1And Jehovah spake unto Moses , saying , 2Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him , When thou lightest the lamps , the seven lamps shall give light in front of the candlestick . 3And Aaron did so ; he lighted the lamps thereof so as to give light in front of the candlestick , as Jehovah commanded Moses . 4And this was the work of the candlestick , beaten work of gold ; unto the base thereof, and unto the flowers thereof, it was beaten work : according unto the pattern which Jehovah had showed Moses , so he made the candlestick .
The Consecration of the Levites
5And Jehovah 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 the water of expiation upon them , and let them cause a razor to pass over all their flesh , and let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves . 8Then let them take a young bullock , and its meal-offering, fine flour mingled with oil ; and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin-offering. 9And thou shalt present the Levites before the tent of meeting : and thou shalt assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel : 10and thou shalt present the Levites before Jehovah . And the children of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites : 11and Aaron shall offer the Levites before Jehovah for a wave-offering, on the behalf of the children of Israel , that it may be theirs to do the service of Jehovah . 12And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks : and offer thou the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, unto Jehovah , to make atonement for the Levites . 13And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons , and offer them for a wave-offering unto Jehovah . 14Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel ; and the Levites shall be mine .
The Role of the Levites in the Community
15And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tent of meeting : and thou shalt cleanse them , and offer them for a wave-offering. 16For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel ; instead of all that openeth the womb , even the first-born of all the children of Israel , have I taken them unto me . 17For all the first-born among the children of Israel are mine , both man and beast: on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself . 18And I have taken the Levites instead of all the first-born among 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 tent of meeting , and to make 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 . 20Thus did Moses , and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel , unto the Levites : according unto all that Jehovah commanded Moses touching the Levites , so did the children of Israel unto them . 21And the Levites purified themselves from sin , and they washed their clothes: and Aaron offered them for a wave-offering before Jehovah ; and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them . 22And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron, and before his sons : as Jehovah had commanded Moses concerning the Levites , so did they unto them .
The Age of Service for the Levites
23And Jehovah spake unto Moses , saying , 24This is that which belongeth unto the Levites : from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service in the work of the tent of meeting : 25and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the work , and shall serve no more , 26but shall minister with their brethren in the tent of meeting , to keep the charge , and shall do no service . Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charges .