A Census of Israel’s Warriors

1 The Lord spoke to Moses ^ain the wilderness of Sinai, ^bin the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 ^c“Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, ^dby fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. 3 ^eFrom twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, ^fcompany by company. 4 And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. 5 And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, ^gElizur the son of Shedeur; 6 from Simeon, ^hShelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; 7 from Judah, ⁱNahshon the son of Amminadab; 8 from Issachar, ^jNethanel the son of Zuar; 9 from Zebulun, ^kEliab the son of Helon; 10 from the sons of Joseph, from Ephraim, ^lElishama the son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, ^mGamaliel the son of Pedahzur; 11 from Benjamin, ⁿAbidan the son of Gideoni; 12 from Dan, ^oAhiezer the son of Ammishaddai; 13 from Asher, ^pPagiel the son of Ochran; 14 from Gad, Eliasaph the son of ^qDeuel; 15 from Naphtali, ^rAhira the son of Enan.” 16 These were the ones ^schosen from the congregation, ^tthe chiefs of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.

17 Moses and Aaron took these men ^uwho had been named, 18 and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, 19 as the Lord commanded Moses. So he listed them in the wilderness of Sinai.

20 The people of ^vReuben, Israel’s firstborn, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 21 those listed of the tribe of Reuben were ^w46,500.

22 Of the people of Simeon, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, those of them who were listed, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 23 those listed of the tribe of Simeon were ^x59,300.

24 Of the people of Gad, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 25 those listed of the tribe of Gad were ^y45,650.

26 Of the people of Judah, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 27 those listed of the tribe of Judah were ^z74,600.

28 Of the people of Issachar, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 29 those listed of the tribe of Issachar were ^a54,400.

30 Of the people of Zebulun, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 31 those listed of the tribe of Zebulun were ^b57,400.

32 Of the people of Joseph, namely, of the people of Ephraim, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 33 those listed of the tribe of Ephraim were ^c40,500.

34 Of the people of Manasseh, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 35 those listed of the tribe of Manasseh were ^d32,200.

36 Of the people of Benjamin, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 37 those listed of the tribe of Benjamin were ^e35,400.

38 Of the people of Dan, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 39 those listed of the tribe of Dan were ^f62,700.

40 Of the people of Asher, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 41 those listed of the tribe of Asher were ^g41,500.

42 Of the people of Naphtali, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 43 those listed of the tribe of Naphtali were ^h53,400.

44 ⁱThese are those who were listed, whom Moses and Aaron listed with the help of the chiefs of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers’ house. 45 So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel— 46 all those listed were ^j603,550.

Levites Exempted

47 But ^kthe Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe. 48 For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 49 “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel. 50 ^lBut appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it ^mand shall camp around the tabernacle. 51 ⁿWhen the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. ^oAnd if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death. 52 The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp and ^peach man by his own standard. 53 But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no ^qwrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. ^rAnd the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony.” 54 Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses.

Arrangement of the Camp

1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 ^s“The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. 3 Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the chief of the people of Judah being ^tNahshon the son of Amminadab, 4 his company as listed being 74,600. 5 Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, the chief of the people of Issachar being Nethanel the son of Zuar, 6 his company as listed being 54,400. 7 Then the tribe of Zebulun, the chief of the people of Zebulun being Eliab the son of Helon, 8 his company as listed being 57,400. 9 All those listed of the camp of Judah, by their companies, were 186,400. ^uThey shall set out first on the march.

10 “On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the chief of the people of Reuben being Elizur the son of Shedeur, 11 his company as listed being 46,500. 12 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, the chief of the people of Simeon being Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, 13 his company as listed being 59,300. 14 Then the tribe of Gad, the chief of the people of Gad being Eliasaph the son of ^vReuel, 15 his company as listed being 45,650. 16 All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. ^wThey shall set out second.

17 ^x“Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they camp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard.

18 “On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim by their companies, the chief of the people of Ephraim being Elishama the son of Ammihud, 19 his company as listed being 40,500. 20 And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, the chief of the people of Manasseh being Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, 21 his company as listed being 32,200. 22 Then the tribe of Benjamin, the chief of the people of Benjamin being Abidan the son of Gideoni, 23 his company as listed being 35,400. 24 All those listed of the camp of Ephraim, by their companies, were 108,100. ^yThey shall set out third on the march.

25 “On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan by their companies, the chief of the people of Dan being Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, 26 his company as listed being 62,700. 27 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, the chief of the people of Asher being Pagiel the son of Ochran, 28 his company as listed being 41,500. 29 Then the tribe of Naphtali, the chief of the people of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan, 30 his company as listed being 53,400. 31 All those listed of the camp of Dan were 157,600. ^zThey shall set out last, standard by standard.”

32 These are the people of Israel as listed by their fathers’ houses. All those listed in the camps by their companies were ^a603,550. 33 But ^bthe Levites were not listed among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.

34 Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, ^cso they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his fathers’ house.

The Sons of Aaron

1 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: ^dNadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, ^ethe anointed priests, ^fwhom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 ^gBut Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

Duties of the Levites

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 ^h“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, ⁱas they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And ^jyou shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are ^kwholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and ^lthey shall guard their priesthood. But if ^many outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, ⁿI have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for ^oall the firstborn are mine. ^pOn the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”

14 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by clans; ^qevery male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. 17 ^rAnd these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: ^sLibni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: ^tAmram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: ^uMahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers’ houses.

21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was¹ 7,500. 23 ^vThe clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. 25 And the ^wguard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved ^xthe tabernacle, ^ythe tent with ^zits covering, ^athe screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 ^bthe hangings of the court, ^cthe screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and ^dits cords—all the service connected with these.

27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the ^eAmramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with ^fElizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved ^gthe ark, ^hthe table, ⁱthe lampstand, ^jthe altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and ^kthe screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary.

33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 ^lAnd the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the ^mframes of the tabernacle, ⁿthe bars, ^othe pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also ^pthe pillars around the court, with their bases and ^qpegs and ^rcords.

38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, ^sguarding the sanctuary itself, to protect² the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the Lord, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were ^t22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

40 And the Lord said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 ^uAnd you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.

44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 ^v“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. 46 And ^was the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take ^xfive shekels³ per head; you shall take them according to ^ythe shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs⁴), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, ^z1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses ^agave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites

1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 3 ^bfrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: ^cthe most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down ^dthe veil of the screen and cover ^ethe ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin⁵ and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its ^fpoles. 7 And over the ^gtable of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; ^hthe regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall ⁱput in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover ^jthe lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over ^kthe golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all ^lthe vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that ^mthe sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, ⁿbut they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of ^othe oil for the light, the ^pfragrant incense, ^qthe regular grain offering, and ^rthe anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”

17 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to ^sthe most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 ^tbut they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”