Exodus 13:12

then you must give over ¹  to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. ²  Every firstling ³  of a beast that you have ⁴  – the males will be the Lord’s. ⁵ 

you are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD.

you shall devote to the LORD the first offspring of every womb, and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the LORD.

All firstborn sons and firstborn male animals must be presented to the LORD.

you are to set aside the first birth out of every womb to GOD. Every first birth from your livestock belongs to GOD.

You are to put on one side for the Lord every mother’s first male child, the first-fruit of her body, and the first young one of every beast; every male is holy to the Lord.

you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your livestock that are males shall be the Lord’s.

"that you shall set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the LORD’S.

then you must give over ¹  to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. ²  Every firstling ³  of a beast that you have ⁴  – the males will be the Lord’s. ⁵ 

¹ tn The unusual choice of words in this passage reflects the connection with the deliverance of the firstborn in the exodus when the Lord passed over the Israelites (12:12, 23). Here the Law said, “you will cause to pass over (וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ, vÿha’avarta) to Yahweh.” The Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) provides the main clause after the temporal clauses. Yahweh here claimed the firstborn as his own. The remarkable thing about this is that Yahweh did not keep the firstborn that was dedicated to him, but allowed the child to be redeemed by his father. It was an acknowledgment that the life of the child belonged to God as the one redeemed from death, and that the child represented the family. Thus, the observance referred to the dedication of all the redeemed to God.

sn It was once assumed by some scholars that child sacrifice lay behind this text in the earlier days, but that the priests and prophets removed those themes. Apart from the fact that there is absolutely no evidence for anything like that, the Law forbade child sacrifice, and always used child sacrifice as the sample of what not to do in conformity with the pagans (e.g., Deut 12:31). Besides, how absurd would it be for Yahweh to redeem the firstborn from death and then ask Israel to kill them. See further B. Jacob, Exodus, 371.

² tn Heb “every opener of a womb,” that is, the firstborn from every womb.

³ tn The descriptive noun שֶׁגֶר (sheger) is related to the verb “drop, cast”; it refers to a newly born animal that is dropped or cast from the womb. The expression then reads, “and all that first open [the womb], the casting of a beast.”

⁴ tn Heb “that is to you.” The preposition expresses possession.

⁵ tn The Hebrew text simply has “the males to Yahweh.” It indicates that the Lord must have them, or they belong to the Lord.