Numbers 1–6

The Census

1The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting^a in the Desert of Sinai^b on the first day of the second month^c of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt.^d He said: ²“Take a census^e of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families,^f listing every man by name,^g one by one. ³You and Aaron^h are to count according to their divisions all the men in Israel who are twenty years old or moreⁱ and able to serve in the army.^{j 4}One man from each tribe,^k each of them the head of his family,^l is to help you.^{m 5}These are the namesⁿ of the men who are to assist you:

from Reuben,^o Elizur son of Shedeur;^p

⁶from Simeon,^q Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;^r

⁷from Judah,^s Nahshon son of Amminadab;^t

⁸from Issachar,^u Nethanel son of Zuar;^v

⁹from Zebulun,^w Eliab son of Helon;^x

¹⁰from the sons of Joseph:

from Ephraim,^y Elishama son of Ammihud;^z

from Manasseh,^a Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;^b

¹¹from Benjamin,^c Abidan son of Gideoni;^d

¹²from Dan,^e Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;^f

¹³from Asher,^g Pagiel son of Okran;^h

¹⁴from Gad,ⁱ Eliasaph son of Deuel;^j

¹⁵from Naphtali,^k Ahira son of Enan.^l”

¹⁶These were the men appointed from the community, the leaders^m of their ancestral tribes.ⁿ They were the heads of the clans of Israel.^o

¹⁷Moses and Aaron took these men whose names had been specified, ¹⁸and they called the whole community together on the first day of the second month.^p The people registered their ancestry^q by their clans and families,^r and the men twenty years old or more^s were listed by name, one by one, ¹⁹as the Lord commanded Moses. And so he counted^t them in the Desert of Sinai:

²⁰From the descendants of Reuben^u the firstborn son^v of Israel:

All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families. ²¹The number from the tribe of Reuben^w was 46,500.

²²From the descendants of Simeon:^x

All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were counted and listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families. ²³The number from the tribe of Simeon was 59,300.^y

²⁴From the descendants of Gad:^z

All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. ²⁵The number from the tribe of Gad^a was 45,650.

²⁶From the descendants of Judah:^b

All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. ²⁷The number from the tribe of Judah^c was 74,600.

²⁸From the descendants of Issachar:^d

All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. ²⁹The number from the tribe of Issachar^e was 54,400.^f

³⁰From the descendants of Zebulun:^g

All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. ³¹The number from the tribe of Zebulun was 57,400.^h

³²From the sons of Joseph:ⁱ

From the descendants of Ephraim:^j

All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. ³³The number from the tribe of Ephraim^k was 40,500.

³⁴From the descendants of Manasseh:^l

All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. ³⁵The number from the tribe of Manasseh was 32,200.

³⁶From the descendants of Benjamin:^m

All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. ³⁷The number from the tribe of Benjaminⁿ was 35,400.

³⁸From the descendants of Dan:^o

All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. ³⁹The number from the tribe of Dan was 62,700.^p

⁴⁰From the descendants of Asher:^q

All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. ⁴¹The number from the tribe of Asher^r was 41,500.

⁴²From the descendants of Naphtali:^s

All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. ⁴³The number from the tribe of Naphtali^t was 53,400.^u

⁴⁴These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron^v and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family. ⁴⁵All the Israelites twenty years old or more^w who were able to serve in Israel’s army were counted according to their families.^{x 46}The total number was 603,550.^y

⁴⁷The ancestral tribe of the Levites,^z however, was not counted^a along with the others. ⁴⁸The Lord had said to Moses: ⁴⁹“You must not count the tribe of Levi or include them in the census of the other Israelites. ⁵⁰Instead, appoint the Levites to be in charge of the tabernacle^b of the covenant law^c—over all its furnishings^d and everything belonging to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they are to take care of it and encamp around it. ⁵¹Whenever the tabernacle^e is to move,^f the Levites are to take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall do it.^g Anyone else who approaches it is to be put to death.^{h 52}The Israelites are to set up their tents by divisions, each of them in their own camp under their standard.^{i 53}The Levites, however, are to set up their tents around the tabernacle^j of the covenant law so that my wrath will not fall^k on the Israelite community. The Levites are to be responsible for the care of the tabernacle of the covenant law.^l”

⁵⁴The Israelites did all this just as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Arrangement of the Tribal Camps

2The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ²“The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard^m and holding the banners of their family.”

³On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab.^{n 4}His division numbers 74,600.

⁵The tribe of Issachar^o will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar.^{p 6}His division numbers 54,400.

⁷The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the people of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon.^{q 8}His division numbers 57,400.

⁹All the men assigned to the camp of Judah, according to their divisions, number 186,400. They will set out first.^r

¹⁰On the south^s will be the divisions of the camp of Reuben under their standard. The leader of the people of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur.^{t 11}His division numbers 46,500.

¹²The tribe of Simeon^u will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.^{v 13}His division numbers 59,300.

¹⁴The tribe of Gad^w will be next. The leader of the people of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel.^{ax 15}His division numbers 45,650.

¹⁶All the men assigned to the camp of Reuben,^y according to their divisions, number 151,450. They will set out second.

¹⁷Then the tent of meeting and the camp of the Levites^z will set out in the middle of the camps. They will set out in the same order as they encamp, each in their own place under their standard.

¹⁸On the west^a will be the divisions of the camp of Ephraim^b under their standard. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud.^{c 19}His division numbers 40,500.

²⁰The tribe of Manasseh^d will be next to them. The leader of the people of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.^{e 21}His division numbers 32,200.

²²The tribe of Benjamin^f will be next. The leader of the people of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni.^{g 23}His division numbers 35,400.

²⁴All the men assigned to the camp of Ephraim,^h according to their divisions, number 108,100. They will set out third.ⁱ

²⁵On the north^j will be the divisions of the camp of Dan under their standard.^k The leader of the people of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.^{l 26}His division numbers 62,700.

²⁷The tribe of Asher will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Asher is Pagiel son of Okran.^{m 28}His division numbers 41,500.

²⁹The tribe of Naphtaliⁿ will be next. The leader of the people of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan.^{o 30}His division numbers 53,400.

³¹All the men assigned to the camp of Dan number 157,600. They will set out last,^p under their standards.

³²These are the Israelites, counted according to their families.^q All the men in the camps, by their divisions, number 603,550.^{r 33}The Levites, however, were not counted^s along with the other Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁴So the Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; that is the way they encamped under their standards, and that is the way they set out, each of them with their clan and family.

The Levites

3This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses^t at the time the Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai.^u

²The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab the firstborn^v and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.^{w 3}Those were the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests,^x who were ordained to serve as priests. ⁴Nadab and Abihu, however, died before the Lord^y when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai.^z They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar^a served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.^b

⁵The Lord said to Moses, ⁶“Bring the tribe of Levi^c and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him.^{d 7}They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community^e at the tent of meeting by doing the work^f of the tabernacle. ⁸They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the…