Numbers 7–9

The Holy Tent

7When Moses finished setting up the Holy Tent, he gave it for service to the Lord by pouring olive oil on the Tent and on everything used in it. He also poured oil on the altar and all its tools to prepare them for service to the Lord. ²Then the leaders of Israel made offerings. These were the heads of the families, the leaders of each tribe who counted the people. ³They brought to the Lord six covered carts and twelve oxen—each leader giving an ox, and every two leaders giving a cart. They brought these to the Holy Tent.

⁴The Lord said to Moses, ⁵“Accept these gifts from the leaders and use them in the work of the Meeting Tent. Give them to the Levites as they need them.”

⁶So Moses accepted the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. ⁷He gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites, which they needed for their work. ⁸Then Moses gave four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites, which they needed for their work. Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest, directed the work of all of them. ⁹Moses did not give any oxen or carts to the Kohathites, because their job was to carry the holy things on their shoulders.

¹⁰When the oil was poured on the altar, the leaders brought their offerings to it to give it to the Lord’s service; they presented them in front of the altar. ¹¹The Lord told Moses, “Each day one leader must bring his gift to make the altar ready for service to me.”

^12–83Each of the twelve leaders brought these gifts. Each leader brought one silver plate that weighed about three and one-fourth pounds, and one silver bowl that weighed about one and three-fourths pounds. These weights were set by the Holy Place measure. The bowl and the plate were filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. Each leader also brought a large gold dish that weighed about four ounces and was filled with incense.

In addition, each of the leaders brought one young bull, one male sheep, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and two oxen, five male sheep, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old for a fellowship offering.

On the first day Nahshon son of Amminadab brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Judah.

On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Issachar.

On the third day Eliab son of Helon brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Zebulun.

On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Reuben.

On the fifth day Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Simeon.

On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Gad.

On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Ephraim.

On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Manasseh.

On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Benjamin.

On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Dan.

On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ocran brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Asher.

On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Naphtali.

⁸⁴So these were the gifts from the Israelite leaders when oil was poured on the altar and it was given for service to the Lord: twelve silver plates, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold dishes. ⁸⁵Each silver plate weighed about three and one-fourth pounds, and each bowl weighed about one and three-fourths pounds. All the silver plates and silver bowls together weighed about sixty pounds according to a weight set by the Holy Place measure. ⁸⁶The twelve gold dishes filled with incense weighed four ounces each, according to the weight set by the Holy Place measure. Together the gold dishes weighed about three pounds. ⁸⁷The total number of animals for the burnt offering was twelve bulls, twelve male sheep, and twelve male lambs a year old. There was also a grain offering, and there were twelve male goats for a sin offering. ⁸⁸The total number of animals for the fellowship offering was twenty-four bulls, sixty male sheep, sixty male goats, and sixty male lambs a year old. All these offerings were for giving the altar to the service of the Lord after the oil had been poured on it.

⁸⁹When Moses went into the Meeting Tent to speak with the Lord, he heard the Lord speaking to him. The voice was coming from between the two gold creatures with wings that were above the lid of the Ark of the Agreement. In this way the Lord spoke with him.

The Lampstand

8The Lord said to Moses, ²“Speak to Aaron and tell him, ‘Put the seven lamps where they can light the area in front of the lampstand.’ ”

³Aaron did this, putting the lamps so they lighted the area in front of the lampstand; he obeyed the command the Lord gave Moses. ⁴The lampstand was made from hammered gold, from its base to the flowers. It was made exactly the way the Lord had showed Moses.

The Levites Are Given to God

⁵The Lord said to Moses, ⁶“Take the Levites away from the other Israelites and make them clean. ⁷This is what you should do to make them clean: Sprinkle the cleansing water on them, and have them shave their bodies and wash their clothes so they will be clean. ⁸They must take a young bull and the grain offering of flour mixed with oil that goes with it. Then take a second young bull for a sin offering. ⁹Bring the Levites to the front of the Meeting Tent, and gather all the Israelites around. ¹⁰When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the Israelites should put their hands on them. ^{n 11}Aaron will present the Levites before the Lord as an offering presented from the Israelites. Then the Levites will be ready to do the work of the Lord.

¹²“The Levites will put their hands on the bulls’ heads—one bull will be a sin offering to the Lord, and the other will be a burnt offering, to remove the sins of the Levites so they will belong to the Lord. ¹³Make the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and present the Levites as an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴In this way you must set apart the Levites from the other Israelites; the Levites will be mine.

¹⁵“Make the Levites pure, and present them as an offering so that they may come to work at the Meeting Tent. ¹⁶They will be given completely to me from the Israelites; I have taken them for myself instead of the firstborn of every Israelite woman. ¹⁷All the firstborn in Israel—people or animals—are mine. When I killed all the firstborn in Egypt, I set the firstborn in Israel aside for myself. ¹⁸But I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn in Israel. ¹⁹From all the Israelites I have given the Levites to Aaron and his sons so that they may serve the Israelites at the Meeting Tent. They will help remove the Israelites’ sins so they will belong to the Lord and so that no disaster will strike the Israelites when they approach the Holy Place.”

²⁰So Moses, Aaron, and all the Israelites obeyed and did with the Levites what the Lord commanded Moses. ²¹The Levites made themselves clean and washed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them as an offering to the Lord. He also removed their sins so they would be pure. ²²After that, the Levites came to the Meeting Tent to work, and Aaron and his sons told them what to do. They did with the Levites what the Lord commanded Moses.

²³The Lord said to Moses, ²⁴“This command is for the Levites. Everyone twenty-five years old or older must come to the Meeting Tent, because they all have jobs to do there. ²⁵At the age of fifty, they must retire from their jobs and not work again. ²⁶They may help their fellow Levites with their work at the Meeting Tent, but they must not do the work themselves. This is the way you are to give the Levites their jobs.”

The Passover Is Celebrated

9The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the first month of the second year after the Israelites left Egypt. He said, ²“Tell the Israelites to celebrate the Passover at the appointed time. ³That appointed time is the fourteenth day of this month at twilight; they must obey all the rules about it.”

⁴So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover, ⁵and they did; it was in the Desert of Sinai at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.

⁶But some of the people could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were unclean from touching a dead body. So they went to Moses and Aaron that day and ⁷said to Moses, “We are unclean because of touching a dead body. But why should we be kept from offering gifts to the Lord at this appointed time? Why can’t we join the other Israelites?”

⁸Moses said to them, “Wait, and I will find out what the Lord says about you.”

⁹Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰“Tell the Israelites this: ‘If you or your descendants become unclean because of a dead body, or if you are away on a trip during the Passover, you must still celebrate the Lord’s Passover. ¹¹But celebrate it at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month. Eat the lamb with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast. ¹²Don’t leave any of it until the next morning or break any of its bones. When you celebrate the Passover, follow all the rules. ¹³Anyone who is clean and is not away on a trip but does not eat the Passover must be cut off from the people. That person did not give an offering to the Lord at the appointed time and must be punished for the sin.

¹⁴“ ‘Foreigners among you may celebrate the Lord’s Passover, but they must follow all the rules. You must have the same rules for foreigners as you have for yourselves.’ ”

The Cloud Above the Tent

¹⁵On the day the Holy Tent, the Tent of the Agreement, was set up, a cloud covered it. From dusk until dawn the cloud above the Tent looked like fire. ¹⁶The cloud stayed above the…