Exodus 13:11–16

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.”