And the Lord spake unto Moses Continued to speak unto him, and give him the reason of his appointing the Levites to minister to the priests and serve the tabernacle:
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Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of all the firstborn that open the womb among the sons of Israel; therefore the Levites shall be mine;
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because all the firstborn are mine; from the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both of men and of animals; they shall be mine: I am the LORD.