Numbers 8:11-18

Evangelical Heritage Version

¹¹ Then Aaron will offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering on behalf of the Israelites. They are to do the work of the Lord.

¹² The Levites are to place their hands on the heads of the young bulls. You then will offer the one young bull as a sin offering and the other young bull as a whole burnt offering to the Lord to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³ You will have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons, and you will offer them as a wave offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ In this way you are to set apart the Levites from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.

¹⁵ After you have purified them and offered them as a wave offering, the Levites will go to work at the Tent of Meeting, ¹⁶ because only they are given to me as servants from among the Israelites. In place of every firstborn from the womb, the firstborn of every Israelite, I have taken the Levites for myself. ¹⁷ For all the firstborn among the Israelites are mine, both human and animal. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set the firstborn of the Israelites apart for myself. ¹⁸ But I have taken the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites.