The Census

1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting^(A) in the Desert of Sinai^(B) on the first day of the second month^(C) of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt.^(D) He said: ² “Take a census^(E) of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families,^(F) listing every man by name,^(G) one by one. ³ You and Aaron^(H) are to count according to their divisions all the men in Israel who are twenty years old or more^(I) and able to serve in the army.^{(J) 4} One man from each tribe,^(K) each of them the head of his family,^(L) is to help you.^(M)

⁴⁴ These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron^(A) and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family. ⁴⁵ All the Israelites twenty years old or more^(B) who were able to serve in Israel’s army were counted according to their families.^{(C) 46} The total number was 603,550.^(D)

⁴⁷ The ancestral tribe of the Levites,^(E) however, was not counted^(F) along with the others. ⁴⁸ The Lord had said to Moses: ⁴⁹ “You must not count the tribe of Levi or include them in the census of the other Israelites. ⁵⁰ Instead, appoint the Levites to be in charge of the tabernacle^(G) of the covenant law^(H)—over all its furnishings^(I) and everything belonging to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they are to take care of it and encamp around it.