Numbers 2
New King James Version
The Tribes and Leaders by Armies
2 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 (A)“Everyone of the children of Israel shall camp by his own [a]standard, beside the emblems of his father’s house; they shall camp (B)some distance from the tabernacle of meeting. 3 On the (C)east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies; and (D)Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be the leader of the children of Judah.” 4 And his army was numbered at seventy-four thousand six hundred.
5 “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, and Nethanel the son of Zuar shall be the leader of the children of Issachar.” 6 And his army was numbered at fifty-four thousand four hundred.
7 “Then comes the tribe of Zebulun, and Eliab the son of Helon shall be the leader of the children of Zebulun.” 8 And his army was numbered at fifty-seven thousand four hundred. 9 “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Judah, one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred—(E)these shall [b]break camp first.
10 “On the (F)south side shall be the standard of the forces with Reuben according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.” 11 And his army was numbered at forty-six thousand five hundred.
12 “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, and the leader of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.” 13 And his army was numbered at fifty-nine thousand three hundred.
14 “Then comes the tribe of Gad, and the leader of the children of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of [c]Reuel.” 15 And his army was numbered at forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. 16 “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Reuben, one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty—(G)they shall [d]be the second to break camp.
17 (H)“And the tabernacle of meeting shall move out with the [e]camp of the Levites (I)in the middle of the [f]camps; as they camp, so they shall move out, everyone in his place, by their [g]standards.
18 “On the west side shall be the standard of the forces with Ephraim according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.” 19 And his army was numbered at forty thousand five hundred.
20 “Next to him comes the tribe of Manasseh, and the leader of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.” 21 And his army was numbered at thirty-two thousand two hundred.
22 “Then comes the tribe of Benjamin, and the leader of the children of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.” 23 And his army was numbered at thirty-five thousand four hundred. 24 “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Ephraim, one hundred and eight thousand one hundred—(J)they shall [h]be the third to break camp.
25 “The [i]standard of the forces with Dan shall be on the north side according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.” 26 And his army was numbered at sixty-two thousand seven hundred.
27 “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, and the leader of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran.” 28 And his army was numbered at forty-one thousand five hundred.
29 “Then comes the tribe of Naphtali, and the leader of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan.” 30 And his army was numbered at fifty-three thousand four hundred. 31 “All who were numbered of the forces with Dan, one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred—(K)they shall [j]break camp last, with their [k]standards.”
32 These are the ones who were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers’ houses. (L)All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. 33 But (M)the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
34 Thus the children of Israel (N)did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses; (O)so they camped by their [l]standards and so they broke camp, each one by his family, according to their fathers’ houses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 2:2 banner
- Numbers 2:9 Lit. set forth
- Numbers 2:14 Deuel, Num. 1:14; 7:42
- Numbers 2:16 Lit. set forth second
- Numbers 2:17 company
- Numbers 2:17 whole company
- Numbers 2:17 banners
- Numbers 2:24 Lit. set forth third
- Numbers 2:25 banner
- Numbers 2:31 Lit. set forth last
- Numbers 2:31 banners
- Numbers 2:34 banners
Numbers 2
The Voice
| Tribe | chapter 1 First Census | chapter 26 Second Census | change after 38 Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reuben | 46,500 | 43,730 | -2,770 |
| Simeon | 59,300 | 22,200 | -37,100 |
| Gad | 45,650 | 40,500 | -5,150 |
| Judah | 74,600 | 76,500 | 1,900 |
| Issachar | 54,400 | 64,300 | 9,900 |
| Zebulun | 57,400 | 60,500 | 3,100 |
| Ephraim | 40,500 | 32,500 | -8,000 |
| Manasseh | 32,200 | 52,700 | 20,500 |
| Benjamin | 35,400 | 45,600 | 10,200 |
| Dan | 62,700 | 64,400 | 1,700 |
| Asher | 41,500 | 53,400 | 11,900 |
| Naphtali | 53,400 | 45,400 | -8,000 |
| Total | 603,550 | 601,730 | -1,820 |
2 The Eternal One spoke to Moses and Aaron.
Eternal One: 2 Here’s how the Israelite camp should be arranged, each man with his own banner under his extended family’s ensign, all around the congregation tent, but facing the tent at a distance. 3-4 Group the twelve families according to the following four divisions: The Judah division shall camp under their banner nearest sunrise, on the east. It will comprise the 74,600 troops of the Judah extended family with its head, Nahshon (Amminidab’s son); 5-6 next to them, the 54,400 troops from the Issachar tribe, headed by Nethanel (Zuar’s son); 7-8 and the 57,400 from the Zebulun tribe, headed by Eliab (Helon’s son). 9 These three extended families constitute the Judah division (186,400 total troops). They shall march first.
10-11 On the south side, the Reuben division shall camp under their banner. It will comprise the 46,500 troops from the Reuben extended family with its head Elizur (Shedeur’s son); 12-13 and next to them the 59,300 troops from the Simeon tribe headed by Shelumiel (Zurishaddai’s son); 14-15 and 45,650 from the Gad tribe, with its head Eliasaph (Deuel’s son).[a] 16 Total troop numbers for the Reuben division are 151,450. They shall march second.
17 The congregation tent, with its attendant Levites, shall always camp and move at the center of these divisions. Their camping order shall be the same as their order when they travel—well organized, each identified by its own banner.
18-19 The Ephraim division will camp under their banner on the west. It includes the 40,500 troops from the Ephraim extended family, whose head is Elishama (Ammihud’s son); 20-21 and next to them, the 32,200 troops of the Manasseh tribe, headed by Gamaliel (Pedahzur’s son); 22-23 and finally 35,400 troops from the Benjamin tribe, headed by Abidan (Gideoni’s son). 24 The Ephraim division’s total numbers are 108,100. They shall march third.
25-26 Finally, the Dan division shall camp under their banner on the north side. It is composed of the 62,700 troops from the Dan extended family headed by Ahiezer (Ammishaddai’s son); 27-28 camping next to them, the Asher tribe, headed by Pagiel (Ochran’s son) with its 41,500 troops; 29-30 and the Naphtali tribe’s 53,400 troops, headed by Ahira (Enan’s son). 31 The total numbers for the Dan division are 157,600, and they shall march out last under their banners.
32 This is the organization of Israelites according to the twelve extended families—603,550 total arms-bearing troops. 33 Of course, this does not include the Levite organization because the Eternal commanded Moses not to count them.
34 And things went according to plan. Just as the Eternal had commanded Moses, the Israelites organized and camped and traveled by the twelve clans and their extended families, each with its own banner. Then they left.
Footnotes
- 2:15 Most Hebrew manuscripts read, “Reuel’s son.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.