Numbers 3:12 · KJV
“And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine;”
— Numbers 3:12
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Because all the firstborn {are} mine; {for} on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I {am} the LORD.
Numbers 3 — Context
And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
11And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine;
13Because all the firstborn {are} mine; {for} on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I {am} the LORD.
14And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
Cross References
Numbers 8:16
For they {are} wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, {even instead of} the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.
Numbers 18:6
And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you {they are} given {as} a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Numbers 3:41
And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I {am} the LORD) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel.
Numbers 3:45
Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I {am} the LORD.
Numbers 8:18
And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.
Exodus 13:2
Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, {both} of man and of beast: it {is} mine.