¹¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹² “Now behold, ^(A)I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be ^(B)Mine, ¹³ because ^(C)all the firstborn are Mine. ^(D)On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.”