^11-13 (A) Moses, I have chosen these Levites from all Israel, and they will belong to me in a special way. When I killed the first-born sons of the Egyptians, I decided that the first-born sons in every Israelite family and the first-born males of their flocks and herds would be mine.^[a] But now I accept these Levites in place of the first-born sons of the Israelites.

^23 (A) just as the Law of the Lord says, “Each first-born^[a] baby boy belongs to the Lord.”