¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹² “See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb.^(A) The Levites belong to me, ¹³ because every firstborn belongs to me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt,^(B) I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to myself, both man and animal. They are mine; I am the Lord.”^(C)