Beginning
Moses counts the people
1 The Israelites were in the Sinai desert. It was the first day of the second month of the second year after they left Egypt. Moses was in the Tent of Meeting.[a]
The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Put the people into clans and families and count them.[b] Make a list. Write the name of each man on the list. 3 You and Aaron must record the names of all the men in each group who can fight in the army. Record the names of men who are 20 years old or older. 4 A man from each tribe must help you. Each of them will be the leader of his family.
5 These are the men from each tribe who must help you:
Reuben: Elizur, the son of Shedeur.
6 Simeon: Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai.
7 Judah: Nahshon, the son of Amminadab.
8 Issachar: Nethanel, the son of Zuar.
9 Zebulun: Eliab, the son of Helon.
10 Ephraim (Joseph's son): Elishama, the son of Ammihud.
Manasseh (Joseph's son): Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur.
11 Benjamin: Abidan, the son of Gideoni.
12 Dan: Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai.
13 Asher: Pagiel, the son of Ocran.
14 Gad: Eliasaph, the son of Deuel.
15 Naphtali: Ahira, the son of Enan.’
16 These were the men that they chose from among the people. They were leaders of their clans. Each of them worked on behalf of the tribe of their ancestor. 17 Moses and Aaron told these leaders to come. 18 On the first day of the second month, they said that all the Israelite people must come together. The people were in clans and in families. They made a list of all the men who were 20 years old or older. 19 They did the things that the Lord had told Moses to do. So Moses recorded the names there in the Sinai desert.
20-43 They recorded the names of all the men who were 20 years old or older. Those men could fight in the army. They recorded the names of the men in each clan and family. Reuben was the firstborn son of Israel, so they recorded his tribe first. These were the numbers of the men from each tribe:
Reuben: 46,500 men.
Simeon: 59,300 men.
Gad: 45,650 men.
Judah: 74,600 men.
Issachar: 54,400 men.
Zebulun: 57,400 men.
Ephraim (Joseph's son): 40,500 men.
Manasseh (Joseph's son): 32,200 men.
Benjamin: 35,400 men.
Dan: 62,700 men.
Asher: 41,500 men.
Naphtali: 53,400 men.
44 Moses and Aaron counted the numbers of the men in each tribe. The 12 leaders of the Israelites helped them to do it. That was one man from each tribe. 45 They recorded the names of all the men in each family. All the men who were 20 years old or older were on the list. Those men could fight in the army. 46 The number of all the men was 603,550.
The tribe of Levi
47 But Moses and Aaron did not count the descendants of Levi among the other tribes. 48 The Lord had said to Moses, 49 ‘You must not count the tribe of Levi. You must not put the Levites on the list with the other Israelites. 50 The Levites' work will be in the special Tent of Meeting. They must take care of the Tent and everything that is in it. They must carry it everywhere. Their work is with all those things. They must put their own tents round the special Tent. 51 When the people move to another place, the Levites must pack the Tent. When the people arrive at a new place, the Levites must put the Tent up again. If any other person, not a Levite, comes near to the special Tent, they must die.
52 All the other Israelites must put up their tents in groups. Each man must live among his own group. Each group must put up its own flag. 53 But the Levites must put up their tents around the Tent of Meeting. They must take care of it. Then I, the Lord, will not be angry with the people.’
54 The Israelites did everything that the Lord had told Moses to do.
Where the tribes put up their tents
2 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 ‘The Israelites must put up their tents on each side of the Tent of Meeting. They must not be very near to it but they must be all around it. They must live together in their tribes. Each person must be with his own tribe. Each tribe must have its own flag.[c]
3 The people in Judah's tribe must be on the east side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them, and they must put up their tents in groups. The leader of the tribe of Judah is Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. 4 There will be 74,600 soldiers in his army.
5 The tribe of Issachar will put up their tents on one side of Judah's camp. The leader of the tribe of Issachar is Nethanel, the son of Zuar. 6 There will be 54,400 soldiers in his army.
7 The tribe of Zebulun will be on the other side of Judah's camp. The leader of the tribe of Zebulun is Eliab, the son of Helon. 8 There will be 57,400 soldiers in his army.
9 So there will be 186,400 soldiers in the three groups on Judah's side of the camp. When the people travel, these tribes will march first.
10 The tribe of Reuben must be on the south side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them, and they must put up their tents in groups. The leader of the tribe of Reuben is Elizur, the son of Shedeur. 11 There will be 46,500 soldiers in his army.
12 The tribe of Simeon will put up their tents on one side of Reuben's camp. The leader of the tribe of Simeon is Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai. 13 There will be 59,300 soldiers in his army.
14 The tribe of Gad will be on the other side of Reuben's camp. The leader of the tribe of Gad is Eliasaph, the son of Deuel. 15 There will be 45,650 soldiers in his army.
16 So there will be 151,450 soldiers in the three groups on Reuben's side of the camp. When the people travel, they will march second.
17 The Levites must march next. The Levites must carry the Tent of Meeting. They must march between the first two groups of tribes and the last two groups of tribes. Each man must be in his own place. They must march with their flag.
18 The tribe of Ephraim must be on the west side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them and they must live in groups. The leader of the tribe of Ephraim is Elishama, the son of Ammihud. 19 There will be 40,500 soldiers in his army.
20 The tribe of Manasseh will be on one side of Ephraim's camp. The leader of the tribe of Manasseh is Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur. 21 There will be 32,200 soldiers in his army.
22 The tribe of Benjamin will be on the other side of Ephraim's camp. The leader of the tribe of Benjamin is Abidan, the son of Gideoni. 23 There will be 35,400 soldiers in his army.
24 So there will be 108,100 soldiers in the three groups on Ephraim's side of the camp. When the people travel, they will march third.
25 The tribe of Dan must be on the north side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them and they must live in groups. The leader of the tribe of Dan is Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai. 26 There will be 62,700 soldiers in his army.
27 The tribe of Asher will put up their tents on one side of Dan's camp. The leader of the tribe of Asher is Pagiel, the son of Ocran. 28 There will be 41,500 soldiers in his army.
29 The tribe of Naphtali will be on the other side of Dan's camp. The leader of the tribe of Naphtali is Ahira, the son of Enan. 30 There will be 53,400 soldiers in his army.
31 So there will be 157,600 soldiers in the three groups on Dan's side of the camp. They will march last with their flag.’
32 In that way, Moses and his helpers counted all the Israelite men who were able to fight. They counted them in groups, clan by clan. There were 603,550 soldiers. 33 They did not count the Levites among the other Israelites. That was what the Lord had told Moses.
34 The Israelites did everything that the Lord had told Moses. They put up their tents in groups, as the Lord wanted. Each tribe put up its tents under its own flag. When they started to travel, each man walked with his own clan and his own family.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.