41 They belong to me, but I will accept the Levites as substitutes for them, and I will accept the Levites' livestock as substitutes for the Israelites' firstborn livestock.”
42 Moses obeyed the Lord and counted the firstborn sons;
43 there were 22,273 of them.
44 Then the Lord said,
45 “The Levites will belong to me and will take the place of the firstborn sons; their livestock will take the place of the Israelites' firstborn livestock.
46 But since there are more firstborn sons than Levites, the extra two hundred and seventy-three men and boys must be bought back from me.
47 For each one, you are to collect five pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards.