Numbers 3:12-14

New Catholic Bible

¹² “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel as a substitute for the firstborn of the people of Israel, those who opened the womb. The Levites will be my own, ¹³ for every firstborn has belonged to me from the day that I slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. I have set apart all the firstborn as my own in Israel, both human and animal. They will be mine. I am the Lord.”

¹⁴ Counting the Levites. The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert, saying,