lord 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.”3And Aaron did so: he set up its lamps in front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses.4And 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 that the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand. (Ex 25:31)
Cleansing of the Levites
5And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,6“Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and cleanse them.7Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification upon them, and let them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. (Le 8:6; Le 14:8; Nu 19:9; Nu 19:17)8Then let them take a bull from the herd and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another bull from the herd for a sin offering. (Ex 29:41; Le 2:1; Nu 8:12)9And you shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel. (Ex 29:4; Ex 40:12; Le 8:3)10When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites, (Le 1:4)11and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the Lord.12Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord to make atonement for the Levites. (Ex 29:10; Nu 8:8)13And you shall set the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as a wave offering to the Lord. (Nu 8:11; Nu 8:21)14“Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine. (Nu 3:45; Nu 16:9)15And after that the Levites shall go in to serve at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a wave offering. (Nu 8:13)16For they are wholly given to me from among the people of Israel. Instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself. (Nu 3:9; Nu 3:12; Nu 3:45)17For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, (Ex 13:2)18and I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel.19And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Israel, that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary.” (Nu 1:53; Nu 8:16; Nu 25:11; Nu 25:13)20Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel to the Levites. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the people of Israel did to them.21And the Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and Aaron offered them as a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. (Nu 8:7; Nu 8:11; Nu 8:13; Nu 8:15)22And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
Retirement of the Levites
23And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,24“This applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they[1] shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. (Nu 4:3; 1Ch 23:3; 1Ch 23:24; 1Ch 23:27)25And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more.26They minister[2] to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.” (Nu 1:53)
1The Lord said to Moses,2‘Speak to Aaron and say to him, “When you set up the lamps, see that all seven light up the area in front of the lampstand.” ’3Aaron did so; he set up the lamps so that they faced forwards on the lampstand, just as the Lord commanded Moses.4This is how the lampstand was made: it was made of hammered gold – from its base to its blossoms. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern the Lord had shown Moses.
The setting apart of the Levites
5The Lord said to Moses:6‘Take the Levites from among all the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean.7To purify them, do this: sprinkle the water of cleansing on them; then make them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes. And so they will purify themselves.8Make them take a young bull with its grain offering of the finest flour mixed with olive oil; then you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.[1]9Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting and assemble the whole Israelite community.10You are to bring the Levites before the Lord, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them.11Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, so that they may be ready to do the work of the Lord.12‘Then the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, using one for a sin offering to the Lord and the other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites.13Make the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering to the Lord.14In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.15‘After you have purified the Levites and presented them as a wave offering, they are to come to do their work at the tent of meeting.16They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me. I have taken them as my own in place of the firstborn, the first male offspring from every Israelite woman.17Every firstborn male in Israel, whether human or animal, is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself.18And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel.19From among all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons to do the work at the tent of meeting on behalf of the Israelites and to make atonement for them so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary.’20Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses.21The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord and made atonement for them to purify them.22After that, the Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. They did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses.23The Lord said to Moses,24‘This applies to the Levites: men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting,25but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their usual duties and work no longer.26They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the tent of meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites.’
1The LORD said to Moses,2‘Say to Aaron, “Set up the seven lamps. They will light up the area in front of the lampstand.” ’3So Aaron did it. He set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand. He did just as the LORD had commanded Moses.4The lampstand was made out of hammered gold. From its base to its blooms it was made out of hammered gold. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern the LORD had shown Moses.
Moses sets apart the Levites
5The LORD spoke to Moses. He said,6‘Take the Levites from among all the Israelites. Make them “clean” in the usual way.7Here is how to make them pure. Sprinkle the special water on them. Then let them shave their whole bodies. Also let them wash their clothes. That is how they will make themselves pure.8Have them get a young bull along with its grain offering. The offering must be made out of the finest flour mixed with olive oil. Then you must get a second young bull. You must sacrifice it as a sin offering.9Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting. Gather the whole community of Israel together.10You must bring the Levites to me. The Israelites must place their hands on them.11Aaron must bring the Levites to me. They are a wave offering from the Israelites. That is how they will be set apart to do my work.12‘Then I want the Levites to place their hands on the heads of the bulls. They must sacrifice one bull as a sin offering to me. And they must sacrifice the other as a burnt offering. The blood of the bulls will pay for the sin of the Levites.13Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons. Then give them as a wave offering to me.14That is how I want you to set apart the Levites from the other Israelites. The Levites will belong to me.15‘Make the Levites pure. Give them to me as a wave offering. Then they must come to do their work at the tent of meeting.16They are the Israelites who will be given to me completely. I have taken them to be my own. I have taken them in place of every son born first in his family in Israel.17Every male born first in Israel belongs to me. That is true whether it is a human or an animal. In Egypt I struck down all the males born first to their mothers. Then I set apart for myself all the males born first in Israel.18And I have taken the Levites in place of all the sons born first in Israel.19I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons. I have taken them from among all the Israelites. I have appointed them to do the work at the tent of meeting. They will do it in place of the Israelites. That is how they will keep the Israelites from being guilty when they go near the sacred tent. Then no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the tent.’20So Moses and Aaron and all the Israelites did with the Levites just as the LORD had commanded Moses.21The Levites made themselves pure. They washed their clothes. Then Aaron gave them to the LORD as a wave offering. That’s how he paid for their sin to make them pure.22After that, the Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting. They worked under the direction of Aaron and his sons. And so Moses and Aaron and the whole community of Israel did with the Levites just as the LORD had commanded Moses.23The LORD said to Moses,24‘Here is what the Levites must do. Men 25 years old or more must come and take part in the work at the tent of meeting.25But when they reach the age of 50, they must not work any longer. They must stop doing their regular work.26They can help their brothers with their duties at the tent of meeting. But they themselves should not do the work. That is how you must direct the Levites to do their work.’
Numbers 8
King James Version
1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,2Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.3And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses.4And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.5And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,6Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.7And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.8Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering.9And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together:10And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:11And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD.12And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites.13And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD.14Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.15And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.16For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.17For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.18And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.19And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.20And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them.21And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the LORD; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.22And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.23And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,24This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:25And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof , and shall serve no more:26But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.
1Der HERR sprach zu Mose:2Rede zu Aaron und sag zu ihm: Wenn du die Lampen auf den Leuchter steckst, dann so, dass das Licht der sieben Lampen vom Leuchter aus nach vorn fällt. (Ex 25:31; Ex 37:17)3Das tat Aaron; er steckte die Lampen so auf, dass ihr Licht vom Leuchter aus nach vorn fiel, wie der HERR es Mose geboten hatte.4So war der Leuchter gemacht: Er war aus Gold getrieben, vom Gestell bis zu den Blüten war er aus Gold getrieben. Mose hatte den Leuchter nach dem Muster angefertigt, das der HERR ihm gezeigt hatte. (Ex 25:9)
Weihe und Dienst der Leviten
5Der HERR sprach zu Mose:6Nimm die Leviten aus der Mitte der Israeliten und reinige sie! (Ex 29:4; Le 8:5; Nu 8:3; De 10:8; Mal 3:3)7So sollst du ihre Reinigung vollziehen: Spreng über sie das Entsündigungswasser! Sie selbst sollen sich an ihrem ganzen Körper mit einem Schermesser die Haare schneiden, ihre Kleider waschen und sich reinigen. (Le 14:8; Nu 19:9)8Dann sollen sie einen Jungstier nehmen und dazu als Speiseopfer Weizenfeinmehl, das mit Öl vermengt ist. Einen zweiten Jungstier sollst du für das Sündopfer nehmen.9Dann sollst du die Leviten vor das Offenbarungszelt hintreten lassen und die ganze Gemeinde der Israeliten versammeln. (Le 8:3)10Lass die Leviten vor den HERRN treten! Die Israeliten sollen den Leviten die Hände auflegen11und Aaron soll aus den Israeliten die Leviten zum Erhebungsopfer vor dem HERRN erklären, damit sie den Dienst des HERRN verrichten.12Die Leviten sollen ihre Hände den Stieren auf den Kopf legen. Dann richte den einen als Sündopfer und den anderen als Brandopfer für den HERRN her, um für die Leviten Sühne zu erwirken.13Stell die Leviten vor Aaron und seine Söhne und erkläre sie zum Erhebungsopfer für den HERRN! (Nu 3:9)14Auf diese Weise sollst du die Leviten aus der Mitte der Israeliten aussondern; dann gehören die Leviten mir. (Nu 3:11)15Danach sollen die Leviten mit ihrem Dienst am Offenbarungszelt beginnen. Reinige sie und erkläre sie zum Erhebungsopfer;16denn sie sind mir übergeben - übergeben sind sie mir aus der Mitte der Israeliten -, als Ersatz für alle, die den Mutterschoß durchbrechen; als Ersatz für alle erstgeborenen Israeliten habe ich sie mir genommen.17Denn alle erstgeborenen Israeliten gehören mir, sowohl bei den Menschen als auch beim Vieh. An dem Tag, an dem ich in Ägypten alle Erstgeborenen erschlug, habe ich sie als mir heilig erklärt. (Ex 13:2; Ex 22:28)18Die Leviten habe ich als Ersatz für alle erstgeborenen Israeliten genommen.19Ich habe die Leviten Aaron und seinen Söhnen aus der Mitte der Israeliten als Gabe übergeben, damit sie am Offenbarungszelt den Dienst der Israeliten vollziehen und für die Israeliten Sühne erwirken, sodass die Israeliten kein Unheil trifft, wenn sie dem Heiligtum zu nahe kommen.20Mose, Aaron und die ganze Gemeinde der Israeliten taten mit den Leviten genau das, was der HERR dem Mose hinsichtlich der Leviten geboten hatte; das taten die Israeliten mit den Leviten.21Die Leviten entsündigten sich und wuschen ihre Kleider. Aaron erklärte sie zum Erhebungsopfer vor dem HERRN und erwirkte Sühne für sie, sodass sie rein waren.22Danach traten die Leviten bei Aaron und seinen Söhnen ihren Dienst am Offenbarungszelt an. Was der HERR dem Mose hinsichtlich der Leviten geboten hatte, das tat man mit ihnen.23Der HERR sprach zu Mose:24Folgendes gilt für die Leviten: Mit fünfundzwanzig Jahren und darüber ist jeder verpflichtet, am Offenbarungszelt seinen Dienst zu tun. (Nu 4:3)25Mit fünfzig Jahren endet seine Verpflichtung und er braucht keinen Dienst mehr zu tun;26er kann aber am Offenbarungszelt seinen Brüdern bei der Ausübung ihres Dienstes helfen; doch den Dienst selbst soll er nicht versehen. So sollst du den Dienst der Leviten ordnen.