5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to the priest Aaron to assist him. 7 They are to perform duties for* him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 8 They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meetingf and perform duties for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 9 Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him* from the Israelites.g 10 You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”h

11 The Lord spoke to Moses: 12 “See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb.i The Levites belong to me, 13 because every firstborn belongs to me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt,a I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to myself, both man and animal. They are mine; I am the Lord.”b