Exodus 13:13-15

Contemporary English Version

¹³ You can spare the life of a first-born donkey^[a] by sacrificing a lamb; if you don't, you must break the donkey's neck. You must spare every first-born son.

¹⁴ In the future your children will ask what this ceremony means. Explain it to them by saying, “The Lord used his mighty power to rescue us from slavery in Egypt. ¹⁵ The king^[b] stubbornly refused to set us free, so the Lord killed the first-born male of every animal and the first-born son of every Egyptian family. This is why we sacrifice to the Lord every first-born male of every animal and save every first-born son.”