Numbers

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 the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said,

²Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one.

³You and Aaron are to count by their divisions all men in Israel who are twenty years old or older and able to serve in the army.

⁴One man from each tribe is to help you, each one the head of his family.

⁵These are the men who will assist you: from the tribe of Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;

⁶from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;

⁷from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;

⁸from Issachar, Nethaneel son of Zuar;

⁹from Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon;

¹⁰from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;

¹¹from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;

¹²from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;

¹³from Asher, Pagiel son of Ocran;

¹⁴from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;

¹⁵from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.

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

¹⁷Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name,

¹⁸and on the first day of the second month they assembled the whole community. The people registered their ancestry by their clans and families, and the men twenty years old or older were listed by name, one by one.

¹⁹Moses counted them in the wilderness of Sinai, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁰The descendants of Reuben, Israel's firstborn son, were listed by their generations, clans, and families. Every male twenty years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted.

²¹The total count from the tribe of Reuben was 46,500.

²²The descendants of Simeon were listed by their generations, clans, and families. Every male twenty years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted.

²³The total count from the tribe of Simeon was 59,300.

²⁴The descendants of Gad were listed by their generations, clans, and families. Every male twenty years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted.

²⁵The total count from the tribe of Gad was 45,650.

²⁶The descendants of Judah were listed by their generations, clans, and families. Every male twenty years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted.

²⁷The total count from the tribe of Judah was 74,600.

²⁸The descendants of Issachar were listed by their generations, clans, and families. Every male twenty years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted.

²⁹The total count from the tribe of Issachar was 54,400.

³⁰The descendants of Zebulun were listed by their generations, clans, and families. Every male twenty years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted.

³¹The total count from the tribe of Zebulun was 57,400.

³²The descendants of Joseph through Ephraim were listed by their generations, clans, and families. Every male twenty years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted.

³³The total count from the tribe of Ephraim was 40,500.

³⁴The descendants of Manasseh were listed by their generations, clans, and families. Every male twenty years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted.

³⁵The total count from the tribe of Manasseh was 32,200.

³⁶The descendants of Benjamin were listed by their generations, clans, and families. Every male twenty years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted.

³⁷The total count from the tribe of Benjamin was 35,400.

³⁸The descendants of Dan were listed by their generations, clans, and families. Every male twenty years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted.

³⁹The total count from the tribe of Dan was 62,700.

⁴⁰The descendants of Asher were listed by their generations, clans, and families. Every male twenty years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted.

⁴¹The total count from the tribe of Asher was 41,500.

⁴²The descendants of Naphtali were listed by their generations, clans, and families. Every male twenty years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted.

⁴³The total count from the tribe of Naphtali was 53,400.

⁴⁴These are the men Moses and Aaron counted, along with the twelve leaders of Israel, each representing his family.

⁴⁵All the Israelites twenty years old or older who were able to serve in Israel's army were counted by their families.

⁴⁶The total number was 603,550.

⁴⁷The Levites, however, were not counted among the other tribes.

⁴⁸The LORD had told Moses,

⁴⁹"Do not count the tribe of Levi or include them in the census of the other Israelites."

⁵⁰"Instead, appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the covenant law, over all its furnishings, and over everything belonging to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they are to take care of it and camp around it."

⁵¹"Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to be set up, they are to set it up. Anyone else who approaches the tabernacle is to be put to death."

⁵²"The Israelites are to set up their tents by divisions, each in his own camp under his own standard."

⁵³"The Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the covenant law so that my anger will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are to be responsible for the care of the tabernacle."

⁵⁴The Israelites did everything the LORD commanded Moses.