Numbers 3:12

3:12 “Look, ¹  I myself have taken the Levites from among the Israelites instead of ²  every firstborn who opens the womb among the Israelites. So the Levites belong to me,

Numbers 3:15

3:15 “Number the Levites by their clans ³  and their families; every male from a month old and upward you are to number.” ⁴ 

Numbers 3:45

3:45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn males among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. And the Levites will be mine. I am the Lord.

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¹ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) here carries its deictic force, calling attention to the fact that is being declared. It is underscoring the fact that the Lord himself chose Levi.

² tn Literally “in the place of.”

³ tn Heb “the house of their fathers.” So also in v. 20.

⁴ tn Heb “you are to/shall number them.”