Exodus 13:12-14

Contemporary English Version

¹²^(A) From then on, you must give him every first-born son from your families and every first-born male from your animals, because these belong to him. ¹³You can spare the life of a first-born donkey^[a] by sacrificing a lamb; if you don't, you must break the donkey's neck. You must spare every first-born son.

¹⁴In the future your children will ask what this ceremony means. Explain it to them by saying, “The Lord used his mighty power to rescue us from slavery in Egypt.

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Footnotes

13.13 donkey: This was the only “unclean” animal that had to be spared; the first-born of all “clean” animals (sheep, goats, cattle) had to be sacrificed. Donkeys were important because they were the basic means of transportation.