The Fourth Book of Moses: Numbers

⭑ Geneva Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 8 -

(Exodus 25:31–40; Exodus 37:17–24)

And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

Speake vnto Aaron, and say vnto him, When thou lightest the lampes, the seuen lampes shall giue light towarde the forefront of the Candlesticke.

And Aaron did so, lighting the lampes thereof towarde ye forefront of the Candlesticke, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

And this was the worke of the Candlesticke, euen of golde beaten out with the hammer, both the shafte, and the flowres thereof was beaten out with the hammer: according to the paterne, which the Lord had shewed Moses, so made he the Candlesticke.

Cleansing the Levites

And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

Take the Leuites from among the children of Israel, and purifie them.

And thus shalt thou doe vnto them, when thou purifiest them, Sprinckle water of purification vpon them, and let them shaue all their flesh, and wash their clothes: so they shalbe cleane.

Then they shall take a yong bullocke with his meate offring of fine floure, mingled with oyle, and another yong bullocke shalt thou take for a sinne offring.

Then thou shalt bring the Leuites before the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and asseble all the Congregation of the children of Israel.

Thou shalt bring the Leuites also before the Lord, and the children of Israel shall put their handes vpon the Leuites.

And Aaron shall offer the Leuites before the Lord, as a shake offring of ye childre of Israel, that they may execute the seruice of the Lord.

And the Leuites shall put their handes vpon the heades of the bullockes, and make thou the one a sinne offring, and the other a burnt offring vnto the Lord, that thou mayest make an atonement for the Leuites.

And thou shalt set the Leuites before Aaron and before his sonnes, and offer the as a shake offring to the Lord.

Thus thou shalt separate the Leuites from among the children of Israel, and the Leuites shall be mine.

And afterwarde shall the Leuites goe in, to serue in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and thou shalt purifie them and offer them, as a shake offering.

For they are freely giuen vnto me from among the children of Israel, for such as open any wombe: for all the first borne of the children of Israel haue I taken them vnto me.

For all the first borne of the children of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast: since the day that I smote euery first borne in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for my selfe.

And I haue taken the Leuites for all the first borne of the children of Israel,

And haue giuen the Leuites as a gift vnto Aaron, and to his sonnes from among the children of Israel, to do the seruice 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 neere vnto the Sanctuarie.

Then Moses and Aaron and all the Cogregation of the children of Israel did with the Leuites, according vnto all that the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Leuites: so did the children of Israel vnto them.

So the Leuites were purified, and washed their clothes, and Aaron offred them as a shake offring before the Lord, and Aaron made an atonement for them, to purifie them.

And after that, went the Leuites in to doe their seruice in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, before Aaron and before his sonnes: as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Leuites, so they did vnto them.

Retirement for Levites

And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

This also belongeth to the Leuites: from fiue and twentie yeere olde and vpwarde, they shall goe in, to execute their office in the seruice of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

And after the age of fiftie yeere, they shall cease from executing the office, and shall serue no more:

But they shall minister with their brethre in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, to keepe things committed to their charge, but they shall doe no seruice: thus shalt thou doe vnto the Leuites touching their charges.

(Exodus 25:31–40; Exodus 37:17–24)

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to Aaron, and tell him, ‘When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lamp stand.’”

Aaron did so. He lit its lamps to light the area in front of the lamp stand, as the LORD commanded Moses.

This was the workmanship of the lamp stand, beaten work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was beaten work. He made the lamp stand according to the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses.

Cleansing the Levites

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.

You shall do this to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of cleansing on them, let them shave their whole bodies with a razor, let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves.

Then let them take a young bull and its meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and another young bull you shall take for a sin offering.

You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting. You shall assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel.

You shall present the Levites before the LORD. The children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites,

and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for a wave offering on the behalf of the children of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of the LORD.

“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.

You shall set the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, and offer them as a wave offering to the LORD.

Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.

“After that, the Levites shall go in to do the service of the Tent of Meeting. You shall cleanse them, and offer them as a wave offering.

For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them to me.

For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both man and animal. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for myself.

I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel.

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 Tent of Meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, so that there will be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near to the sanctuary.”

Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel did so to the Levites. According to all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the children of Israel did to them.

The Levites purified themselves from sin, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them for a wave offering before the LORD and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.

After that, the Levites went in to do their service in the Tent of Meeting before Aaron and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

Retirement for Levites

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“This is what is assigned to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall go in to wait on the service in the work of the Tent of Meeting;

and from the age of fifty years they shall retire from doing the work, and shall serve no more,

but shall assist their brothers in the Tent of Meeting, to perform the duty, and shall perform no service. This is how you shall have the Levites do their duties.”