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.

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

“Only the tribe of Levi you must not number or count with the other Israelites.

But the Levites must camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that the Lord’s anger will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are responsible for the care of the tabernacle of the testimony.”

“Every one of the Israelites must camp under his standard with the emblems of his family; they must camp at some distance around the tent of meeting.

These are the Israelites, numbered according to their families. All those numbered in the camps, by their divisions, are 603,550.

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.

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.

“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.

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

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

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

“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,

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him,

“Speak to the Israelites, and tell them, ‘When either a man or a woman takes a special vow, to take a vow as a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord,

“Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the way you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their clans, made an offering. They were the leaders of the tribes; they were the ones who had been supervising the numbering.

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.

For all the firstborn males among the Israelites are mine, both humans and animals; when I destroyed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I set them apart for myself.

At the commandment of the Lord the Israelites would begin their journey, and at the commandment of the Lord they would make camp; as long as the cloud remained settled over the tabernacle they would camp.