The Census of Israel’s Warriors

¹ 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 had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ² “Take a census of all the congregation of the Israelites, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, every male, one by one, ³ from twenty years old and up, all who are able to go out to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall count them by their divisions.

⁴ With you there shall be a man of every tribe, each one head of his fathers’ house.

The Leaders of the Tribes

⁵ These are the names of the men who shall stand with you:
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 Ochran.
¹⁴ Of Gad: Eliasaph the son of Deuel.
¹⁵ Of Naphtali: Ahira the son of Enan.”

¹⁶ These are the ones who were chosen from the congregation, the leaders of the tribes of their fathers. They were the heads of the thousands of Israel.

The Number of Every Tribe

¹⁷ Moses and Aaron took these men who are mentioned by name. ¹⁸ They assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their ancestry by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and up, one by one. ¹⁹ As the Lord commanded Moses, so he counted them in the wilderness of Sinai.

²⁰ The children of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, one by one, every male from twenty years old and up, all who were able to go out to war: ²¹ those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Reuben, were 40,500.

²² Of the children of Simeon, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those who were counted of it, according to the number of the names, one by one, every male from twenty years old and up, all who were able to go out to war: ²³ those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Simeon, were 59,300.

²⁴ Of the children of Gad, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and up, all who were able to go out to war: ²⁵ those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Gad, were 45,600.

²⁶ Of the children of Judah, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and up, all who were able to go out to war: ²⁷ those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Judah, were 74,600.

²⁸ Of the children of Issachar, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and up, all who were able to go out to war: ²⁹ those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Issachar, were 54,400.

³⁰ Of the children of Zebulun, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and up, all who were able to go out to war: ³¹ those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Zebulun, were 57,400.

³² Of the children of Joseph: of the children of Ephraim, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and up, all who were able to go out to war: ³³ those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Ephraim, were 40,500.

³⁴ Of the children of Manasseh, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and up, all who were able to go out to war: ³⁵ those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Manasseh, were 32,200.

³⁶ Of the children of Benjamin, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and up, all who were able to go out to war: ³⁷ those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Benjamin, were 35,400.

³⁸ Of the children of Dan, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and up, all who were able to go out to war: ³⁹ those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Dan, were 62,700.

⁴⁰ Of the children of Asher, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and up, all who were able to go out to war: ⁴¹ those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Asher, were 41,500.

⁴² Of the children of Naphtali, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and up, all who were able to go out to war: ⁴³ those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Naphtali, were 53,400.

⁴⁴ These are those who were counted, whom Moses and Aaron counted, and the twelve men who were the leaders of Israel, each one for his fathers’ house. ⁴⁵ So all those who were counted of the Israelites by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and up, all who were able to go out to war in Israel— ⁴⁶ all those who were counted were 603,550.

Levites Exempted

⁴⁷ But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not counted among them. ⁴⁸ For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁹ “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not count, nor shall you take a census of them among the Israelites, ⁵⁰ but appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of the Testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and shall encamp around it. ⁵¹ When the tabernacle is to move, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The foreigner who comes near shall be put to death.

⁵² The Israelites shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, according to their divisions.

⁵³ But the Levites shall encamp around the Tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the Israelites. The Levites shall be responsible for the Tabernacle of the Testimony.”

⁵⁴ Thus the Israelites did. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they did.

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