| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New International Version |
| 1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, | 1The LORD said to Moses, |
| 2"Speak to Aaron and say to him, 'When you mount the lamps, the seven lamps will give light in the front of the lampstand.'" | 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 therefore did so; he mounted its lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. | 3Aaron did so; he set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand, just as the LORD commanded Moses. |
| 4Now 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 which the LORD had showed Moses, so he made the lampstand. | 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. |
| 5Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, | 5The LORD said to Moses: |
| 6"Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them. | 6"Take the Levites from among all the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean. |
| 7"Thus you shall do to them, for their cleansing: sprinkle purifying water on them, and let them use a razor over their whole body and wash their clothes, and they will be clean. | 7To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing on them; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes. And so they will purify themselves. |
| 8"Then let them take a bull with its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and a second bull you shall take for a sin offering. | 8Have 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. |
| 9"So you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting. You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, | 9Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting and assemble the whole Israelite community. |
| 10and present the Levites before the LORD; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites. | 10You are to bring the Levites before the LORD, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them. |
| 11"Aaron then shall present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, that they may qualify to perform the service of the LORD. | 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"Now the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls; then offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the LORD, to make atonement for the Levites. | 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. |
| 13"You shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and before his sons so as to present them as a wave offering to the LORD. | 13Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering to the LORD. |
| 14"Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine. | 14In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine. |
| 15"Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the tent of meeting. But you shall cleanse them and present them as a wave offering; | 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. |
| 16for they are wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself instead of every first issue of the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. | 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. |
| 17"For every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the men and among the animals; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself. | 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. |
| 18"But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel. | 18And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel. |
| 19"I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no plague among the sons of Israel by their coming near to the sanctuary." | 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." |
| 20Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the sons of Israel to the Levites; according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. | 20Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites just as the LORD commanded Moses. |
| 21The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. | 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. |
| 22Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and before his sons; just as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to 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. |
| 23Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, | 23The LORD said to Moses, |
| 24"This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. | 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, |
| 25"But at the age of fifty years they shall retire from service in the work and not work any more. | 25but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. |
| 26"They may, however, assist their brothers in the tent of meeting, to keep an obligation, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their obligations." | 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." |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
|
