Numbers 2

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

Then Yahweh said this to Aaron and Moses/me:

2 Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.

“When the Israelis set up their tents, they should set them up in areas that surround the Sacred Tent, but not close to it. The people of each tribe must set up their tents in a different area. Each tribe must erect in that area a banner of their own clan and a flag that represents their tribe.

3 And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab [shall be] captain of the children of Judah.

The people of the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun must set up their tents on the east side of the Sacred Tent, close to their tribal flags. These are the names of the leaders of those tribes and the number of soldiers whom they will lead: Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, will be the leader of the 74,600 men of the tribe of Judah.

4 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, [were] threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.

5 And those that do pitch next unto him [shall be] the tribe of Issachar: and Nethaneel the son of Zuar [shall be] captain of the children of Issachar.

Nethanel, the son of Zuar, will be the leader of the 54,500 men of the tribe of Issachar.

6 And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, [were] fifty and four thousand and four hundred.

7 [Then] the tribe of Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon [shall be] captain of the children of Zebulun.

Eliab, the son of Helon, will be the leader of the 57,400 men of the tribe of Zebulun.

8 And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, [were] fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.

9 All that were numbered in the camp of Judah [were] an hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies. These shall first set forth.

So there will be 86,400 troops on the east side [of the Sacred Tent]. Whenever the Israelis move to a new location, those three tribes must go in front of the others.

10 On the south side [shall be] the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies: and the captain of the children of Reuben [shall be] Elizur the son of Shedeur.

The tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad must set up their tents on the south side of the Sacred Tent, close to their tribal flags. These are the names of the leaders of those tribes and the number of men whom they will lead: Elizur, the son of Shedeur, will be the leader of the 46,500 men of the tribe of Reuben.

11 And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, [were] forty and six thousand and five hundred.

12 And those which pitch by him [shall be] the tribe of Simeon: and the captain of the children of Simeon [shall be] Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, will be the leader of the 59,300 men of the tribe of Simeon.

13 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, [were] fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.

14 Then the tribe of Gad: and the captain of the sons of Gad [shall be] Eliasaph the son of Reuel.

Eliasaph, the son of Deuel, will be the leader of the 45,650 men of the tribe of Gad.

15 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, [were] forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty.

16 All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben [were] an hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies. And they shall set forth in the second rank.

So there will be 151,450 troops on the south side of the Sacred Tent. Those three tribes will follow the first group [when the Israelis travel].

17 Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards.

Behind that group will walk the descendants of Levi, who will carry the Sacred Tent. The Israelis will march in the same order that they always set up their tents. Each tribe will carry its own flag.

18 On the west side [shall be] the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim [shall be] Elishama the son of Ammihud.

The tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin must set up their tents on the west side of the Sacred Tent, close to their tribal flags. These are the names of the leaders of those tribes and number of men whom they will lead: Elishama, the son of Ammihud, will be the leader of the 40,500 men of the tribe of Ephraim.

19 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, [were] forty thousand and five hundred.

20 And by him [shall be] the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh [shall be] Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, will be the leader of the 32,200 men of the tribe of Manasseh.

21 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, [were] thirty and two thousand and two hundred.

22 Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin [shall be] Abidan the son of Gideoni.

Abidan, the son of Gideoni, will be the leader of the 35,400 men of the tribe of Benjamin.

23 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, [were] thirty and five thousand and four hundred.

24 All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim [were] an hundred thousand and eight thousand and an hundred, throughout their armies. And they shall go forward in the third rank.

So there will be 108,100 troops on the west side of the Sacred Tent. Those three tribes will follow the second group, [behind the descendants of Levi].

25 The standard of the camp of Dan [shall be] on the north side by their armies: and the captain of the children of Dan [shall be] Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

The tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali must set up their tents on the north side of the Sacred Tent, close to their tribal flags. These are the names of the leaders of those tribes and the number of men whom they will lead: Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, will be the leader of the 62,700 men of the tribe of Dan.

26 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, [were] threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.

27 And those that encamp by him [shall be] the tribe of Asher: and the captain of the children of Asher [shall be] Pagiel the son of Ocran.

Pagiel, the son of Ocran, will be the leader of the 41,500 men of the tribe of Asher.

28 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, [were] forty and one thousand and five hundred.

29 Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali [shall be] Ahira the son of Enan.

Ahira, the son of Enan, will be the leader of the 53,400 men of the tribe of Naphtali.

30 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, [were] fifty and three thousand and four hundred.

31 All they that were numbered in the camp of Dan [were] an hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred. They shall go hindmost with their standards.

So there will be 157,600 troops on the north side of the Sacred Tent. Those three tribes will be last. They must carry their own flags when the Israelis travel.”

32 These [are] those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts [were] six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.

So there were 603,550 Israeli men who were able to fight who were listed according to their families’ ancestors.

33 But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses.

But just as Yahweh had commanded, the names of the descendants of Levi were not included.

34 And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses: so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers.

The Israelis did everything that Yahweh had told Moses/me. They set up their tents close to their tribal flags, and when they traveled [to a new location, they walked] with their own clans and family groups.