11-13 God spoke to Moses: “I have taken the Levites from among the People of Israel as a stand-in for every Israelite mother’s firstborn son. The Levites belong to me. All the firstborn are mine—when I killed all the firstborn in Egypt, I consecrated for my own use every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They belong to me. I am God.”

14-16 God spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: “Count the Levites by their ancestral families and clans. Count every male a month old and older.” Moses counted them just as he was instructed by the mouth of God.

Read full chapter

12 “I have taken the Levites(A) from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring(B) of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine,(C) 13 for all the firstborn are mine.(D) When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They are to be mine. I am the Lord.”(E)

14 The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai,(F) 15 “Count(G) the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old or more.”(H) 16 So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.

Read full chapter