Numbers 1-6
English Standard Version
Chapter 1
1The 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, 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. 3From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company. 4And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. 5And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; 6from Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; 7from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; 8from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; 9from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; 10from the sons of Joseph, from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; 11from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; 12from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; 13from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; 14from Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; 15from Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan." 16These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the chiefs of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.
17Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named,
18and 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,
19as the Lord commanded Moses. So he listed them in the wilderness of Sinai.
20The 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:
21those listed of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.
22Of 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:
23those listed of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.
24Of 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:
25those listed of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.
26Of 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:
27those listed of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.
28Of 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:
29those listed of the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.
30Of 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:
31those listed of the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.
32Of 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:
33those listed of the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.
34Of 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:
35those listed of the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.
36Of 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:
37those listed of the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.
38Of 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:
39those listed of the tribe of Dan were 62,700.
40Of 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:
41those listed of the tribe of Asher were 41,500.
42Of 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:
43those listed of the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.
44These 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.
45So 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 —
46all those listed were 603,550.
47But the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe.
48For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
49"Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel.
50But 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.
51When 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.
52The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp and each man by his own standard.
53But 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."
54Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses.
Chapter 2
1The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2"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. 3Those 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, 4his company as listed being 74,600. 5Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, the chief of the people of Issachar being Nethanel the son of Zuar, 6his company as listed being 54,400. 7Then the tribe of Zebulun, the chief of the people of Zebulun being Eliab the son of Helon, 8his company as listed being 57,400. 9All those listed of the camp of Judah, by their companies, were 186,400. They shall set out first on the march.
10"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,
11his company as listed being 46,500.
12And 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,
13his company as listed being 59,300.
14Then the tribe of Gad, the chief of the people of Gad being Eliasaph the son of Reuel,
15his company as listed being 45,650.
16All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. They shall set out second.
18"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,
19his company as listed being 40,500.
20And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, the chief of the people of Manasseh being Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur,
21his company as listed being 32,200.
22Then the tribe of Benjamin, the chief of the people of Benjamin being Abidan the son of Gideoni,
23his company as listed being 35,400.
24All those listed of the camp of Ephraim, by their companies, were 108,100. They shall set out third on the march.
25"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,
26his company as listed being 62,700.
27And 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,
28his company as listed being 41,500.
29Then the tribe of Naphtali, the chief of the people of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan,
30his company as listed being 53,400.
31All those listed of the camp of Dan were 157,600. They shall set out last, standard by standard."
32These are the people of Israel as listed by their fathers ' houses. All those listed in the camps by their companies were 603,550.
33But the Levites were not listed among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Chapter 3
1These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.
5And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
6"Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him.
7They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle.
8They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle.
9And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel.
10And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death."
11And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
12"Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine,
13for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord."
14And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15"List the sons of Levi, by fathers ' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list."
16So Moses listed them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded.
17And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.
18And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei.
19And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers ' houses.
21To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites.
22Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 7,500.
23The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west,
24with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers ' house of the Gershonites.
25And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting,
26the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords — all the service connected with these.
27To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites.
28According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary.
29The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle,
30with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers ' house of the clans of the Kohathites.
31And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these.
32And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary.
33To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari.
34Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200.
35And the chief of the fathers ' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.
36And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these;
37also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords.
38Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death.
39All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the Lord, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000.
40And the Lord said to Moses, "List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names.
41And you shall take the Levites for me — I am the Lord — instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel."
42So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him.
43And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.
44And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
45"Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord.
46And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites,
47you shall take five shekels per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs ),
48and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over."
49So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites.
50From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary.
51And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Chapter 4
1The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2"Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers ' houses, 3from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. 5When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 9And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.
17The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
18"Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites,
19but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden,
20but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die."
21The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
22"Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers ' houses and by their clans.
23From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting.
24This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens:
25they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting
26and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them.
27All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry.
28This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
29"As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers ' houses.
30From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting.
31And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases,
32and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry.
33This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest."
34And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers ' houses,
35from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting;
36and those listed by clans were 2,750.
37This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.
38Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers ' houses,
39from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting —
40those listed by their clans and their fathers ' houses were 2,630.
41This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord.
42Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers ' houses,
43from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting —
44those listed by clans were 3,200.
45This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.
46All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers ' houses,
47from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting,
48those listed were 8,580.
49According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Chapter 5
1The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2"Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. 3You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell." 4And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.
5And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
6"Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt,
7he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong.
8But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him.
9And every contribution, all the holy donations of the people of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his.
10Each one shall keep his holy donations: whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his."
11And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
12"Speak to the people of Israel, If any man 's wife goes astray and breaks faith with him,
13if a man lies with her sexually, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, since she was not taken in the act,
14and if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself,
15then the man shall bring his wife to the priest and bring the offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
16"And the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord.
17And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.
18And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord and unbind the hair of the woman 's head and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And in his hand the priest shall have the water of bitterness that brings the curse.
19Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, ‘If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while you were under your husband 's authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse.
20But if you have gone astray, though you are under your husband 's authority, and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than your husband has lain with you,
21then’ (let the priest make the woman take the oath of the curse, and say to the woman) ‘the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh fall away and your body swell.
22May this water that brings the curse pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away.’ And the woman shall say, ‘Amen, Amen.’
23"Then the priest shall write these curses in a book and wash them off into the water of bitterness.
24And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain.
25And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman 's hand and shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar.
26And the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.
27And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman shall become a curse among her people.
28But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.
29"This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, though under her husband 's authority, goes astray and defiles herself,
30or when the spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife. Then he shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall carry out for her all this law.
31The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman shall bear her iniquity."
Chapter 6
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2"Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, 3he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. 4All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.
6"All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body.
7Not even for his father or for his mother, for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean, because his separation to God is on his head.
8All the days of his separation he is holy to the Lord.
9"And if any man dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it.
10On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest to the entrance of the tent of meeting,
11and the priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned by reason of the dead body. And he shall consecrate his head that same day
12and separate himself to the Lord for the days of his separation and bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering. But the previous period shall be void, because his separation was defiled.
13"And this is the law for the Nazirite, when the time of his separation has been completed: he shall be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting,
14and he shall bring his gift to the Lord, one male lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one ram without blemish as a peace offering,
15and a basket of unleavened bread, loaves of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and their grain offering and their drink offerings.
16And the priest shall bring them before the Lord and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering,
17and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer also its grain offering and its drink offering.
18And the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire that is under the sacrifice of the peace offering.
19And the priest shall take the shoulder of the ram, when it is boiled, and one unleavened loaf out of the basket and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite, after he has shaved the hair of his consecration,
20and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. They are a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed. And after that the Nazirite may drink wine.
