Numbers 1

1 On the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Wilderness of Sinai. He said:

In April of the year after the Israeli people left Egypt, Yahweh spoke to Moses/me while he/I was in the Sacred Tent, in the Sinai Desert. Yahweh said to him/me,

2 “Take a census of the whole congregation of Israel by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one.

“I want you and Aaron to determine how many Israeli men are able to fight in battles. Write down the names of all the men who are at least 20 years old, and write down the names of their clans and families.

3 You and Aaron are to number those who are twenty years of age or older by their divisions—everyone who can serve in Israel’s army.

4 And one man from each tribe, the head of each family, must be there with you.

[I have chosen] one man from each of the tribes to help you to do this. Each one will be a leader of his clan.

5 These are the names of the men who are to assist you: From the tribe of Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;

Their names are: Elizur, the son of Shedeur, from the tribe of Reuben; Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, from the tribe of Simeon; Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah; Nethanel, the son of Zuar, from the tribe of Issachar; Eliab, the son of Helon, from the tribe of Zebulun; Elishama, the son of Ammihud, from the tribe of Joseph’s son Ephraim; Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, from the tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh; Abidan, the son of Gideoni, from the tribe of Benjamin; Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, from the tribe of Dan; Pagiel, the son of Ocran, from the tribe of Asher; Eliasaph, the son of Deuel, from the tribe of Gad; Ahira, the son of Enan, from the tribe of Naphtali.”

6 from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;

7 from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;

8 from Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar;

9 from Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon;

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

11 from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;

12 from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;

13 from Asher, Pagiel son of Ocran;

14 from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;

15 and from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.”

16 These men were appointed from the congregation; they were the leaders of the tribes of their fathers, the heads of the clans of Israel.

Those were the men whom Yahweh chose from the people. They were leaders of their tribes. They were the chief men of the clans of the Israeli people.

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

Aaron and Moses/I summoned all these leaders,

18 and on the first day of the second month they assembled the whole congregation and recorded their ancestry by clans and families, counting one by one the names of those twenty years of age or older,

and they gathered all of the people together on that same day. They listed/wrote down the names of all the men who were at least 20 years old, and with their names they wrote the names of their clans and their family groups

19 just as the LORD had commanded Moses. So Moses numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai:

just as Moses/I had commanded. They wrote the names while (the Israelis/we) were there in the Sinai Desert.

20 From the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, according to the records of their clans and families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

This is a list of the number of men who were at least 20 years old and able to fight in battles, and the names of their tribes: There were 46,500 men from the tribe of Reuben (who was Jacob’s oldest son); there were 59,300 men from the tribe of Simeon; there were 45,560 men from the tribe of Gad; there were 74,600 men from the tribe of Judah; there were 54,400 men from the tribe of Issachar; there were 57,400 men from the tribe of Zebulun; there were 40,500 men from the tribe of Ephraim; there were 32,200 men from the tribe of Manasseh; there were 35,400 men from the tribe of Benjamin; there were 62,700 men from the tribe of Dan; there were 41,500 men from the tribe of Asher; there were 53,400 men from the tribe of Naphtali.

21 those registered to the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.

22 From the sons of Simeon, according to the records of their clans and families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

23 those registered to the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.

24 From the sons of Gad, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

25 those registered to the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.

26 From the sons of Judah, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

27 those registered to the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.

28 From the sons of Issachar, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

29 those registered to the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.

30 From the sons of Zebulun, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

31 those registered to the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.

32 From the sons of Joseph: From the sons of Ephraim, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

33 those registered to the tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500.

34 And from the sons of Manasseh, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

35 those registered to the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.

36 From the sons of Benjamin, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

37 those registered to the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.

38 From the sons of Dan, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

39 those registered to the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.

40 From the sons of Asher, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

41 those registered to the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.

42 From the sons of Naphtali, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

43 those registered to the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400.

44 These were the men numbered by Moses and Aaron, with the assistance of the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family.

That was the number of men from each tribe that Aaron and Moses/I and the twelve leaders of the tribes of Israel listed, along with the names of their clans.

45 So all the Israelites twenty years of age or older who could serve in Israel’s army were counted according to their families.

46 And all those counted totaled 603,550.

The total was 603,550 men.

47 The Levites, however, were not numbered along with them by the tribe of their fathers.

But this number did not include the names of the men of the tribe of Levi,

48 For the LORD had said to Moses:

because Yahweh had said to Moses/me,

49 “Do not number the tribe of Levi in the census with the other Israelites.

“When you (count/write the names of) the men of the tribes of Israel, do not count the men in the tribe of Levi.

50 Instead, you are to appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its articles, care for it, and camp around it.

Appoint the male descendants of Levi to take care of the Sacred Tent and the chest inside it that contains [the tablets on which are written] the Ten Commandments. They must also take care of the other things that are inside the tent. [When you travel], they are the ones who must carry the tent and all the things that are inside it, and they must take care of it and set up their tents around it.

51 Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to be pitched, the Levites are to set it up. Any outsider who goes near it must be put to death.

Whenever it is time for all of you to move [to another location], the descendants of Levi are the ones who must dismantle the tent. And when it is time to stop traveling, they are the ones who must set up the Sacred Tent again. Any other person who goes near the Sacred Tent [to do this work] must be executed.

52 The Israelites are to camp by their divisions, each man in his own camp and under his own standard.

The people of each Israeli tribe must set up their tents in their own area, and they must set up a flag/banner that represents their tribe.

53 But the Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the congregation of Israel. So the Levites are responsible for the tabernacle of the Testimony.”

But the male descendants of Levi must set up their tents around the Sacred Tent, in order to protect the other Israeli people from being punished [MTY] by Yahweh [for coming close to the Sacred Tent]. The descendants of Levi are the ones who must stand around the Sacred Tent to guard it.”

54 Thus the Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

So the Israeli people did everything just like Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.