Numbers 3:5–13

⁵Then 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.”

¹¹Again 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.”