Numbers 3:5–13

The Levites Serve in the Tabernacle

⁵And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ^6f“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. ⁷And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do ^gthe work of the tabernacle. ⁸Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. ⁹And ^hyou shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to ³him from among the children of Israel. ¹⁰So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, ⁱand they shall attend to their priesthood; ^jbut the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

¹¹Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹²“Now behold, ^kI Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be ^lMine, ¹³because ^mall the firstborn are Mine. ⁿOn the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.”