Exodus 13:11–16

The First-Born

¹¹“The Lord will bring you into the land of the Canaanites, which he solemnly promised to you and your ancestors. When he gives it to you, ^12*you must offer every firstborn male to the Lord. Every firstborn male of your animals belongs to the Lord, ¹³but you must buy back from him every firstborn male donkey by offering a lamb in its place. If you do not want to buy back the donkey, break its neck. You must buy back every firstborn male child of yours. ¹⁴In the future, when your son asks what this observance means, you will answer him, ‘By using great power the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the place where we were slaves. ¹⁵When the king of Egypt was stubborn and refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both human and animal. That is why we sacrifice every firstborn male animal to the Lord, but buy back our firstborn sons. ¹⁶This observance will be a reminder, like something tied on our hands or on our foreheads; it will remind us that the Lord brought us out of Egypt by his great power.’ ”