Numbers 1–6

Chapter 1

¹The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ²“Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by families, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head; ³from twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go forth to war, you and Aaron shall number them, company by company. ⁴And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. ⁵And these are the names of the men who shall attend you. From Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; ⁶from Simeon, Shelumi-el the son of Zurishaddai; ⁷from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; ⁸from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; ⁹from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; ¹⁰from the sons of Joseph, from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; ¹¹from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; ¹²from Dan, Ahi-ezer the son of Ammishaddai; ¹³from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; ¹⁴from Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; ¹⁵from Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan.” ¹⁶These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.

¹⁷Moses and Aaron took these men who have been named, ¹⁸and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by families, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, ¹⁹as the Lord commanded Moses. So he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.

²⁰The people of Reuben, Israel’s first-born, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ²¹the number of the tribe of Reuben was forty-six thousand five hundred.

²²Of the people of Simeon, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those of them that were numbered, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ²³the number of the tribe of Simeon was fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

²⁴Of the people of Gad, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war: ²⁵the number of the tribe of Gad was forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.

²⁶Of the people of Judah, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ²⁷the number of the tribe of Judah was seventy-four thousand six hundred.

²⁸Of the people of Issachar, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ²⁹the number of the tribe of Issachar was fifty-four thousand four hundred.

³⁰Of the people of Zebulun, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ³¹the number of the tribe of Zebulun was fifty-seven thousand four hundred.

³²Of the people of Joseph, namely, of the people of Ephraim, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ³³the number of the tribe of Ephraim was forty thousand five hundred.

³⁴Of the people of Manasseh, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ³⁵the number of the tribe of Manasseh was thirty-two thousand two hundred.

³⁶Of the people of Benjamin, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ³⁷the number of the tribe of Benjamin was thirty-five thousand four hundred.

³⁸Of the people of Dan, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ³⁹the number of the tribe of Dan was sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

⁴⁰Of the people of Asher, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ⁴¹the number of the tribe of Asher was forty-one thousand five hundred.

⁴²Of the people of Naphtali, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war: ⁴³the number of the tribe of Naphtali was fifty-three thousand four hundred.

⁴⁴These are those who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered with the help of the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers’ house. ⁴⁵So the whole number of the people of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war in Israel— ⁴⁶their whole number was six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.

⁴⁷But the Levites were not numbered by their ancestral tribe along with them. ⁴⁸For the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁹“Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel; ⁵⁰but appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it; they are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall tend it, and shall encamp around the tabernacle. ⁵¹When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any one else comes near, he shall be put to death. ⁵²The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, every man by his own camp and every man by his own standard; ⁵³but the Levites shall encamp around the tabernacle of the testimony, that there may be no wrath upon the congregation of the people of Israel; and the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the testimony.” ⁵⁴Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses.

Chapter 2

¹The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²“The people of Israel shall encamp each by his own standard, with the ensigns of their fathers’ houses; they shall encamp facing the tent of meeting on every side. ³Those to encamp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the leader of the people of Judah being Nahshon the son of Amminadab, ⁴his host as numbered being seventy-four thousand six hundred. ⁵Those to encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, the leader of the people of Issachar being Nethanel the son of Zuar, ⁶his host as numbered being fifty-four thousand four hundred. ⁷Then the tribe of Zebulun, the leader of the people of Zebulun being Eliab the son of Helon, ⁸his host as numbered being fifty-seven thousand four hundred. ⁹The whole number of the camp of Judah, by their companies, is a hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred. They shall set out first on the march.

¹⁰“On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the leader of the people of Reuben being Elizur the son of Shedeur, ¹¹his host as numbered being forty-six thousand five hundred. ¹²And those to encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, the leader of the people of Simeon being Shelumi-el the son of Zurishaddai, ¹³his host as numbered being fifty-nine thousand three hundred. ¹⁴Then the tribe of Gad, the leader of the people of Gad being Eliasaph the son of Reuel, ¹⁵his host as numbered being forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. ¹⁶The whole number of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, is a hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty. They shall set out second.

¹⁷“Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they encamp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard.

¹⁸“On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim by their companies, the leader of the people of Ephraim being Elishama the son of Ammihud, ¹⁹his host as numbered being forty thousand five hundred. ²⁰And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, the leader of the people of Manasseh being Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, ²¹his host as numbered being thirty-two thousand two hundred. ²²Then the tribe of Benjamin, the leader of the people of Benjamin being Abidan the son of Gideoni, ²³his host as numbered being thirty-five thousand four hundred. ²⁴The whole number of the camp of Ephraim, by their companies, is a hundred and eight thousand one hundred. They shall set out third on the march.

²⁵“On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan by their companies, the leader of the people of Dan being Ahi-ezer the son of Ammishaddai, ²⁶his host as numbered being sixty-two thousand seven hundred. ²⁷And those to encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, the leader of the people of Asher being Pagiel the son of Ochran, ²⁸his host as numbered being forty-one thousand five hundred. ²⁹Then the tribe of Naphtali, the leader of the people of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan, ³⁰his host as numbered being fifty-three thousand four hundred. ³¹The whole number of the camp of Dan is a hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred. They shall set out last, standard by standard.”

³²These are the people of Israel as numbered by their fathers’ houses; all in…