Numbers 2
English Standard Version
Arrangement of the Camp
2 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 (A)“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 (B)Nahshon 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. (C)They 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 (D)Reuel, 15 his company as listed being 45,650. 16 All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. (E)They shall set out second.
17 (F)“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. (G)They 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. (H)They 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 (I)603,550. 33 But (J)the 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, (K)so they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his fathers' house.
Numbers 2
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 2[a]
Placement of the Tribal Camps. 1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Every Israelite will camp by their own standard, alongside the emblems of their father’s household. They will camp some distance from the tent of meeting.
3 “On the east side, toward the rising of the sun, will be the standard of the camp of Judah arranged by their companies. The leader of the tribe of Judah is Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. 4 His forces numbered seventy-four thousand, six hundred. 5 The tribe of Issachar will camp next to him. The leader of the tribe of Issachar is Nethanel, the son of Zuar. 6 His forces numbered fifty-four thousand, four hundred. 7 Then there is the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of the tribe of Zebulun is Eliab, the son of Helon. 8 His forces numbered fifty-seven thousand, four hundred. 9 The whole camp of Judah, by their companies, numbered one hundred eighty-six thousand, four hundred. They are to set out first on the march.
10 “On the south side of the camp is the standard of the camp of Reuben, arranged by their companies. The leader of the tribe of Reuben is Elizur, the son of Shedeur. 11 His forces numbered forty-six thousand, five hundred. 12 The tribe of Simeon will camp next to him. The leader of the tribe of Simeon is Shelumiel, the son of Zurushaddai. 13 His forces numbered fifty-nine thousand, three hundred. 14 Then there is the tribe of Gad. The leader of the tribe of Gad is Eliasaph, the son of Reuel. 15 His forces numbered forty-five thousand, six hundred fifty. 16 The whole camp of Reuben, by their companies, numbered one hundred fifty-one thousand, four hundred fifty. They are to be the second to set out on the march.
17 “Then the tent of meeting will set out, with the camp of the Levites in the middle of the other camps whenever they set up camp. This is how they are to set out, each man located under his own standards.
18 “On the west side of the camp is the standard of the camp of Ephraim, arranged by their companies. The leader of the tribe of Ephraim is Elishama, the son of Ammihud. 19 His forces numbered forty thousand, five hundred. 20 The tribe of Manasseh will camp next to him. The leader of the tribe of Manasseh is Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur. 21 His forces numbered thirty-two thousand, two hundred. 22 Then comes the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of the tribe of Benjamin is Abidan, the son of Gideoni. 23 His forces numbered thirty-five thousand, five hundred. 24 The whole camp of Ephraim, by their companies, numbered one hundred eight thousand, one hundred. They are to be the third to set out on the march.
25 “On the north side of the camp is the standard of the camp of Dan, arranged by their companies. The leader of the tribe of Dan is Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai. 26 His forces numbered sixty-two thousand, seven hundred. 27 The tribe of Asher will camp next to him. The leader of the tribe of Asher is Pagiel, the son of Ochran. 28 His forces numbered forty-one thousand, five hundred. 29 Then comes the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of the tribe of Naphtali is Ahira, the son of Enan. 30 His forces numbered fifty-three thousand, four hundred. 31 The whole camp of Dan, by their companies, numbered one hundred fifty-seven thousand, six hundred. They are to march last with their standards.”
32 These were the people of Israel who were counted. There were six hundred three thousand, five hundred and fifty counted in their camps, in their companies, 33 but the Levites were not counted along with the people of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 34 The people of Israel did everything as the Lord had commanded Moses[b] by encamping under their standards and by the way they set out, each going with his clan and his family.
Footnotes
- Numbers 2:1 The Hebrew people are seen here as a liturgical assembly that is hierarchically arranged, being organized in increasingly sacral concentric circles around the Dwelling of the holy God. The numbers from chapter 1 are repeated, as are the names of leaders.
- Numbers 2:34 Did everything as the Lord had commanded Moses: the subject of strict obedience shown by the people of Israel in Num 1:54 is repeated here and greatly contrasts with their later rebellion.
Numbers 2
King James Version
2 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
2 Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.
3 And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be captain of the children of Judah.
4 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
5 And those that do pitch next unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar: and Nethaneel the son of Zuar shall be captain of the children of Issachar.
6 And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.
7 Then the tribe of Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon shall be captain of the children of Zebulun.
8 And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.
9 All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were an hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies. These shall first set forth.
10 On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies: and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.
11 And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.
12 And those which pitch by him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the captain of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
13 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.
14 Then the tribe of Gad: and the captain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel.
15 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty.
16 All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben were an hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies. And they shall set forth in the second rank.
17 Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards.
18 On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.
19 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred.
20 And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
21 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
22 Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.
23 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.
24 All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were an hundred thousand and eight thousand and an hundred, throughout their armies. And they shall go forward in the third rank.
25 The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies: and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
26 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.
27 And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the captain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran.
28 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
29 Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan.
30 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.
31 All they that were numbered in the camp of Dan were an hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred. They shall go hindmost with their standards.
32 These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
33 But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses.
34 And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses: so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
