^12 (A)and you shall ^[a]devote to Yahweh the first ^[b]offspring of every womb and ^[c]the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to Yahweh. ¹³ But ^(B)every first ^[d]offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and ^(C)every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.

¹⁵ And it happened, when Pharaoh hardened his heart with stiffness about letting us go, that ^(A)Yahweh killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to Yahweh the males, the first ^[a]offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’

²⁹ “^(A)You shall not delay the offering from ^[a]the fullness of your harvest and the juice of your wine vat. ^(B)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me.

²⁶ ‘^(A)However, a firstborn among animals, which as a firstborn belongs to Yahweh, no man may set it apart as holy; whether ox or sheep, it is Yahweh’s.

¹³ For ^(A)all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am Yahweh.”

¹⁶ for they are ^(A)wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself ^(B)instead of every first issue of the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. ¹⁷ For ^(C)every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the men and among the animals; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself. ¹⁸ But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel. ^19 (D)And I have given the Levites as ^[a]a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no ^(E)plague among the sons of Israel by ^[b]their coming near to the sanctuary.”

²⁰ Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the sons of Israel to the Levites; according to all that Yahweh had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. ^21 (F)The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before Yahweh. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²² Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and before his sons; just as Yahweh had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

Retirement of the Levites

²³ Now Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “This is what applies to the Levites: from ^(G)twenty-five years old and upward ^[c]they shall enter to perform their duty in the service of the tent of meeting. ²⁵ But at the age of fifty years they shall ^[d]retire from their duty in the service and not serve anymore. ²⁶ They may, however, minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting ^(H)in order to keep up their responsibility, but they themselves shall perform no service. Thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their responsibilities.”

^15 [a](A)Every first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they bring near to Yahweh, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

¹⁹ “^(A)You shall set apart as holy to Yahweh your God all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock; you shall not work with the firstborn of your herd nor shear the firstborn of your flock.

²³ (as it is written in the Law of the ^[a]Lord, “^(A)Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the ^[b]Lord”),