16. For they are the ones from among Bnei-Yisrael given to Me in place of all the first from the wombs of Bnei-Yisrael. I have taken them for Myself.
17. “For every firstborn among Bnei-Yisrael is Mine, whether human or animal. On the day I struck down the firstborn of the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for Myself.
18. So I am taking the Levites in place of the firstborn of Bnei-Yisrael,
19. and I am giving the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among Bnei-Yisrael, to do the work on behalf of Bnei-Yisrael in the Tent of Meeting, and to make atonement for them—so that there would be no plague among them for coming too close to the Sanctuary.”
20. So Moses, Aaron and the entire community of Bnei-Yisrael did so with the Levites. All that Adonai had commanded Moses regarding the Levites, so Bnei-Yisrael did to them.
21. The Levites also purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes. Aaron presented them as a wave offering before Adonai, and, he made atonement for them to purify them.
22. After that, the Levites came to do their tasks before Aaron and his sons in the Tent of Meeting, just as Adonai had commanded Moses concerning the Levites.
23. Adonai again spoke to Moses saying,
24. “This is for the Levites. Men 25 years old and upward are to present themselves for service to work in the Tent of Meeting.