¹The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, ²“The Israelites will put up their tents with each family under the flag that symbolizes its household. They will put their tents around the tent of meeting, facing it.

³“On the east side, facing the rising sun, the armies led by Judah will camp under their flag. The leader for the people of Judah is Nahshon, son of Amminadab. ⁴The total number of men in his army is 74,600.

⁵“Next to them will be the tribe of Issachar. The leader for the people of Issachar is Nethanel, son of Zuar. ⁶The total number of men in his army is 54,400.

⁷“Then ⸤will be⸥ the tribe of Zebulun. The leader for the people of Zebulun is Eliab, son of Helon. ⁸The total number of men in his army is 57,400.

⁹“The grand total of all the troops in Judah’s camp is 186,400. They will be the first group to move out.

¹⁰“On the south side the armies led by Reuben will camp under their flag. The leader for the people of Reuben is Elizur, son of Shedeur. ¹¹The total number of men in his army is 46,500.

¹²“Next to them will be the tribe of Simeon. The leader for the people of Simeon is Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai. ¹³The total number of men in his army is 59,300.

¹⁴“Then ⸤will be⸥ the tribe of Gad. The leader for the people of Gad is Eliasaph, son of Deuel. ¹⁵The total number of men in his army is 45,650.

¹⁶“The grand total of all the troops in Reuben’s camp is 151,450. They will be the second group to move out.

¹⁷“When the tent of meeting is moved, the Levites will stay in the middle of the groups. The tribes will move out in the same order as they are in the camp, everyone in place under his own flag.

¹⁸“On the west side the armies led by Ephraim will camp under their flag. The leader for the people of Ephraim is Elishama, son of Ammihud. ¹⁹The total number of men in his army is 40,500.

²⁰“Next to them will be the tribe of Manasseh. The leader for the people of Manasseh is Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur. ²¹The total number of men in his army is 32,200.

²²“Then ⸤will be⸥ the tribe of Benjamin. The leader for the people of Benjamin is Abidan, son of Gideoni. ²³The total number of men in his army is 35,400.

²⁴“The grand total of all the troops in Ephraim’s camp is 108,100. They will be the third group to move out.

²⁵“On the north side the armies led by Dan will camp under their flag. The leader for the people of Dan is Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶The total number of men in his army is 62,700.

²⁷“Next to them will be the tribe of Asher. The leader for the people of Asher is Pagiel, son of Ochran. ²⁸The total number of men in his army is 41,500.

²⁹“Then ⸤will be⸥ the tribe of Naphtali. The leader for the people of Naphtali is Ahira, son of Enan. ³⁰The total number of men in his army is 53,400.

³¹“The grand total of all the men in Dan’s camp is 157,600. They will be the last group to move out. They will travel under their own flag.”

³²This is the total number of Israelites, counted by households. The grand total of all the troops in the camps was 603,550. ³³As the Lord had commanded Moses, the Levites were not registered along with the other Israelites.

³⁴So the Israelites did everything as the Lord had commanded Moses. They set up camp under their flags, and each person traveled with his own family and household.

3RD CHAPTER

The Tribe of Levi Is Registered and Assigned Duties

¹This is the list of Aaron and Moses’ descendants at the time when the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai.

²The names of Aaron’s sons are Nadab (the firstborn), Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. ⁴Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence because they offered unauthorized fire in his presence in the Desert of Sinai. They had no children. So only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.

⁵The Lord said to Moses, ⁶“Bring the tribe of Levi, and have them stand in front of the priest Aaron to assist him. ⁷They will work for him and the whole community in front of the tent of meeting, doing what needs to be done for the inner tent. ⁸They will take care of all the furnishings in the tent of meeting and work for the Israelites, doing what needs to be done for the inner tent. ⁹Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. The Levites will be the only Israelites given to them. ¹⁰Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests. Anyone else who tries to do the priests’ duties must be put to death.”

¹¹The Lord said to Moses, ¹²“Out of all the Israelites, I have taken the Levites to be substitutes for every firstborn male offspring among them. The Levites are mine, ¹³because every firstborn is mine. The day I killed every firstborn male in Egypt, I set apart as holy every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They will be mine. I am the Lord.”

¹⁴The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, ¹⁵“Count the Levites by households and families. Count every male who is at least one month old.” ¹⁶So Moses did what the Lord said and registered them as he had been commanded.

¹⁷Gershon, Kohath, and Merari were the sons of Levi.

¹⁸Libni and Shimei were the sons of Gershon. Their families were named after them.

¹⁹Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel were the sons of Kohath. Their families were named after them.

²⁰Mahli and Mushi were the sons of Merari. Their families were named after them.

These were the households of Levite families.

²¹To Gershon belonged the families descended from Libni and Shimei. These were the families descended from Gershon. ²²The total number of all the males at least one month old was 7,500. ²³The families descended from Gershon put up their tents on the west side behind the tent of meeting. ²⁴The leader of the Gershonite households was Eliasaph, son of Lael. ²⁵At the tent of meeting the Gershonites were in charge of the inner tent, the outer tent and cover, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, ²⁶the curtains for the courtyard, the screen for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the inner tent and the altar, and the ropes. They took care of all these things.

²⁷To Kohath belonged the families descended from Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. These were the families descended from Kohath. ²⁸The number of all the males at least one month old was 8,600. They were in charge of the holy place. ²⁹The families descended from Kohath put up their tents on the south side of the tent of meeting. ³⁰The leader of the Kohathite families and households was Elizaphan, son of Uzziel. ³¹They were in charge of the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the utensils used in the holy place, and the screen. They took care of all these things.

³²The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar, son of the priest Aaron. It was Eleazar’s duty to supervise those who were in charge of the holy place.

³³To Merari belonged the families descended from Mahli and Mushi. These were the families descended from Merari. ³⁴The total number of all the males at least one month old was 6,200. ³⁵The leader of the Merarite families and households was Zuriel, son of Abihail. They put up their tents on the north side of the tent of meeting. ³⁶It was the duty of the Merarites to be in charge of the framework of the inner tent, the crossbars, posts, sockets, and all the equipment. They took care of all these things. ³⁷They also took care of the posts for the surrounding courtyard, the bases, pegs, and ropes.

³⁸Moses, Aaron, and his sons put up their tents on the east side in front of the tent of meeting. They were in charge of the holy place on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who tried to do the Levites’ duties had to be put to death.

³⁹The grand total of Levites that Moses and Aaron counted at the Lord’s command, by families, every male who was at least one month old, was 22,000.

⁴⁰The Lord said to Moses, “Register every firstborn male of the Israelites who is at least one month old, and make a list of their names. ⁴¹I am the Lord. Take the Levites for me to be substitutes for all firstborn Israelites. Also take the animals of the Levites to be substitutes for all firstborn animals of the Israelites.”

⁴²So Moses registered all the firstborn Israelites as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³The total of all the firstborn males at least one month old was 22,273. They were listed by name.

⁴⁴The Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵“Take the Levites to be substitutes for all the firstborn Israelites and the animals of the Levites to be substitutes for their animals. The Levites will be mine. I am the Lord. ⁴⁶There are 273 more firstborn male Israelites than there are Levites. ⁴⁷It will cost you two ounces of silver per person (using the standard weight of the holy place) to buy them back. ⁴⁸Give the silver to Aaron and his sons. It will buy back those Israelites who outnumber the Levites.”

⁴⁹So Moses took this ransom money from the Israelites who outnumbered the Levites. ⁵⁰The silver Moses collected for the firstborn Israelites weighed 34 pounds, using the standard weight of the holy place. ⁵¹Then Moses did what the Lord said and gave Aaron and his sons this ransom money as he had been commanded.

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