Numbers

And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,

1God spoke to Moses in the desert near Mount Sinai. They were in the Tent of Meeting, where God met his people. It was the first day of the second month. It was the second year after Israel left Egypt. God said:

2Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls;

2"Count all the people of Israel. Count them family by family. Write down every man's name, one by one."

3From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.

3"Count every man who is twenty years old or older. Count all who are able to go to war. You and Aaron will count them, group by group."

4And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.

4"One man from each tribe must help you. A tribe is one big family group in Israel. Each helper is the leader of his own family."

5And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur.

5"Here are the names of the men who will help you. From the tribe of Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur."

6Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

6"From the tribe of Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai."

7Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

7"From the tribe of Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab."

8Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar.

8"From the tribe of Issachar, Nethaneel son of Zuar."

9Of Zebulun; Eliab the son of Helon.

9"From the tribe of Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon."

10Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

10"From the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud. From Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur."

11Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni.

11"From the tribe of Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni."

12Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

12"From the tribe of Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai."

13Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran.

13"From the tribe of Asher, Pagiel son of Ocran."

14Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

14"From the tribe of Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel."

15Of Naphtali; Ahira the son of Enan.

15"From the tribe of Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan."

16These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.

16These men were chosen from the people. Everyone knew who they were. They were the leaders of their tribes and of big family groups in Israel.

17And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names:

17So Moses and Aaron took these men whose names God had said.

18And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.

18On the first day of the second month, they gathered all the people. Each man told which family he came from. Then they wrote down the names of every man twenty years old or older, one by one.

19As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.

19Moses did just what God told him. He counted the people in the desert near Mount Sinai.

20And the children of Reuben, Israel’s eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

20Reuben was Israel's oldest son. His tribe was counted first, family by family. They wrote down every man twenty years old or older who could go to war.

21Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.

21The tribe of Reuben had 46,500 men.

22Of the children of Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, those that were numbered of them, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

22Next came the tribe of Simeon, family by family. They wrote down every man twenty years old or older who could go to war.

23Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.

23The tribe of Simeon had 59,300 men.

24Of the children of Gad, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

24Next came the tribe of Gad, family by family. They wrote down every man twenty years old or older who could go to war.

25Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty.

25The tribe of Gad had 45,650 men.

26Of the children of Judah, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

26Next came the tribe of Judah, family by family. They wrote down every man twenty years old or older who could go to war.

27Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.

27The tribe of Judah had 74,600 men.

NoteThe KJV says "threescore and fourteen thousand." A score is twenty, so threescore is sixty. Threescore and fourteen thousand means 74,000.

28Of the children of Issachar, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

28Next came the tribe of Issachar, family by family. They wrote down every man twenty years old or older who could go to war.

29Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.

29The tribe of Issachar had 54,400 men.

30Of the children of Zebulun, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

30Next came the tribe of Zebulun, family by family. They wrote down every man twenty years old or older who could go to war.

31Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.

31The tribe of Zebulun had 57,400 men.

32Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

32Next came the sons of Joseph. First came the tribe of Ephraim, family by family. They wrote down every man twenty years old or older who could go to war.

33Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred.

33The tribe of Ephraim had 40,500 men.

34Of the children of Manasseh, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

34Next came the tribe of Manasseh, family by family. They wrote down every man twenty years old or older who could go to war.

35Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.

35The tribe of Manasseh had 32,200 men.

36Of the children of Benjamin, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

36Next came the tribe of Benjamin, family by family. They wrote down every man twenty years old or older who could go to war.

37Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.

37The tribe of Benjamin had 35,400 men.

38Of the children of Dan, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

38Next came the tribe of Dan, family by family. They wrote down every man twenty years old or older who could go to war.

39Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.

39The tribe of Dan had 62,700 men.

40Of the children of Asher, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

40Next came the tribe of Asher, family by family. They wrote down every man twenty years old or older who could go to war.

41Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.

41The tribe of Asher had 41,500 men.

42Of the children of Naphtali, throughout their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

42Last came the tribe of Naphtali, family by family. They wrote down every man twenty years old or older who could go to war.

43Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.

43The tribe of Naphtali had 53,400 men.

44These are those that were numbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men: each one was for the house of his fathers.

44Moses and Aaron counted all these men. Twelve leaders of Israel helped them. Each leader spoke for his own family group.

45So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;

45So all the men of Israel were counted, family by family. Every man twenty years old or older was counted. All of them were able to go to war.

46Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.

46Altogether there were 603,550 men.

47But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them.

47But the tribe of Levi was not counted with the others. They were the family group of Levi.

48For the LORD had spoken unto Moses, saying,

48God had already told Moses this:

49Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel:

49"Do not count the tribe of Levi. Do not add them to the count of the rest of Israel."

50But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.

50"Instead, put the Levites in charge of the holy tent. They will care for everything inside it. They will carry the tent and all its things. They will take care of it and camp all around it."

NoteThe holy tent is also called the tabernacle. It was a big tent for worship. It could be taken apart and carried to a new place.

51And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down: and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

51"When it is time to move, the Levites will take the tent down. When it is time to stop, they will set it up. Anyone else who comes near it must be put to death."

NoteHere the word "stranger" does not mean a visitor from far away. It means anyone who was not a Levite.

52And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts.

52"The rest of Israel will camp in their own groups. Each family will camp under its own flag."

53But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony.

53"But the Levites will camp all around the holy tent. Then God will not be angry with the people. The Levites will guard the tent and care for it."

54And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.

54The people of Israel did everything God had told Moses to do.