Numbers 1–6

THE CENSUS OF ISRAEL

1The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting^a in the Wilderness of Sinai,^b on the first day of the second month of the second year^c after Israel’s departure from the land of Egypt: ²“Take a census^d of the entire Israelite community by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of every male one by one. ³You and Aaron are to register those who are twenty years old or more by their military divisions—everyone who can serve in Israel’s army.^{Be 4}A man from each tribe is to be with you, each one the head of his ancestral family.^{f 5}These are the names of the men who are to assist you^g:

Elizur son of Shedeur from Reuben;

⁶Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai from Simeon;

⁷Nahshon son of Amminadab from Judah;

⁸Nethanel son of Zuar from Issachar;

⁹Eliab son of Helon from Zebulun;

¹⁰from the sons of Joseph:

Elishama son of Ammihud from Ephraim,

Gamaliel son of Pedahzur from Manasseh;

¹¹Abidan son of Gideoni from Benjamin;

¹²Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai from Dan;

¹³Pagiel son of Ochran from Asher;

¹⁴Eliasaph son of Deuel^D from Gad;

¹⁵Ahira son of Enan from Naphtali.

¹⁶These are the men called from the community; they are leaders of their ancestral tribes,^h the heads of Israel’s clans.”ⁱ

¹⁷So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name,^{j 18}and they assembled the whole community on the first day of the second month. They recorded their ancestry by their clans and their ancestral families, counting one by one the names of those twenty years old or more, ¹⁹just as the Lord commanded Moses. He registered them in the Wilderness of Sinai:

²⁰The descendants of Reuben,^k the firstborn of Israel: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ²¹those registered for the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.

²²The descendants of Simeon:^l according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, those registered counting one by one the names of every male twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ²³those registered for the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.

²⁴The descendants of Gad:^m according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ²⁵those registered for the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.

²⁶The descendants of Judah:ⁿ according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ²⁷those registered for the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.

²⁸The descendants of Issachar:^o according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ²⁹those registered for the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.

³⁰The descendants of Zebulun:^p according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ³¹those registered for the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.

³²The descendants of Joseph:^a

The descendants of Ephraim:^b according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ³³those registered for the tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500.

³⁴The descendants of Manasseh:^c according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ³⁵those registered for the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.

³⁶The descendants of Benjamin:^d according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ³⁷those registered for the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.

³⁸The descendants of Dan:^e according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ³⁹those registered for the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.

⁴⁰The descendants of Asher:^f according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ⁴¹those registered for the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.

⁴²The descendants of Naphtali:^g according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, ⁴³those registered for the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400.

⁴⁴These are the men Moses and Aaron registered, with the assistance of the twelve leaders of Israel; each represented his ancestral family. ⁴⁵So all the Israelites twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in Israel’s army, were registered by their ancestral families. ⁴⁶All those registered numbered 603,550.^h

DUTIES OF THE LEVITES

⁴⁷But the Levitesⁱ were not registered with them by their ancestral tribe. ⁴⁸For the Lord had told Moses, ⁴⁹“Do not register or take a census of the tribe of Levi with the other Israelites. ⁵⁰Appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They are to transport the tabernacle and all its articles, take care of it, and camp around it. ⁵¹Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to stop at a campsite, the Levites are to set it up. Any unauthorized^j person who comes near it is to be put to death.^k

⁵²“The Israelites are to camp by their military divisions, each man with his encampment and under his banner. ⁵³The Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the Israelite community.”^{l 54}The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.^m

ORGANIZATION OF THE CAMPS

2The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ²“The Israelites are to camp under their respective banners beside the flags of their ancestral families. They are to camp around the tent of meeting at a distance from it:

³Judah’s military divisionsⁿ will camp on the east side toward the sunrise under their banner. The leader of the descendants of Judah is Nahshon^o son of Amminadab. ⁴His military division numbers 74,600. ⁵The tribe of Issachar will camp next to it. The leader of the Issacharites is Nethanel son of Zuar. ⁶His military division numbers 54,400. ⁷The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the Zebulunites is Eliab son of Helon. ⁸His military division numbers 57,400. ⁹The total number in their military divisions who belong to Judah’s encampment is 186,400; they will move out first.

¹⁰Reuben’s military divisions will camp on the south side under their banner. The leader of the Reubenites is Elizur son of Shedeur. ¹¹His military division numbers 46,500. ¹²The tribe of Simeon will camp next to it. The leader of the Simeonites is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. ¹³His military division numbers 59,300. ¹⁴The tribe of Gad will be next. The leader of the Gadites is Eliasaph son of Deuel.^{B 15}His military division numbers 45,650. ¹⁶The total number in their military divisions who belong to Reuben’s encampment is 151,450; they will move out second.

¹⁷The tent of meeting is to move out with the Levites’ camp, which is in the middle of the camps. They are to move out just as they camp, each in his place,^A with their banners.

¹⁸Ephraim’s military divisions will camp on the west side under their banner. The leader of the Ephraimites is Elishama son of Ammihud. ¹⁹His military division numbers 40,500. ²⁰The tribe of Manasseh will be next to it. The leader of the Manassites is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. ²¹His military division numbers 32,200. ²²The tribe of Benjamin will be next. The leader of the Benjaminites is Abidan son of Gideoni. ²³His military division numbers 35,400. ²⁴The total in their military divisions who belong to Ephraim’s encampment number 108,100; they will move out third.

²⁵Dan’s military divisions will camp on the north side under their banner. The leader of the Danites is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶His military division numbers 62,700. ²⁷The tribe of Asher will camp next to it. The leader of the Asherites is Pagiel son of Ochran. ²⁸His military division numbers 41,500. ²⁹The tribe of Naphtali will be next. The leader of the Naphtalites is Ahira son of Enan. ³⁰His military division numbers 53,400. ³¹The total number who belong to Dan’s encampment is 157,600; they are to move out last, with their banners.”

³²These are the Israelites registered by their ancestral families. The total number in the camps by their military divisions is 603,550. ³³But the Levites were not registered among the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.^a

³⁴The Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; they camped by their banners in this way and moved out the same way, each man by his clan and by his ancestral family.^Bb

AARON’S SONS AND THE LEVITES

3These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.^{c 2}These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. ⁴But Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they presented unauthorized fire^d before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father.^e

⁵The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶“Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to the priest Aaron to assist him. ⁷They are to perform duties for him…