1Yahweh said to Moses,
2“Tell Aaron, ‘When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps are to shine their light forward from the lampstand.’”
3Aaron did this. He set up its lamps so they shined forward from the lampstand, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
4The lampstand was made of hammered gold. It was hammered work from its base to its flowers. Moses made the lampstand exactly as Yahweh had shown him the pattern.
5Yahweh said to Moses,
6“Separate the Levites from the other Israelites and cleanse them.
7To cleanse them, you must do the following: sprinkle the water of cleansing on them, have them shave their entire bodies with a razor, and have them wash their clothes so they become clean.
8Then they are to take one young bull and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil. You are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.
9You must present the Levites before the Meeting Tent. You must also gather the entire community of Israelites.
10You are to present the Levites before Yahweh. The Israelites are to place their hands on the Levites.
11Aaron is to present the Levites before Yahweh as a special offering from the Israelites, so they can perform the service for Yahweh.
12The Levites are to place their hands on the heads of the bulls. You are to offer one bull as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to Yahweh, to make things right for the Levites.
13You must place the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and present them as a special offering to Yahweh.
14In this way, you will set the Levites apart from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites will belong to me.
15After that, the Levites can begin their service in the Tent of Meeting. You must purify them and present them as a special offering.
16For they are completely given to me from the Israelites. I have taken them for myself instead of all the firstborn, all who are born first among the Israelites.
17For all the firstborn among the Israelites belong to me, both people and animals. I set them apart for myself on the day I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.
18I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the Israelites.
19I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service for the Israelites in the Tent of Meeting, and to make atonement for the Israelites. This is so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they come near the holy place.
20Moses, Aaron, and all the community of the Israelites did this for the Levites. The Israelites did everything Yahweh commanded Moses concerning the Levites.
21The Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes. Aaron presented them as a special offering before Yahweh, and Aaron made atonement for them to purify them.
22After that, the Levites began their service in the Tent of Meeting, before Aaron and his sons. They did everything Yahweh had commanded Moses concerning the Levites.
23Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
24"This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and older, they are to come and work in the service of the Tent of Meeting.
25But when they reach the age of fifty, they must stop working and serve no more.
26They may assist their brothers in the Tent of Meeting with their duties, but they must not do general service. This is what you must do for the Levites concerning their responsibilities."