They shall be Mine, says the Lord of Hosts, on the day when I prepare My special possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.
And behold, I have taken your brothers, the Levites, from among the Israelites; they are given to you as a gift from the Lord to perform the service of the tent of meeting.
Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites instead of all the firstborn that open the womb among the Israelites. The Levites shall be Mine,
Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock, and the Levites will be Mine. I am the Lord.
For all the firstborn of the Israelites are Mine, both man and animal. On the day that I struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself.
At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister to Him, and to bless in His name, to this day.