Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the wilderness of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites departed from the land of Egypt. He said:

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

Now these are the names of the men who are to help you: from Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;

from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;

from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;

from Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar;

from Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon;

from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;

from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;

from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;

from Asher, Pagiel son of Ocran;

from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;

from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan."

These were the ones chosen from the community, leaders of their ancestral tribes. They were the heads of the thousands of Israel.

Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.

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.

Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.

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.

Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Gad were 45,650.

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.

Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Judah were 74,600.

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.

Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.

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.

Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.

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.

Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.

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.

Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.

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.

Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.

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.

Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Dan were 62,700.

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.

Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Asher were 41,500.

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.

Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.

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

"Look, I myself have taken the Levites from among the Israelites instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the Israelites. So the Levites belong to me,

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

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.

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.

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.

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

So Moses took the redemption money from those who were in excess of those redeemed by the Levites.

From the firstborn males of the Israelites he collected the money, 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.

"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.

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

"Do not allow the tribe of the families of the Kohathites to be cut off from among the Levites;

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.

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.

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 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.

Those numbered from the families of the Merarites, by their families, 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 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.

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 --

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

Then the priest will put the woman under oath and say to the her, "If no other man has had sexual relations with you, and if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband's authority, may you be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.

The priest will take the grain offering of suspicion from the woman's hand, wave the grain offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar.

Then the man will be free from iniquity, but that woman will bear the consequences of her iniquity.'"

he must separate himself from wine and strong drink, he must drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from strong drink, nor may he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins.

All the days of his separation he must not eat anything that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.

"'Then the Nazirite must shave his consecrated head at the entrance to the tent of meeting and must take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire where the peace offering is burning.

And the priest must take the boiled shoulder of the ram, one cake made without yeast from the basket, and one wafer made without yeast, and put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated head;

"Receive these gifts from them, that they may be used in doing the work of the tent of meeting; and you must give them to the Levites, to every man as his service requires."

The one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah.

This was the dedication for the altar from the leaders of Israel, when it was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver sprinkling bowls, and twelve gold pans.

Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the atonement lid that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. Thus he spoke to him.

This is how the lampstand was made: It was beaten work in gold; from its shaft to its flowers it was beaten work. According to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

"Take the Levites from among the Israelites and purify them.

and Aaron is to offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, that they may do the work of the Lord.

And so you are to separate the Levites from among the Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.

For they are entirely given to me from among the Israelites. I have taken them for myself instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn sons of all the Israelites.

I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to do the work for the Israelites in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the Israelites, so there will be no plague among the Israelites when the Israelites come near the sanctuary."

and at the age of fifty years they must retire from performing the work and may no longer work.

And those men said to him, "We are ceremonially defiled by the dead body of a man; why are we kept back from offering the Lord's offering at its appointed time among the Israelites?"

But the man who is ceremonially clean, and was not on a journey, and fails to keep the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people. Because he did not bring the Lord's offering at its appointed time, that man must bear his sin.

On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle -- the tent of the testimony -- and from evening until morning there was a fiery appearance over the tabernacle.

Whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the Israelites would begin their journey; and in whatever place the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp.

And when the cloud remained only from evening until morning, when the cloud was taken up the following morning, then they traveled on. Whether by day or by night, when the cloud was taken up they traveled.

"Make two trumpets of silver; you are to make them from a single hammered piece. You will use them for assembling the community and for directing the traveling of the camps.

If you go to war in your land against an adversary who opposes you, then you must sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.

On the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle of the testimony.

So the Israelites set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran.

So they traveled from the mountain of the Lord three days' journey; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord was traveling before them during the three days' journey, to find a resting place for them.

And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, when they traveled from the camp.

From where shall I get meat to give to this entire people, for they cry to me, 'Give us meat, that we may eat!'

Now a wind went out from the Lord and brought quail from the sea, and let them fall near the camp, about a day's journey on this side, and about a day's journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about three feet high on the surface of the ground.

The people traveled from Kibroth Hattaavah to Hazeroth, and they stayed at Hazeroth.

With him I will speak face to face, openly, and not in riddles; and he will see the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?"