Exodus 13:3–16

Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt,^b out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand.^c Eat nothing containing yeast.^d Today, in the month of Aviv,^e you are leaving. When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites,^f Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites^g—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey^h—you are to observe this ceremonyⁱ in this month: For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival^j to the Lord. Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. On that day tell your children,^k ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand^l and a reminder on your forehead^m that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.ⁿ You must keep this ordinance^o at the appointed time^p year after year.

“After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites^q and gives it to you, as he promised on oath^r to you and your ancestors,^s you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord.^t Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey,^u but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.^v Redeem^w every firstborn among your sons.^x

“In days to come, when your children^y ask you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to them, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.^z When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’^a And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead^b that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”