Exodus 13:1–16

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, ²“Consecrate to Me every firstborn male.^a The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, both of man and beast.”

³So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His hand. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.

⁴Today, in the month of Abib,^b you are leaving. ⁵And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites — the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey — you shall keep this service in this month.

⁶For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. ⁷Unleavened bread shall be eaten during those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, nor shall leaven be found anywhere within your borders.

⁸And on that day you are to explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹It shall be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the Law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰Therefore you shall keep this statute at the appointed time year after year.

¹¹And after the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as He swore to you and your fathers, ¹²you are to present to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD. ¹³You must redeem every firstborn donkey with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. And every firstborn of your sons you must redeem.

¹⁴In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ¹⁵And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’ ¹⁶So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”