Numbers 7-8

Amplified Bible

Offerings of the Leaders

7 On the day that Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle and had anointed and consecrated it and all its furniture, and the altar and all its utensils; he also anointed them and consecrated them [for holy use]. ² Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers’ households, made offerings. (These were the leaders of the tribes; they were the ones who ^[a]were over the men who were numbered.) ³ They brought their offering before the Lord, six covered carts and twelve oxen; a cart for each two of the leaders and an ox for each one; and they presented them before the tabernacle. ⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵ “Accept these things from them, so that they may be used in the service of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” ⁶ So Moses took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ He gave two carts and four oxen to the sons of Gershon, according to their service [in transporting the tabernacle]; ⁸ and he gave four carts and eight oxen to the sons of Merari, according to their service [in transporting the tabernacle], under the supervision of Ithamar the son of Aaron, the [high] priest. ⁹ But to the sons of Kohath he gave nothing, because they were assigned the care of the holy things which they carried on their shoulders [when the tabernacle was moved].

¹⁰ The leaders offered the dedication sacrifices for the altar on the day that it was anointed; and they offered their sacrifice before the altar. ¹¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Let them present their offerings, one leader each day, for the dedication of the altar.”

¹² Now the one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah; ¹³ and his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ¹⁴ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ¹⁵ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ¹⁶ one male goat as a sin offering; ¹⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab [from the tribe of Judah].

¹⁸ On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, leader [of the tribe] of Issachar, presented [his offering]; ¹⁹ he presented as his offering one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ²⁰ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ²¹ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ²² one male goat as a sin offering; ²³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar [from the tribe of Issachar].

²⁴ On the third day [it was] Eliab the son of Helon, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Zebulun [who presented his offering]; ²⁵ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ²⁶ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ²⁷ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ²⁸ one male goat as a sin offering; ²⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon [from the tribe of Zebulun].

³⁰ On the fourth day [it was] Elizur the son of Shedeur, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Reuben [who presented his offering]; ³¹ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³² one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ³³ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ³⁴ one male goat as a sin offering; ³⁵ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur [from the tribe of Reuben].

³⁶ On the fifth day [it was] Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Simeon [who presented his offering]; ³⁷ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ³⁸ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ³⁹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁰ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁴¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai [from the tribe of Simeon].

⁴² On the sixth day [it was] Eliasaph the son of Deuel, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Gad [who presented his offering]; ⁴³ his offering was one silver dish the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and a silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁴⁴ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁴⁵ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁴⁶ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁴⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel [from the tribe of Gad].

⁴⁸ On the seventh day [it was] Elishama the son of Ammihud, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Ephraim [who presented his offering]; ⁴⁹ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁵⁰ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁵¹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁵² one male goat as a sin offering; ⁵³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud [from the tribe of Ephraim].

⁵⁴ On the eighth day [it was] Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Manasseh [who presented his offering]; ⁵⁵ his offering was one silver dish the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁵⁶ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁵⁷ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁵⁸ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁵⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur [from the tribe of Manasseh].

⁶⁰ On the ninth day [it was] Abidan the son of Gideoni, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Benjamin [who presented his offering]; ⁶¹ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁶² one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁶³ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁶⁴ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁶⁵ and as the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni [from the tribe of Benjamin].

⁶⁶ On the tenth day [it was] Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Dan [who presented his offering]; ⁶⁷ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁶⁸ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁶⁹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁷⁰ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁷¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai [from the tribe of Dan].

⁷² On the eleventh day [it was] Pagiel the son of Ochran, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Asher [who presented his offering]; ⁷³ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁷⁴ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁷⁵ one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁷⁶ one male goat as a sin offering; ⁷⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ochran [from the tribe of Asher].

⁷⁸ On the twelfth day [it was] Ahira the son of Enan, leader [of the tribe] of the sons of Naphtali [who presented his offering]; ⁷⁹ his offering was one silver dish, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; ⁸⁰ one golden bowl of ten shekels, full of incense; ⁸¹ one young bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, as a burnt offering; ⁸² one male goat as a sin offering; ⁸³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan [from the tribe of Naphtali].

⁸⁴ This was the dedication offering for the altar from the leaders of Israel on the day when it was anointed: twelve dishes of silver, twelve silver basins, twelve golden bowls; ⁸⁵ each dish of silver weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, each basin seventy [shekels]; all the silver vessels weighed 2,400 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; ⁸⁶ the twelve golden bowls, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, all the gold of the bowls being a hundred and twenty shekels; ⁸⁷ all the oxen for the burnt offering were twelve bulls, the rams twelve, the male lambs one year old twelve, together with their grain offering; and the male goats as a sin offering twelve; ⁸⁸ and all the oxen for the sacrifice of the peace offerings were twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, the male lambs one year old sixty. This was the dedication for the altar [of burnt offering] after it was anointed.

⁸⁹ Now when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat (the gold cover) that was on the ark of the Testimony from between the two cherubim; and He spoke [by special revelation] to him.

The Seven Lamps

8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you set up and light the lamps, the seven lamps will shine in front of the lampstand.’” ³ And Aaron did so; he set up the lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴ Now 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 shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

Cleansing the Levites

⁵ Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them. ⁷ This is what you shall do to them to [ceremonially] cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification on them, and let them use a razor over their whole body and wash their clothes, and they will be clean.^{(A) 8} Then let them take a young bull and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering. ⁹ You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and you shall also assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel, ¹⁰ and present the Levites before the Lord, and the Israelites shall lay their hands on the Levites. ¹¹ Aaron shall ^[b]present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, so that they may perform the service of the Lord. ¹² Then the Levites shall ^[c]lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, then you are to offer the 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 his sons and present them as a wave offering to the Lord.

¹⁴ “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the Israelites, and the Levites shall be Mine [in a very special sense]. ¹⁵ Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), but you shall cleanse them [first] and present them as a wave offering; ¹⁶ for they are wholly given to Me from among the Israelites. I have taken them for Myself instead of ^[d]all who are born first, the firstborn of all the Israelites. ¹⁷ For all the firstborn among the Israelites are Mine, among the men and among the animals; on the day that I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified and set the Israelites apart for Myself. ¹⁸ And I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the Israelites. ¹⁹ I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service of the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) and to make atonement for them, so that there will be no plague among the Israelites if they should approach the sanctuary.”

²⁰ Thus Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did [these things] to the Levites; in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the Israelites did to them. ²¹ The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and they washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²² Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the Tent of Meeting before Aaron and his sons; just as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

Retirement

²³ Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 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, ²⁵ but at the age of fifty years, they shall ^[e]retire from the service of the [tabernacle] work and serve no longer. ²⁶ They may assist their brothers in the Tent of Meeting to keep an obligation, but they shall do no [heavy or difficult] work. Thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their obligations.”