Numbers 1:1–46

The Men of Israel Are Counted

1The Lord spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting. It happened in the Desert of Sinai. The Lord spoke to him on the first day of the second month. It was the second year after the people of Israel came out of Egypt.

The Lord said, ²“Count all of the men of Israel. Make a list of them by their tribes and families. List every man by name. List them one by one. ³Count all of the men who are able to serve in the army. They must be 20 years old or more. I want you and Aaron to make a list of them company by company. ⁴One man from each tribe must help you. Those who help must be the heads of their families.

⁵“Here are the names of the men who must help you.

“From the tribe of Reuben will come Elizur, the son of Shedeur.

⁶From the tribe of Simeon will come Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai.

⁷From the tribe of Judah will come Nahshon, the son of Amminadab.

⁸From the tribe of Issachar will come Nethanel, the son of Zuar.

⁹From the tribe of Zebulun will come Eliab, the son of Helon.

¹⁰From the tribe of Ephraim will come Elishama, the son of Ammihud.

From the tribe of Manasseh will come Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur.

Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph’s two sons.

¹¹From the tribe of Benjamin will come Abidan, the son of Gideoni.

¹²From the tribe of Dan will come Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai.

¹³From the tribe of Asher will come Pagiel, the son of Ocran.

¹⁴From the tribe of Gad will come Eliasaph, the son of Deuel.

¹⁵From the tribe of Naphtali will come Ahira, the son of Enan.”

¹⁶Those were the men who were appointed from the community. They were the leaders of the tribes of their people. They were the heads of the major families in Israel.

¹⁷Moses and Aaron went and got the men whose names had been given to them. ¹⁸Then Moses and Aaron gathered all of the men of Israel together. It was the first day of the second month. The men announced the tribe and family they belonged to. Those who were 20 years old or more were listed by name. They were listed one by one.

¹⁹Everything was done just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So Moses counted them in the Desert of Sinai.

²⁰Here is the number of men from the tribe of Reuben, Israel’s oldest son.

All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed one by one. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families. ²¹The number from the tribe of Reuben was 46,500.

²²Here is the number of men from the tribe of Simeon.

All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed one by one. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families. ²³The number from the tribe of Simeon was 59,300.

²⁴Here is the number of men from the tribe of Gad.

All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families. ²⁵The number from the tribe of Gad was 45,650.

²⁶Here is the number of men from the tribe of Judah.

All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families. ²⁷The number from the tribe of Judah was 74,600.

²⁸Here is the number of men from the tribe of Issachar.

All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families. ²⁹The number from the tribe of Issachar was 54,400.

³⁰Here is the number of men from the tribe of Zebulun.

All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families. ³¹The number from the tribe of Zebulun was 57,400.

³²Here is the number of men from the tribe of Ephraim, the son of Joseph.

All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families. ³³The number from the tribe of Ephraim was 40,500.

³⁴Here is the number of men from the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph.

All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families. ³⁵The number from the tribe of Manasseh was 32,200.

³⁶Here is the number of men from the tribe of Benjamin.

All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families. ³⁷The number from the tribe of Benjamin was 35,400.

³⁸Here is the number of men from the tribe of Dan.

All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families. ³⁹The number from the tribe of Dan was 62,700.

⁴⁰Here is the number of men from the tribe of Asher.

All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families. ⁴¹The number from the tribe of Asher was 41,500.

⁴²Here is the number of men from the tribe of Naphtali.

All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families. ⁴³The number from the tribe of Naphtali was 53,400.

⁴⁴Those were the men Moses and Aaron counted. The 12 leaders of Israel helped them. There was one leader from each tribe. ⁴⁵The men who were counted were able to serve in Israel’s army. All of them were 20 years old or more. They were counted family by family. ⁴⁶The total number was 603,550.