8 The Levites will serve the community by being responsible for the furnishings of the tent.
9 They are assigned to help Aaron and his sons,
10 who have been appointed to be priests. Anyone else who tries to perform the duties of a priest must be put to death.
11-13 Moses, I have chosen these Levites from all Israel, and they will belong to me in a special way. When I killed the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, I decided that the firstborn sons in every Israelite family and the firstborn males of their flocks and herds would be mine. But now I accept these Levites in place of the firstborn sons of the Israelites.
14 In the Sinai Desert the Lord said to Moses,
15 “Now I want you to count the men and boys in the Levi tribe by families and by clans. Include every one at least a month old.”
16 So Moses obeyed and counted them.