Numbers 1

The Men of Israel Are Counted

¹The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting. It happened in the Desert of Sinai. The Lord spoke to him on the first day of the second month. It was the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. The Lord said,

²“Count all the men of Israel. Make a list of them by their tribes and families. List every man by name. List them one by one.

³Count all the men able to serve in the army. They must be 20 years old or more. I want you and Aaron to make a list of them group by group.

⁴One man from each tribe must help you. Those who help must be the heads of their families.

“From the tribe of Reuben will come Elizur, the son of Shedeur.

⁶From the tribe of Simeon will come Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai.

⁷From the tribe of Judah will come Nahshon, the son of Amminadab.

⁸From the tribe of Issachar will come Nethanel, the son of Zuar.

⁹From the tribe of Zebulun will come Eliab, the son of Helon.

¹⁰From the tribe of Ephraim will come Elishama, the son of Ammihud.

From the tribe of Manasseh will come Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur.

¹¹From the tribe of Benjamin will come Abidan, the son of Gideoni.

¹²From the tribe of Dan will come Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai.

¹³From the tribe of Asher will come Pagiel, the son of Okran.

¹⁴From the tribe of Gad will come Eliasaph, the son of Deuel.

¹⁵From the tribe of Naphtali will come Ahira, the son of Enan.”

¹⁷Moses and Aaron went and got the men whose names had been given to them.

¹⁸Then Moses and Aaron gathered all the men of Israel together. It was the first day of the second month. The people wrote down the tribe and family they belonged to. The men 20 years old or more were listed by name. They were listed one by one.

¹⁹Everything was done just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So Moses counted them in the Desert of Sinai.

²⁰Here is the number of men from the tribe of Reuben. He is Israel’s oldest son.

²²Here is the number of men from the tribe of Simeon.

²⁴Here is the number of men from the tribe of Gad.

²⁶Here is the number of men from the tribe of Judah.

²⁸Here is the number of men from the tribe of Issachar.

³⁰Here is the number of men from the tribe of Zebulun.

³²Here is the number of men from the tribe of Ephraim. He is the son of Joseph.

³⁴Here is the number of men from the tribe of Manasseh. He is the son of Joseph.

³⁶Here is the number of men from the tribe of Benjamin.

³⁸Here is the number of men from the tribe of Dan.

⁴⁰Here is the number of men from the tribe of Asher.

⁴²Here is the number of men from the tribe of Naphtali.

⁴⁷But the families of the tribe of Levi were not counted along with the others.

⁴⁸The Lord had spoken to Moses. He had said,

⁴⁹“You must not count the men from the tribe of Levi. Do not include them when you list the other men of Israel.

⁵⁰Instead, put the Levites in charge of the holy tent. That is where the tablets of the covenant law are kept. The Levites will be in charge of everything that belongs to the holy tent. They must carry the tent and everything that belongs to it. They must take care of it. They must set up camp around it.

⁵¹When the holy tent must be moved, the Levites must take it down. And when the tent must be set up, the Levites must do it. Anyone else who approaches it must be put to death.

⁵²The Israelites must set up their tents by military groups. All of them must be in their own camps under their own flags.

⁵³But the Levites must set up their tents around the holy tent. That’s where the tablets of the covenant law are kept. Then I will not be angry with the community of Israel. The Levites will be responsible for taking care of the tent.”

⁵⁴The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.