Numbers 1

1 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses in the desert of Sinai in the tent of meeting, —on the first of the second month in the second year by their coming forth out of the land of Egypt saying:

The Lord spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting while they were in the Sinai desert. This was on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites had left Egypt. He told him,

2 Reckon ye up the sum of all the assembly of the sons of Israel, by their families by their ancestral houses, —in the counting of names, every male, by their polls;

“Census all the Israelites according to their tribe and family. Count every man and keep a record of each individual's name.

3 from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war in Israel, —ye shall number them by their hosts, thou and Aaron;

Those aged twenty or older who can do military service are to be registered by you and Aaron in their Israelite army divisions.

4 and with you, shall be one man for each tribe, —each man, head of his ancestral house, shall be.

A representative from each tribe, the head of a family, must be there with you.

5 These, then, are the names of the men who shall stand with you, —Of Reuben, Elizur, son of Shedeur;

These are the names of the men who will work with you: From the tribe of Reuben, Elizur, son of Shedeur;

6 Of Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;

from the tribe of Simeon, Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai;

7 Of Judah, Nahshon, son of Amminadab;

from the tribe of Judah, Nahshon, son of Amminadab;

8 Of Issachar, Nethanel, son of Zuar;

from the tribe of Issachar, Nethanel, son of Zuar;

9 Of Zebulun, Eliab, son of Helon;

from the tribe of Zebulun, Eliab, son of Helon;

10 Of the sons of Joseph, —Of Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud; Of Manasseh, Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur;

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

11 Of Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;

from the tribe of Benjamin, Abidan, son of Gideoni;

12 Of Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;

from the tribe of Dan, Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai;

13 Of Asher, Pagiel, son of Ochran;

from the tribe of Asher, Pagiel, son of Ocran;

14 Of Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;

from the tribe of Gad, Eliasaph, son of Deuel;

15 Of Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.

and from the tribe of Naphtali, Ahira, son of Enan.”

16 These, are they who had been summoned by the assembly, being princes of the tribes of their fathers, —heads of the thousands of Israel.

These were the men chosen from the Israelite community. They were the leaders of their fathers' tribes; the heads of the families of Israel.

17 So then Moses and Aaron took these men, who were distinguished by name;

Moses and Aaron summoned these men who had been selected by name.

18 all the assembly also, called they together on the first of the second month, —and they declared their pedigree according to their families by their ancestral houses, —in the counting of names from twenty years old and upwards by their polls.

They had all the Israelites gather together on the first day of the second month, and recorded the people's genealogy according to their tribe and family, and counted up the names of all those aged twenty or older,

19 As Yahweh commanded Moses, so he mustered them in the desert of Sinai.

as the Lord had told Moses to do. Moses conducted this census in the Sinai desert.

20 And they were [as followeth] —The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, in their pedigrees—by their families, by their ancestral houses, in the counting of names, by their polls, every male, from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war;

The descendants of Reuben, (he was Israel's firstborn son), men aged twenty or over, were recorded by name according to the genealogical records of their tribe and families. All those registered who could serve in the army

21 such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Reuben, forty-six thousand and five hundred.

from the tribe of Reuben totaled 46,500.

22 Of the sons of Simeon, in their pedigrees by their families by their ancestral houses, —such as were numbered of him, in the counting of names by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war;

The descendants of Simeon, men aged twenty or over, were recorded by name according to the genealogical records of their tribe and families. All those registered who could serve in the army

23 such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Simeon, fifty-nine thousand and three hundred.

from the tribe of Simeon totaled 59,300.

24 Of the sons of Gad, in their pedigrees—by their families by their ancestral houses, in the counting of names from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war:

The descendants of Gad, men aged twenty or over, were recorded by name according to the genealogical records of their tribe and families. All those registered who could serve in the army

25 such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Gad, forty-five thousand and six hundred and fifty.

from the tribe of Gad totaled 45,650.

26 Of the sons of Judah, in their pedigrees by their families by their ancestral houses, —in the counting of names, from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war;

The descendants of Judah, men aged twenty or older, were recorded by name according to the genealogical records of their tribe and families. All those registered who could serve in the army

27 such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Judah, seventy-four thousand and six hundred.

from the tribe of Judah, totaled 74,600.

28 Of the sons of Issachar, in their pedigrees—by their families by their ancestral houses, —in the counting of names, from twenty year old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war;

The descendants of Issachar, men aged twenty or older, were recorded by name according to the genealogical records of their tribe and families. All those registered who could serve in the army

29 such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Issachar, fifty-four thousand and four hundred.

from the tribe of Issachar, totaled 54,400.

30 Of the sons of Zebulun, in their pedigrees—by their families by their ancestral houses, —in the counting of names from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war;

The descendants of Zebulun, men aged twenty or older, were recorded by name according to the genealogical records of their tribe and families. All those registered who could serve in the army

31 such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Zebulun, fifty-seven thousand and four hundred.

from the tribe of Zebulun, totaled 57,400.

32 Of the sons of Joseph—Of the sons of Ephraim, in their pedigrees—by their families by their ancestral houses, —in the counting of names, from twenty years old, and upwards, every one able to go forth to war;

The descendants of Joseph: the descendants of Ephraim, men aged twenty or older, were recorded by name according to the genealogical records of their tribe and families. All those registered who could serve in the army

33 such as were numbered of them, as belonging to the tribe of Ephraim, forty thousand and five hundred.

from the tribe of Ephraim, totaled 40,500.

34 Of the sons of Manasseh, in their pedigrees—by their families by their ancestral houses, —in the counting of names from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war;

And the descendants of Manasseh, men aged twenty or older, were recorded by name according to the genealogical records of their tribe and families. All those registered who could serve in the army

35 such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Manasseh, thirty-two thousand, and two hundred.

from the tribe of Manasseh, totaled 32,200.

36 Of the sons of Benjamin, in their pedigrees by their families, by their ancestral houses, —in the counting of names, from twenty years old, and upwards, every one able to go forth to war;

The descendants of Benjamin, men aged twenty or older, were recorded by name according to the genealogical records of their tribe and families. All those registered who could serve in the army

37 such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, thirty-five thousand and four hundred.

from the tribe of Benjamin, totaled 35,400.

38 Of the sons of Dan, in their pedigrees by their families by their ancestral houses, in the counting of names from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war;

The descendants of Dan, men aged twenty or older, were recorded by name according to the genealogical records of their tribe and families. All those registered who could serve in the army

39 such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Dan, sixty-two thousand, and seven hundred.

from the tribe of Dan, totaled 62,700.

40 Of the sons of Asher, in their pedigrees—by their families by their ancestral houses, —in the counting of names, from twenty years old, and upwards, every one able to go forth to war;

The descendants of Asher, men aged twenty or older, were recorded by name according to the genealogical records of their tribe and families. All those registered who could serve in the army

41 such as were numbered of them as belonging to the tribe of Asher, forty-one thousand, and five hundred.

from the tribe of Asher, totaled 41,500.

42 The sons of Naphtali, in their pedigrees by their families by their ancestral houses, —in the counting of names, from twenty years old, and upwards, every one able to go forth to war;

The descendants of Naphtali, men aged twenty or older, were recorded by name according to the genealogical records of their tribe and families. All those registered who could serve in the army

43 such as were numbered of them, as belonging to the tribe of Naphtali, fifty-three thousand, and four hundred.

from the tribe of Naphtali, totaled 53,400.

44 These, are they who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron and the twelve princes of Israel did number, the princes acting each one for his ancestral house.

These were the totals of the men counted and registered by Moses and Aaron, with the help of the twelve leaders of Israel, who each represented their family.

45 So then all they who were numbered of the sons of Israel by their ancestral houses, from twenty years old and upwards, every one able to go forth to war in Israel;

In this way all the Israelite men aged twenty or older who were able to serve in Israel's army were registered according to their families.

46 so then all they who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.

The sum total of those registered was 603,550.

47 But the Levites by the tribe of their fathers were not numbered in their midst.

However, the Levites were not registered with the others according to their tribe and families.

48 For Yahweh spake unto Moses saying:

This was because the Lord had told Moses,

49 Only the tribe of Levi, shalt thou not number, nor the sum of them, shalt thou reckon up, in the midst of the sons of Israel.

“Don't register the tribe of Levi; don't count them in the census with the other Israelites.

50 But do, thou thyself, put the Levites in charge over the habitation of the testimony, and over all the furniture thereof and over all that pertaineth thereto, they, shall bear the habitation, and all the furniture thereof, and they, shall attend thereupon; and, round about the habitation, shall they encamp.

Put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle and of the Testimony, as well as all its furniture and everything it contains. They are the ones responsible for carrying the Tabernacle and all its items. They are to care for it, and to make their camp around it.

51 And, when the habitation is to set forward, the Levites shall take it down, and when the habitation is to be pitched, the Levites, shall set it up, but the stranger that draweth near, shall be put to death.

When it's time to move the Tabernacle, the Levites shall take it down, and when it's time to make camp, the Levites shall put it up. Any outsider who goes near it must be put to death.

52 So then the sons of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man, near his own camp, and, every man, near his own standard, by their hosts;

The Israelites are to make camp according to their tribal divisions, each person in their own camp under their own flag.

53 but the Levites, shall pitch their tents round about the habitation of the testimony, that there be no wrath upon the assembly of the sons of Israel, —so shall the Levites keep the watch of the habitation of the testimony.

But the Levites are to set up their camp around the Tabernacle of the Testimony to stop anyone making me angry with the Israelites. The Levites are responsible for looking after the Tabernacle of the Testimony.”

54 Thus did the sons of Israel, —according to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so, did they.

The Israelites did everything that the Lord ordered Moses that they should do.