Numbers 1–6

The People of Israel Are Counted

1The Lord spoke to Moses in the Meeting Tent in the Desert of Sinai. This was on the first day of the second month in the second year after the Israelites left Egypt. He said to Moses: ²“You and Aaron must count all the people of Israel by families and family groups, listing the name of each man. ³You and Aaron must count every man twenty years old or older who will serve in the army of Israel, and list them by their divisions. ⁴One man from each tribe, the leader of his family, will help you. ⁵These are the names of the men who will help you:

from the tribe of Reuben—Elizur son of Shedeur;

⁶from the tribe of Simeon—Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;

⁷from the tribe of Judah—Nahshon son of Amminadab;

⁸from the tribe of Issachar—Nethanel son of Zuar;

⁹from the tribe of Zebulun—Eliab son of Helon;

¹⁰from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph—Elishama son of Ammihud;

from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph—Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;

¹¹from the tribe of Benjamin—Abidan son of Gideoni;

¹²from the tribe of Dan—Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;

¹³from the tribe of Asher—Pagiel son of Ocran;

¹⁴from the tribe of Gad—Eliasaph son of Deuel;

¹⁵from the tribe of Naphtali—Ahira son of Enan.”

¹⁶These were the men chosen from the people to be leaders of their tribes, the heads of Israel’s family groups.

¹⁷Moses and Aaron took these men who had been picked ¹⁸and called all the people of Israel together on the first day of the second month. Then the people were listed by their families and family groups, and all the men who were twenty years old or older were listed by name. ¹⁹Moses did exactly what the Lord had commanded and listed the people while they were in the Desert of Sinai.

²⁰The tribe of Reuben, the first son born to Israel, was counted; all the men twenty years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed by name with their families and family groups. ²¹The tribe of Reuben totaled 46,500 men.

²²The tribe of Simeon was counted; all the men twenty years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed by name with their families and family groups. ²³The tribe of Simeon totaled 59,300 men.

²⁴The tribe of Gad was counted; all the men twenty years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed by name with their families and family groups. ²⁵The tribe of Gad totaled 45,650 men.

²⁶The tribe of Judah was counted; all the men twenty years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed by name with their families and family groups. ²⁷The tribe of Judah totaled 74,600 men.

²⁸The tribe of Issachar was counted; all the men twenty years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed by name with their families and family groups. ²⁹The tribe of Issachar totaled 54,400 men.

³⁰The tribe of Zebulun was counted; all the men twenty years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed by name with their families and family groups. ³¹The tribe of Zebulun totaled 57,400 men.

³²The tribe of Ephraim, a son of Joseph, was counted; all the men twenty years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed by name with their families and family groups. ³³The tribe of Ephraim totaled 40,500 men.

³⁴The tribe of Manasseh, also a son of Joseph, was counted; all the men twenty years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed by name with their families and family groups. ³⁵The tribe of Manasseh totaled 32,200 men.

³⁶The tribe of Benjamin was counted; all the men twenty years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed by name with their families and family groups. ³⁷The tribe of Benjamin totaled 35,400 men.

³⁸The tribe of Dan was counted; all the men twenty years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed by name with their families and family groups. ³⁹The tribe of Dan totaled 62,700 men.

⁴⁰The tribe of Asher was counted; all the men twenty years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed by name with their families and family groups. ⁴¹The tribe of Asher totaled 41,500 men.

⁴²The tribe of Naphtali was counted; all the men twenty years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed by name with their families and family groups. ⁴³The tribe of Naphtali totaled 53,400 men.

⁴⁴Moses, Aaron, and the twelve leaders of Israel, one from each of the families, counted these men. ⁴⁵Every man of Israel twenty years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted and listed with his family. ⁴⁶The total number of men was 603,550.

⁴⁷The families from the tribe of Levi were not listed with the others, because ⁴⁸the Lord had told Moses: ⁴⁹“Do not count the tribe of Levi or include them with the other Israelites. ⁵⁰Instead put the Levites in charge of the Holy Tent of the Agreement and everything that is with it. They must carry the Holy Tent and everything in it, and they must take care of it and make their camp around it. ⁵¹Any time the Holy Tent is moved, the Levites must take it down, and any time it is set up, the Levites must do it. Anyone else who goes near the Holy Tent will be put to death. ⁵²The Israelites will make their camps in separate divisions, each family near its flag. ⁵³But the Levites must make their camp around the Holy Tent of the Agreement so that I will not be angry with the Israelites. The Levites will take care of the Holy Tent of the Agreement.”

⁵⁴So the Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Camp Arrangement

2The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ²“The Israelites should make their camps around the Meeting Tent, but they should not camp too close to it. They should camp under their family flag and banners.”

³The camp of Judah will be on the east side, where the sun rises, and they will camp by divisions there under their flag. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab. ⁴There are 74,600 men in his division.

⁵Next to them the tribe of Issachar will camp. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar. ⁶There are 54,400 men in his division.

⁷Next is the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of the people of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon. ⁸There are 57,400 men in his division.

⁹There are a total of 186,400 men in the camps of Judah and its neighbors, in all their divisions. They will be the first to march out of camp.

¹⁰The divisions of the camp of Reuben will be on the south side, where they will camp under their flag. The leader of the people of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur. ¹¹There are 46,500 men in his division.

¹²Next to them the tribe of Simeon will camp. The leader of the people of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. ¹³There are 59,300 men in his division.

¹⁴Next is the tribe of Gad. The leader of the people of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel. ¹⁵There are 45,650 men in his division.

¹⁶There are a total of 151,450 men in the camps of Reuben and its neighbors, in all their divisions. They will be the second group to march out of camp.

¹⁷When the Levites march out with the Meeting Tent, they will be in the middle of the other camps. The tribes will march out in the same order as they camp, each in its place under its flag.

¹⁸The divisions of the camp of Ephraim will be on the west side, where they will camp under their flag. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud. ¹⁹There are 40,500 men in his division.

²⁰Next to them the tribe of Manasseh will camp. The leader of the people of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. ²¹There are 32,200 men in his division.

²²Next is the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of the people of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni. ²³There are 35,400 men in his division.

²⁴There are a total of 108,100 men in the camps of Ephraim and its neighbors, in all their divisions. They will be the third group to march out of camp.

²⁵The divisions of the camp of Dan will be on the north side, where they will camp under their flag. The leader of the people of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶There are 62,700 men in his division.

²⁷Next to them the tribe of Asher will camp. The leader of the people of Asher is Pagiel son of Ocran. ²⁸There are 41,500 men in his division.

²⁹Next is the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of the people of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan. ³⁰There are 53,400 men in his division.

³¹There are 157,600 men in the camps of Dan and its neighbors. They will be the last to march out of camp, and they will travel under their own flag.

³²These are the Israelites who were counted by families. The total number of Israelites in the camps, counted by divisions, is 603,550. ³³Moses obeyed the Lord and did not count the Levites among the other people of Israel.

³⁴So the Israelites obeyed everything the Lord commanded Moses. They camped under their flags and marched out by families and family groups.

Aaron’s Family, the Priests

3This is the family history of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord talked to Moses on Mount Sinai.

²Aaron had four sons: Nadab, the oldest, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³These were the names of Aaron’s sons, who were appointed to serve as priests. ⁴But Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered the wrong kind of fire before the Lord in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons. So 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 present them to Aaron the priest to help him. ⁷They will help him and all the Israelites at the Meeting Tent, doing the work in the Holy Tent. ⁸The Levites must take care of everything in the Meeting Tent and serve the people of Israel by doing the work in the Holy Tent. ⁹Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; of all the Israelites, the Levites are given completely to him. ¹⁰Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests, but anyone else who comes near the holy things must be put to death.”

¹¹The Lord also said to Moses, ¹²“I am choosing the Levites from all…