Beginning
The People of Israel Are Counted
1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Meeting Tent. This was in the Desert of Sinai. It was on the first day of the second month. This was in the second year after the people of Israel left Egypt. The Lord said to Moses: 2 “Count all the people of Israel. List the name of each man with his family and family group. 3 You and Aaron must count all the men of Israel 20 years old or older. They will serve in the army of Israel. List them by their divisions. 4 One man from each tribe will help you. He is to be the leader of his family. 5 These are the names of the men who will help you:
from the tribe of Reuben—Elizur son of Shedeur;
6 from the tribe of Simeon—Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;
7 from the tribe of Judah—Nahshon son of Amminadab;
8 from the tribe of Issachar—Nethanel son of Zuar;
9 from the tribe of Zebulun—Eliab son of Helon;
10 from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph—Elishama son of Ammihud;
from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph—Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;
11 from the tribe of Benjamin—Abidan son of Gideoni;
12 from the tribe of Dan—Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;
13 from the tribe of Asher—Pagiel son of Ocran;
14 from the tribe of Gad—Eliasaph son of Deuel;
15 from the tribe of Naphtali—Ahira son of Enan.”
16 All these men were chosen by the people to be leaders of their tribes. They were the leaders of their family groups.
17 Moses and Aaron took these men who had been picked. 18 And Moses and Aaron called all the people of Israel together. This was the first day of the second month. Then the people were listed by their families and family groups. All the men who were 20 years old or older were listed by name. 19 Moses did exactly what the Lord had commanded. Moses listed the people while they were in the Desert of Sinai.
20 The tribe of Reuben was counted. Reuben was the first son born to Israel. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were each listed by name with their families and family groups. 21 The tribe of Reuben totaled 46,500 men.
22 The tribe of Simeon was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were each listed by name with their families and family groups. 23 The tribe of Simeon totaled 59,300 men.
24 The tribe of Gad was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups. 25 The tribe of Gad totaled 45,650 men.
26 The tribe of Judah was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups. 27 The tribe of Judah totaled 74,600 men.
28 The tribe of Issachar was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups. 29 The tribe of Issachar totaled 54,400 men.
30 The tribe of Zebulun was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups. 31 The tribe of Zebulun totaled 57,400 men.
32 The tribe of Ephraim was counted. (Ephraim was a son of Joseph.) All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups. 33 The tribe of Ephraim totaled 40,500 men.
34 The tribe of Manasseh was counted. (Manasseh was also a son of Joseph.) All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups. 35 The tribe of Manasseh totaled 32,200 men.
36 The tribe of Benjamin was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups. 37 The tribe of Benjamin totaled 35,400 men.
38 The tribe of Dan was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups. 39 The tribe of Dan totaled 62,700 men.
40 The tribe of Asher was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups. 41 The tribe of Asher totaled 41,500 men.
42 The tribe of Naphtali was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups. 43 The tribe of Naphtali totaled 53,400 men.
44 Moses, Aaron and the 12 leaders of Israel counted these men. There was 1 leader from each of the families. 45 Every man of Israel 20 years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted. Each man was listed with his family. 46 The total number of men was 603,550.
47 The families from the tribe of Levi were not listed with the others. 48 The Lord had told Moses: 49 “Do not count the tribe of Levi or include them with the other Israelites. 50 But make the Levites responsible for the Holy Tent of the Agreement. They must take care of it and everything that is with it. They must carry the Holy Tent and everything in it. They must take care of it and make their camp around it. 51 Any time the Holy Tent is moved, the Levites must take it down. Any time it is set up, the Levites must do it. If anyone else goes near the Holy Tent, he will be put to death. 52 The Israelites will make their camps in separate divisions, each man near his family flag. 53 But the Levites must make their camp around the Holy Tent of the Agreement. Then I will not be angry with the Israelites. The Levites will take care of the Holy Tent of the Agreement.”
54 So the Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses.
The Camp Arrangement
2 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “The Israelites should make their camps around the Meeting Tent. But they should not camp too close to it. Each person should camp under the flag of his division near the banner of his family group.”
3 The camp of Judah will be on the east side, where the sun rises. They will camp by divisions there under their flag. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab. 4 There are 74,600 men in his division.
5 Next to them the tribe of Issachar will camp. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar. 6 There are 54,400 men in his division.
7 Next is the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of the people of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon. 8 There are 57,400 men in his division.
9 There are a total of 186,400 men in the camp of Judah. They are in their divisions. They will be the first to march out of camp.
10 The divisions of the camp of Reuben will be south of the Holy Tent. They will camp under their flag. The leader of the people of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur. 11 There are 46,500 men in his division.
12 Next to them the tribe of Simeon will camp. The leader of the people of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. 13 There are 59,300 men in his division.
14 Next is the tribe of Gad. The leader of the people of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel. 15 There are 45,650 men in his division.
16 There are a total of 151,450 men in the camp of Reuben. They are in their divisions. They will be the second group to march out of camp.
17 When the Levites move the Meeting Tent, they will be in between the other camps. The tribes will move in the same order as they camp. Each person will be with his family flag.
18 The divisions of the camp of Ephraim will be on the west side. They will camp under their flag. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud. 19 There are 40,500 men in his division.
20 Next to them the tribe of Manasseh will camp. The leader of the people of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. 21 There are 32,200 men in his division.
22 Next to them the tribe of Benjamin will camp. The leader of the people of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni. 23 There are 35,400 men in his division.
24 There are a total of 108,100 men in the camp of Ephraim. They are in their divisions. They will be the third group to march out of camp.
25 The divisions of the camp of Dan will be on the north side. They will camp under their flag. The leader of the people of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. 26 There are 62,700 men in his division.
27 Next to them the tribe of Asher will camp. The leader of the people of Asher is Pagiel son of Ocran. 28 There are 41,500 men in his division.
29 Next is the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of the people of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan. 30 There are 53,400 men in his division.
31 There are 157,600 men in the camp of Dan. They will be the last to march out of camp. They will travel under their own flag.
32 These are the Israelites who were counted by families. The total number of Israelites in the camps, counted by divisions, is 603,550. 33 Moses did not count the Levites among the other people of Israel. This is what the Lord had commanded.
34 So the Israelites obeyed everything the Lord commanded Moses. They camped under their flags. Each person traveled with his family and family group.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.