Numbers 8:11–21

¹¹and then Aaron shall dedicate the Levites to me as a special gift from the Israelites, so that they may do my work. ¹²The Levites shall then put their hands on the heads of the two bulls; one is to be offered as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, in order to perform the ritual of purification for the Levites.

¹³“Dedicate the Levites as a special gift to me, and put Aaron and his sons in charge of them. ¹⁴Separate the Levites in this way from the rest of the Israelites, so that they will belong to me. ¹⁵After you have purified and dedicated the Levites, they will be qualified to work in the Tent. ¹⁶I have claimed them in the place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites, and they belong to me alone. ^17*When I killed all the firstborn in Egypt, I consecrated as my own the eldest son of each Israelite family and the firstborn of every animal. ¹⁸I am now taking the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the Israelites, ¹⁹and I assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons, as a gift from the Israelites, to work in the Tent for the people of Israel and to protect the Israelites from the disaster that would strike them if they came too near the Holy Place.”

²⁰So Moses, Aaron, and all the people of Israel dedicated the Levites, as the Lord commanded Moses. ²¹The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron dedicated them as a special gift to the Lord. He also performed the ritual of purification for them.