A reading from the Book of Exodus.

The Lord said to Moses,

Consecrate to me all the firstborn.

Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel,

both of man and of beast, is mine.

Then Moses said to the people,

Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery,

for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place.

No leavened bread shall be eaten.

Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. And when the Lord brings you into

the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites,

which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep

this service in this month.

Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast

to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. No leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen

with you in all your territory. You shall tell your son on that day, it is because of what the

Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt. And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand, and as a memorial

between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth, for with a strong hand,

the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed

time from year to year.

When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites as he swore to you and your fathers

and shall give it to you, you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb.

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