"Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their clans and families, counting the name of every individual male.

You and Aaron are to number all in Israel who can serve in the army, those who are twenty years old or older, by their divisions.

And to help you there is to be a man from each tribe, each man the head of his family.

So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been mentioned specifically by name,

and they assembled the entire community together on the first day of the second month. Then the people recorded their ancestry by their clans and families, and the men who were twenty years old or older were listed by name individually,

just as the Lord had commanded Moses. And so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.

And they were as follows: The descendants of Reuben, the firstborn son of Israel: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name individually.

From the descendants of Simeon: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males numbered of them twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name individually.

From the descendants of Gad: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.

From the descendants of Judah: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.

From the descendants of Issachar: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.

From the descendants of Zebulun: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.

From the sons of Joseph: From the descendants of Ephraim: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.

From the descendants of Manasseh: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.

From the descendants of Benjamin: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.

From the descendants of Dan: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.

From the descendants of Asher: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.

From the descendants of Naphtali: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.

These were the men whom Moses and Aaron numbered along with the twelve leaders of Israel, each of whom was from his own family.

And all those numbered totaled 603,550.

But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, over all its furnishings and over everything in it. They must carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; and they must attend to it and camp around it.

Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites must take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be reassembled, the Levites must set it up. Any unauthorized person who approaches it must be killed.

"The Israelites will camp according to their divisions, each man in his camp, and each man by his standard.

The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron:

So the Israelites did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses; that is the way they camped under their standards, and that is the way they traveled, each with his clan and family.

Now these are the records of Aaron and Moses when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered strange fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the presence of Aaron their father.

"Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him.

They are responsible for his needs and the needs of the whole community before the tent of meeting, by attending to the service of the tabernacle.

And they are responsible for all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and for the needs of the Israelites, as they serve in the tabernacle.

You are to assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they will be assigned exclusively to him out of all the Israelites.

So you are to appoint Aaron and his sons, and they will be responsible for their priesthood; but the unauthorized person who comes near must be put to death."

because all the firstborn are mine. When I destroyed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They belong to me. I am the Lord."

"Number the Levites by their clans and their families; every male from a month old and upward you are to number."

These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.

The sons of Kohath by their families were: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

The sons of Merari by their families were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their clans.

From Gershon came the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites.

Those of them who were numbered, counting every male from a month old and upward, were 7,500.

And the responsibilities of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting included the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the curtain at the entrance of the tent of meeting,

the hangings of the courtyard, the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard that surrounded the tabernacle and the altar, and their ropes, plus all the service connected with these things.

From Kohath came the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites.

Counting every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600. They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary.

Their responsibilities included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the curtain, and all their service.

From Merari came the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari.

Those of them who were numbered, counting every male from a month old and upward, were 6,200.

and the pillars of the courtyard all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their ropes.

But those who were to camp in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons. They were responsible for the needs of the sanctuary and for the needs of the Israelites, but the unauthorized person who approached was to be put to death.

All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the word of the Lord, according to their families, every male from a month old and upward, were 22,000.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Number all the firstborn males of the Israelites from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.

And take the Levites for me -- I am the Lord -- instead of all the firstborn males among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites."

And all the firstborn males, by the number of the names from a month old and upward, totaled 22,273.

"Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn males among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. And the Levites will be mine. I am the Lord.

And for the redemption of the 273 firstborn males of the Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites,

And give the money for the redemption of the excess number of them to Aaron and his sons."

Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron:

"Take a census of the Kohathites from among the Levites, by their families and by their clans,

from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, all who enter the company to do the work in the tent of meeting.

When it is time for the camp to journey, Aaron and his sons must come and take down the screening curtain and cover the ark of the testimony with it.

Then they must put over it a covering of fine leather and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue, and then they must insert its poles.

"On the table of the presence they must spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the pitchers for pouring, and the Bread of the Presence must be on it continually.

They must spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of fine leather; and they must insert its poles.

"They must take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand of the light, with its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it.

Then they must put it with all its utensils in a covering of fine leather, and put it on a carrying beam.

"They must spread a blue cloth on the gold altar, and cover it with a covering of fine leather; and they must insert its poles.

Then they must take all the utensils of the service, with which they serve in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of fine leather, and put them on a carrying beam.

Also, they must take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it.

Then they must place on it all its implements with which they serve there -- the trays, the meat forks, the shovels, the basins, and all the utensils of the altar -- and they must spread on it a covering of fine leather, and then insert its poles.

"When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is ready to journey, then the Kohathites will come to carry them; but they must not touch any holy thing, or they will die. These are the responsibilities of the Kohathites with the tent of meeting.

"The appointed responsibility of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest is for the oil for the light, and the spiced incense, and the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil; he also has the appointed responsibility over all the tabernacle with all that is in it, over the sanctuary and over all its furnishings."

Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron:

but in order that they will live and not die when they approach the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons will go in and appoint each man to his service and his responsibility.

"Also take a census of the Gershonites, by their clans and by their families.

You must number them from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, all who enter the company to do the work of the tent of meeting.

This is the service of the families of Gershonites, as they serve and carry it.

They must carry the curtains for the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering, the covering of fine leather that is over it, the curtains for the entrance of the tent of meeting,

the hangings for the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance of the gate of the court, which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their ropes, along with all the furnishings for their service and everything that is made for them. So they are to serve.

"All the service of the Gershonites, whether carrying loads or for any of their work, will be at the direction of Aaron and his sons. You will assign them all their tasks as their responsibility.

"As for the sons of Merari, you are to number them by their families and by their clans.

You must number them from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, all who enter the company to do the work of the tent of meeting.

and the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their sockets, tent pegs, and ropes, along with all their furnishings and everything for their service. You are to assign by names the items that each man is responsible to carry.

So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the community numbered the Kohathites by their families and by clans,

from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered the company for the work in the tent of meeting;

and those of them numbered by their families were 2,750.

These were those numbered from the families of the Kohathites, everyone who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord by the authority of Moses.

Those numbered from the Gershonites, by their families and by their clans,

from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered the company for the work in the tent of meeting --

These were those numbered from the families of the Gershonites, everyone who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord.

from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered the company for the work in the tent of meeting --

These are those numbered from the families of the Merarites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord by the authority of Moses.

All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered by their families and by their clans,

from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered to do the work of service and the work of carrying relating to the tent of meeting --

According to the word of the Lord they were numbered, by the authority of Moses, each according to his service and according to what he was to carry. Thus were they numbered by him, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

"Command the Israelites to expel from the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse.

You must expel both men and women; you must put them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps, among which I live."

So the Israelites did so, and expelled them outside the camp. As the Lord had spoken to Moses, so the Israelites did.

"Tell the Israelites, 'When a man or a woman commits any sin that people commit, thereby breaking faith with the Lord, and that person is found guilty,