Numbers 8 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Yahweh spoke to Moses:

"Tell Aaron: When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps should throw their light toward the front of the lampstand."

Aaron did exactly that. He set up the lamps so they faced the front of the lampstand, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

This was how the lampstand was made: hammered gold, from its base all the way to its flowers — every part was hammered work. Moses had made it according to the pattern Yahweh had shown him.

Yahweh spoke to Moses:

"Separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean.

Here's what you must do to make them ceremonially clean: Sprinkle the water that removes wrongdoing on them. Then have them shave their entire bodies, wash their clothes, and they will be clean.

Then have them take a young bull along with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil. You must also take a second young bull as an offering to address wrongdoing.

Bring the Levites to the front of the Tent of Meeting and gather the entire Israelite community together.

Present the Levites before Yahweh, and have the Israelites place their hands on the Levites.

Aaron must present the Levites before Yahweh as a wave offering from the Israelites, so they can do Yahweh's work.

Then the Levites must place their hands on the heads of the bulls. Offer one as an offering to address wrongdoing and the other as a whole burnt offering to Yahweh, to make things right for the Levites.

Station the Levites in front of Aaron and his sons and present them as a wave offering to Yahweh.

This is how you will separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites will belong to me.

After this, the Levites may go in to do the work at the Tent of Meeting. You must make them ceremonially clean and present them as a wave offering,

because they have been given entirely to me from among the Israelites. I have taken them for myself in place of every firstborn — the first to come from every Israelite womb.

Every firstborn among the Israelites is mine, both human and animal. I set them apart as mine on the day I struck down every firstborn in Egypt.

So I took the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites.

I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to do the work for the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting and to make things right for them — so that no disaster will strike the Israelites when they come near the sacred place."

Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community did everything with the Levites exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses. That's what they did.

The Levites went through the process to remove their wrongdoing, and they washed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before Yahweh and made things right for them to make them ceremonially clean.

After that, the Levites came to do their work at the Tent of Meeting under Aaron and his sons. Everything Yahweh had commanded Moses about the Levites — that's exactly what they did.

Yahweh spoke to Moses:

"This applies to the Levites: From twenty-five years old and up, each one must enter the workforce to serve at the Tent of Meeting.

But at fifty years old, they must step back from active duty and serve no longer.

They may assist their fellow Levites at the Tent of Meeting by keeping watch, but they must not do the heavy work themselves. This is how you are to assign the Levites their responsibilities."