5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

6 “aBring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him.

7 “They shall perform the duties for 1him and for the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to do the aservice of the tabernacle.

8 “They shall also keep all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, along with the duties of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.

9 “You shall thus agive the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the sons of Israel.

10 “So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that athey may keep their priesthood, but bthe 1layman who comes near shall be put to death.”

11 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

12 “Now, behold, I ahave taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every bfirstborn, the first issue of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine.

13 “For aall the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord.”