English Standard Version ESV
New Living Translation NLT
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,
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A year after Israel’s departure from Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the Tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai. On the first day of the second month of that year he said,
2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head.
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“From the whole community of Israel, record the names of all the warriors by their clans and families. List all the men
3 From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company.
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twenty years old or older who are able to go to war. You and Aaron must register the troops,
4 And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers.
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and you will be assisted by one family leader from each tribe.
5 And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur;
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“These are the tribes and the names of the leaders who will assist you: Tribe Leader Reuben Elizur son of Shedeur
6 from Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai;
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Simeon Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai
7 from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab;
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Judah Nahshon son of Amminadab
8 from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar;
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Issachar Nethanel son of Zuar
9 from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon;
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Zebulun Eliab son of Helon
10 from the sons of Joseph, from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur;
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Ephraim son of Joseph Elishama son of Ammihud Manasseh son of Joseph Gamaliel son of Pedahzur
11 from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni;
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Benjamin Abidan son of Gideoni
12 from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai;
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Dan Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai
13 from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran;
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Asher Pagiel son of Ocran
14 from Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel;
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Gad Eliasaph son of Deuel
15 from Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan. ”
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Naphtali Ahira son of Enan
16 These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the chiefs of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.
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These are the chosen leaders of the community, the leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.”
17 Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named,
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So Moses and Aaron called together these chosen leaders,
18 and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head,
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and they assembled the whole community of Israel on that very day. All the people were registered according to their ancestry by their clans and families. The men of Israel who were twenty years old or older were listed one by one,
19 as the Lord commanded Moses. So he listed them in the wilderness of Sinai.
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just as the LORD had commanded Moses. So Moses recorded their names in the wilderness of Sinai.
20 The people of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war:
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This is the number of men twenty years old or older who were able to go to war, as their names were listed in the records of their clans and families :
21 those listed of the tribe of Reuben were ,500.
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22 Of the people of Simeon, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, those of them who were listed, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war:
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Simeon 59,300
23 those listed of the tribe of Simeon were ,300.
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24 Of the people of Gad, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war:
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Gad 45,650
25 those listed of the tribe of Gad were ,650.
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26 Of the people of Judah, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
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Judah 74,600
27 those listed of the tribe of Judah were ,600.
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28 Of the people of Issachar, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
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Issachar 54,400
29 those listed of the tribe of Issachar were ,400.
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30 Of the people of Zebulun, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
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Zebulun 57,400
31 those listed of the tribe of Zebulun were ,400.
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32 Of the people of Joseph, namely, of the people of Ephraim, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
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Ephraim son of Joseph 40,500
33 those listed of the tribe of Ephraim were ,500.
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34 Of the people of Manasseh, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
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Manasseh son of Joseph 32,200
35 those listed of the tribe of Manasseh were ,200.
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36 Of the people of Benjamin, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
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Benjamin 35,400
37 those listed of the tribe of Benjamin were ,400.
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38 Of the people of Dan, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
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Dan 62,700
39 those listed of the tribe of Dan were ,700.
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40 Of the people of Asher, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
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Asher 41,500
41 those listed of the tribe of Asher were ,500.
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42 Of the people of Naphtali, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war:
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Naphtali 53,400
43 those listed of the tribe of Naphtali were ,400.
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44 These are those who were listed, whom Moses and Aaron listed with the help of the chiefs of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers’ house.
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These were the men registered by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, all listed according to their ancestral descent.
45 So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel—
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They were registered by families—all the men of Israel who were twenty years old or older and able to go to war.
46 all those listed were ,550.
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The total number was 603,550.
47 But the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe.
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But this total did not include the Levites.
48 For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
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For the LORD had said to Moses,
49 “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel.
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“Do not include the tribe of Levi in the registration; do not count them with the rest of 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 are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and shall camp around the tabernacle.
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Put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant, along with all its furnishings and equipment. They must carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings as you travel, and they must take care of it and camp around it.
51 When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.
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Whenever it is time for the Tabernacle to move, the Levites will take it down. And when it is time to stop, they will set it up again. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the Tabernacle must be put to death.
52 The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp and each man by his own standard.
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Each tribe of Israel will camp in a designated area with its own family banner.
53 But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony. ”
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But the Levites will camp around the Tabernacle of the Covenant to protect the community of Israel from the LORD ’s anger. The Levites are responsible to stand guard around the Tabernacle.”
54 Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses.
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So the Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.