Beginning
Israel’s First Census
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai in the tent of meeting on the first day of the second month in the second year after they went out from the land of Egypt, saying: 2 Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls, 3 from twenty years old and upward, all who are able to go out to war in Israel. You and Aaron will number them by their armies. 4 With you there will be a man of every tribe, each one the head of his father’s house. 5 These are the names of the men who will stand with you:
of the tribe of Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur;
6 of Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai;
7 of Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab;
8 of Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar;
9 of Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon;
10 of the children of Joseph:
of Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud;
of Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur;
11 of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni;
12 of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai;
13 of Asher, Pagiel the son of Okran;
14 of Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel;
15 of Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan.
16 These were the renowned of the congregation, leaders of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.
17 Moses and Aaron took these men who had been mentioned by name, 18 and they assembled all the congregation on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees according to their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls. 19 As the Lord commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.
20 The children of Reuben, the oldest son of Israel,
by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 21 those who were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty-six thousand five hundred.
22 Of the children of Simeon,
by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, those who were numbered of them, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 23 those who were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.
24 Of the children of Gad,
by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 25 those who were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.
26 Of the children of Judah,
by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 27 those who were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were seventy-four thousand six hundred.
28 Of the children of Issachar,
by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 29 those who were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty-four thousand four hundred.
30 Of the children of Zebulun,
by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 31 those who were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.
32 Of the children of Joseph,
namely, of the children of Ephraim,
by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 33 those who were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand five hundred.
34 Of the children of Manasseh,
by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 35 those who were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty-two thousand two hundred.
36 Of the children of Benjamin,
by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 37 those who were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty-five thousand four hundred.
38 Of the children of Dan,
by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 39 those who were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.
40 Of the children of Asher,
by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 41 those who were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty-one thousand five hundred.
42 Of the children of Naphtali,
by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 43 those who were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty-three thousand four hundred.
44 These are those who were numbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the leaders of Israel, being twelve men. Each one was for the house of his fathers. 45 So were all those who were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war in Israel. 46 Even all they who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.
47 But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them. 48 For the Lord had spoken to Moses, saying: 49 Only you will not number the tribe of Levi, nor take the census of them among the children of Israel, 50 but you will appoint the Levites over the tent of the testimony, and over all its vessels, and over all things that belong to it. They will carry the tabernacle, and all its vessels, and they will minister to it, and will camp around the tabernacle. 51 When the tabernacle sets out, the Levites will take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites will set it up, and the foreigner that approaches will be put to death. 52 The children of Israel will pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their armies. 53 But the Levites will camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so there will be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel. And the Levites will keep the charge of the tabernacle of the testimony.
54 Thus the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses.
Tribes and Leaders by Armies
2 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: 2 Every man of the children of Israel will camp by his own standard, with the ensign of his father’s house. Facing the tent of meeting they will camp.
3 On the east side toward the rising of the sun the standard of the camp of Judah will camp throughout their armies, and Nahshon the son of Amminadab will be captain of the children of Judah. 4 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were seventy-four thousand six hundred.
5 Those who camp next to him will be the tribe of Issachar, and Nethanel the son of Zuar will be captain of the children of Issachar. 6 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were fifty-four thousand four hundred.
7 Then comes the tribe of Zebulun, and Eliab the son of Helon will be captain of the children of Zebulun. 8 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.
9 All who were numbered throughout the armies in the camp of Judah were one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred. They will march out first.
10 On the south side will be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies, and the captain of the children of Reuben will be Elizur the son of Shedeur. 11 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were forty-six thousand five hundred.
12 Those who camp by him will be the tribe of Simeon, and the captain of the children of Simeon will be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 13 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.
14 Then comes the tribe of Gad, and the captain of the sons of Gad will be Eliasaph the son of Reuel. 15 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.
16 All who were numbered in the camp of Reuben were one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies. And they will set out in the second rank.
17 Then the tent of meeting will set out with the camp of the Levites in the middle of the camp. As they camp, so they will set out, every man in his place by their standards.
18 On the west side will be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies, and the captain of the sons of Ephraim will be Elishama the son of Ammihud. 19 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were forty thousand five hundred.
20 By him will be the tribe of Manasseh, and the captain of the children of Manasseh will be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 21 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were thirty-two thousand two hundred.
22 Then comes the tribe of Benjamin, and the captain of the sons of Benjamin will be Abidan the son of Gideoni. 23 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were thirty-five thousand four hundred.
24 All who were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were one hundred and eight thousand one hundred, throughout their armies. And they will go out in the third rank.
25 The standard of the camp of Dan will be on the north side by their armies, and the captain of the children of Dan will be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.
27 Those who camp by him will be the tribe of Asher, and the captain of the children of Asher will be Pagiel the son of Okran. 28 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were forty-one thousand five hundred.
29 Then the tribe of Naphtali, and the captain of the children of Naphtali will be Ahira the son of Enan. 30 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were fifty-three thousand four hundred.
31 All they who were numbered in the camp of Dan were one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred. They will set out in the back with their standards.
32 These are those who were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers. All those who were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. 33 But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.
34 The children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses. So they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one after his family, according to their fathers’ houses.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.