The Lord said to Moses:
You should know that I sent you this commandment so that my covenant with Levi might endure, says the Lord of hosts.
But you will appoint only Aaron and his descendants to exercise the priesthood. Any unauthorized person who comes near shall be put to death.
I hereby take the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn that opens the womb among the Israelites. The Levites, therefore, are mine,
