because all the firstborn are mine. When I killed every firstborn in Egypt I set apart as holy to me all the firstborn of Israel, human and animal. They are mine. I am the Lord.”
We will bring the firstborn of our sons and of our livestock and of our herds and flocks to the Temple of our God, to the priests who minister there, as required by the Law.
Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us leave, so the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human and animal. That's the reason why I sacrifice to the Lord the firstborn male of every animal, and I buy back all the firstborn of my sons.’
The best of all the firstfruits and all your offerings are for the priests. You shall give the first loaf you bake to the priest, so that your home may be blessed.
No one is allowed to dedicate the firstborn of the livestock, because the firstborn belongs to the Lord. Whether they are cattle, sheep, or goats, they are the Lord's.
Every firstborn, whether human or animal, that is offered to the Lord is yours. But you must buy back every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.
Look, I myself have chosen your brothers the Levites from the Israelites as my gift to you, dedicated to the Lord to do the work that relates to the Tent of Meeting.
Assign the Levites to me. I am the Lord. They are in place of all of the Israelites' firstborn children. The livestock of the Levites are in place of all the Israelites' firstborn livestock.”
You have come to the church of the firstborn whose names are written down in heaven, to God, the judge of everyone, and to those good people whose lives are complete.