| New American Standard Bible 1995 | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, | 1The LORD spoke 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.'" | 2Speak to Aaron and tell him: When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps are to give light 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. | 3So Aaron did this; he set up its lamps to give light in front of the lampstand just as the LORD had 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 the way the lampstand was made: it was a hammered work of gold, hammered from its base to its flower petals. The lampstand was made according to the pattern the LORD had shown Moses. |
| 5Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, | 5The LORD spoke to Moses: " |
| 6"Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them. | 6Take the Levites from among the Israelites and ceremonially cleanse them. |
| 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. | 7This is what you must do to them for their purification: Sprinkle them with the purification water. Have them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothes, and so 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. | 8They are to take a young bull and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and 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 before the tent of meeting and assemble the entire Israelite community. |
| 10and present the Levites before the LORD; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites. | 10Then present the Levites before the LORD, and have the Israelites 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 presentation offering from the Israelites, so that they may perform the LORD's work. |
| 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. | 12Next the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls. Sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the LORD, 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. | 13You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, and you are to present them before the LORD as a presentation offering. |
| 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 separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites so that the Levites will belong to Me. |
| 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; | 15After that the Levites may come to serve at the tent of meeting, once you have ceremonially cleansed them and presented them as a presentation offering. |
| 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. | 16For they have been exclusively assigned to Me from the Israelites. I have taken them for Myself in place of all who come first from the womb, every Israelite firstborn. |
| 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. | 17For every firstborn among the Israelites is Mine, both man and animal. I consecrated them to Myself on the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt. |
| 18"But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel. | 18But I have taken the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites. |
| 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 the Israelites, I have given the Levites exclusively to Aaron and his sons to perform the work for the Israelites at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on their behalf, so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach 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 entire Israelite community did this to the Levites. The Israelites did everything to them the LORD commanded Moses regarding the Levites. |
| 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 before the LORD as a presentation offering. Aaron also made atonement for them to ceremonially cleanse 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 in the presence of Aaron and his sons. So they did to them as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites. |
| 23Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, | 23The LORD spoke 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. | 24In regard to the Levites: From 25 years old or more, a man enters the service 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 50 years old he is to retire from his service in the work and no longer serve. |
| 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." | 26He may assist his brothers to fulfill responsibilities at the tent of meeting, but he must not do the work. This is how you are to deal with the Levites regarding their duties." |
| 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 | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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