And they will be my special possession, says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I act. And I will spare them, just as a man spares his son who serves him.
I have given your brothers, the Levites, to you from the midst of the sons of Israel, and I have delivered them as a gift to the Lord, in order to serve in the ministries of his tabernacle.
"Take the Levites, in place of the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites, in place of their cattle, and so the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord.
"Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: A man or a woman, when they have made a vow so that they may be sanctified, and when they are willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord,
For all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, as much from men as from beasts, are mine. From the day when I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I have sanctified them to myself.
At that time, he separated the tribe of Levi, so that he would carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and stand before him in the ministry, and speak blessings in his name, even to the present day.