3 ⁵ And Yahweh said to Moses, 3 ⁶ "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 3 ⁷ They shall perform duties for him and for the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle; 3 ⁸ they shall have charge of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and attend to the duties for the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 3 ⁹ And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 3 ¹⁰ And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but if any one else comes near, he shall be put to death."

3 ¹¹ And Yahweh said to Moses, 3 ¹² "Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every first-born that opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 3 ¹³ for all the first-born are mine; on the day that I slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the first-born in Israel, both of man and of beast; they shall be mine: I am Yahweh."