The Message Bible MSG
English Standard Version ESV
1 God spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said,
1
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
2 "The People of Israel are to set up camp circling the Tent of Meeting and facing it. Each company is to camp under its distinctive tribal flag."
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“The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.
3 To the east toward the sunrise are the companies of the camp of Judah under its flag, led by Nahshon son of Amminadab.
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Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the chief of the people of Judah being Nahshon the son of Amminadab,
4 His troops number 74,600.
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his company as listed being 74,600.
5 The tribe of Issachar will camp next to them, led by Nethanel son of Zuar.
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Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, the chief of the people of Issachar being Nethanel the son of Zuar,
6 His troops number 54,400.
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his company as listed being 54,400.
7 And the tribe of Zebulun is next to them, led by Eliab son of Helon.
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Then the tribe of Zebulun, the chief of the people of Zebulun being Eliab the son of Helon,
8 His troops number 57,400.
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his company as listed being 57,400.
9 The total number of men assigned to Judah, troop by troop, is 186,400. They will lead the march.
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All those listed of the camp of Judah, by their companies, were 186,400. They shall set out first on the march.
10 To the south are the companies of the camp of Reuben under its flag, led by Elizur son of Shedeur.
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“On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the chief of the people of Reuben being Elizur the son of Shedeur,
11 His troops number 46,500.
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his company as listed being 46,500.
12 The tribe of Simeon will camp next to them, led by Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.
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And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, the chief of the people of Simeon being Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai,
13 His troops number 59,300.
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his company as listed being 59,300.
14 And the tribe of Gad is next to them, led by Eliasaph son of Deuel.
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Then the tribe of Gad, the chief of the people of Gad being Eliasaph the son of Reuel,
15 His troops number 45,650.
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his company as listed being 45,650.
16 The total number of men assigned to Reuben, troop by troop, is 151,450. They are second in the order of the march.
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All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. They shall set out second.
17 The Tent of Meeting with the camp of the Levites takes its place in the middle of the march. Each tribe will march in the same order in which they camped, each under its own flag.
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“Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they camp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard.
18 To the west are the companies of the camp of Ephraim under its flag, led by Elishama son of Ammihud.
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“On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim by their companies, the chief of the people of Ephraim being Elishama the son of Ammihud,
19 His troops number 40,500.
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his company as listed being 40,500.
20 The tribe of Manasseh will set up camp next to them, led by Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.
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And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, the chief of the people of Manasseh being Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur,
21 His troops number 32,200.
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his company as listed being 32,200.
22 And next to him is the camp of Benjamin, led by Abidan son of Gideoni.
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Then the tribe of Benjamin, the chief of the people of Benjamin being Abidan the son of Gideoni,
23 His troops number 35,400.
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his company as listed being 35,400.
24 The total number of men assigned to the camp of Ephraim, troop by troop, is 108,100. They are third in the order of the march.
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All those listed of the camp of Ephraim, by their companies, were 108,100. They shall set out third on the march.
25 To the north are the companies of the camp of Dan under its flag, led by Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.
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“On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan by their companies, the chief of the people of Dan being Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai,
26 His troops number 62,700.
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his company as listed being 62,700.
27 The tribe of Asher will camp next to them, led by Pagiel son of Ocran.
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And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, the chief of the people of Asher being Pagiel the son of Ochran,
28 His troops number 41,500.
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his company as listed being 41,500.
29 And next to them is the tribe of Naphtali, led by Ahira son of Enan.
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Then the tribe of Naphtali, the chief of the people of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan,
30 His troops number 53,400.
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his company as listed being 53,400.
31 The total number of men assigned to the camp of Dan number 157,600. They will set out, under their flags, last in the line of the march.
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All those listed of the camp of Dan were 157,600. They shall set out last, standard by standard. ”
32 These are the People of Israel, counted according to their ancestral families. The total number in the camps, counted troop by troop, comes to 603,550.
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These are the people of Israel as listed by their fathers’ houses. All those listed in the camps by their companies were ,550.
33 Following God's command to Moses, the Levites were not counted in with the rest of Israel.
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But the Levites were not listed among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.
34 The People of Israel did everything the way God commanded Moses: They camped under their respective flags; they marched by tribe with their ancestral families.
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Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his fathers’ house.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025