Exodus 13:1–16

The Firstborn Consecrated

13Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^2a“Consecrate ¹to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

³And Moses said to the people: ^b“Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of ²bondage; for ^cby strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. ^dNo leavened bread shall be eaten. ^4eOn this day you are going out, in the month Abib. ⁵And it shall be, when the Lord ^fbrings you into the ^gland of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He ^hswore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, ⁱthat you shall keep this service in this month. ^6jSeven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. ⁷Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And ^kno leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. ⁸And you shall ^ltell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ ⁹It shall be as ^ma sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ⁿYou shall therefore keep this ³ordinance in its season from year to year.

The Law of the Firstborn

¹¹“And it shall be, when the Lord ^obrings you into the land of the ^pCanaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, ^12qthat you shall ⁴set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s. ¹³But ^revery firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons ^syou shall redeem. ^14tSo it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ^u‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ¹⁵And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that ^vthe Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶It shall be as ^wa sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”