A Census of Israel's Warriors

1 The Lord spoke to Moses ^(A)in the wilderness of Sinai, ^(B)in 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, ^(D)by fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. ^3 (E)From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, ^(F)company 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.

^44 (A)These 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 ^(B)603,550.

¹⁷ And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ^18 (A)‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, ^(B)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ ¹⁹ Please ^(C)pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just ^(D)as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

God Promises Judgment

²⁰ Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, ^(E)according to your word. ²¹ But truly, as I live, and as all ^(F)the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, ^22 (G)none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ^(H)ten times and have not obeyed my voice, ^23 (I)shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. ²⁴ But my servant ^(J)Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has ^(K)followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

Census of the New Generation

26 ^(A)After the plague, the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest, ^2 (B)“Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers' houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war.” ³ And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them ^(C)in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ⁴ “Take a census of the people,^[a] from twenty years old and upward,” as the Lord ^(D)commanded Moses. The people of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:

⁵¹ This was the list of the people of Israel, ^(A)601,730.

⁵² The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^53 (B)“Among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names. ^54 (C)To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list. ⁵⁵ But the land shall be ^(D)divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. ⁵⁶ Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller.”