Numbers 3:12
King James Version
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 in context
10And 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,
The Book of Numbers — summary, themes & key verses
The long wilderness — Israel's wanderings, and the faithfulness of God through them.
