40 Then the Lord said to Moses: ^a“Number all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and above, and take the number of their names.  ‡

41 ^aAnd you shall take the Levites for Me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the children of Israel.”  ‡

43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names from a month old and above, of those who were numbered of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: