¹The LORD spoke to Moses , saying ,

²“Speak to Aaron, and tell him , ‘When you light the lamps , the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lamp stand.’”

³Aaron did so . He lit its lamps to light the area in front of the lamp stand, as the LORD commanded Moses .

⁴This 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 .

⁵The LORD spoke to Moses , saying ,

⁶“Take the Levites from amongst the children of Israel , and cleanse them .

⁷You 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 .

⁸Then 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 .

⁹You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting . You shall assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel .

¹⁰You shall present the Levites before the LORD . The children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites ,

¹¹and 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 .

¹²“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 .

¹³You shall set the Levites before Aaron and before his sons , and offer them as a wave offering to the LORD .

¹⁴Thus you shall separate the Levites from amongst the children of Israel , and the Levites shall be mine .

¹⁵“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 .

¹⁶For they are wholly given to me from amongst 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 .

¹⁷For all the firstborn amongst 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 .

¹⁸I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn amongst the children of Israel .

¹⁹I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from amongst 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 amongst the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near to the sanctuary .”

²⁰Moses , 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 .

²¹The 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 .

²²After 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 .

²³The LORD spoke to Moses , saying ,

²⁴“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 ;

²⁵and from the age of fifty years they shall retire from doing the work , and shall serve no more ,

²⁶but 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 .”