Cleansing and Dedication of the Levites

5And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

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

7And thus shall you do to them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.

8Then let them take a young bullock with its meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shall you take for a sin offering.   grain

9And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and you shall gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together:

10And you shall bring the Levites before the Lord: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:

11And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the Lord.

12And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and you shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burned offering, to the Lord, to make an atonement for the Levites.

13And you shall set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering to the Lord.

14Thus shall you separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be Mine.

15And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and you shall cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.

16For they are wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them to Me.

17For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are Mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself.   struck

18And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of 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 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 near to the sanctuary.

20And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel to them.

21And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the Lord; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.

22And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they to them.

23And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

24This is it that belongs to the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:

25And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more:

26But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites touching their charge.   concerning