Consecration of the Firstborn

13 The Lord said to Moses,

^2 (A)“Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”

¹¹ “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, ^(A)as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, ^12 (B)you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord's. ^13 (C)Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every ^(D)firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. ^14 (E)And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ^(F)‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of ^(G)slavery. ¹⁵ For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the ^(H)Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but ^(I)all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ^16 (J)It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for ^(K)by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”