The king of Arad, the Canaanite king who lived in the south of the land of Canaan, heard about the approach of the Israelites.

These are the ones whom the Lord commanded to divide up the inheritance among the Israelites in the land of Canaan.

And take ¹  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.”

For they are entirely given ¹  to me from among the Israelites. I have taken them for myself instead of ²  all who open the womb, the firstborn sons of all the Israelites.

So Moses and Aaron and the entire community of the Israelites did this with the Levites. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, this is what the Israelites did with them.

Whenever the cloud was taken up ¹  from the tabernacle, then after that the Israelites would begin their journey; and in whatever place ²  the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp.

Does it seem too small a thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the community of Israel to bring you near to himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the community to minister to them?

But I have given ¹  to the Levites for an inheritance the tithes of the Israelites that are offered ²  to the Lord as a raised offering. That is why I said to them that among the Israelites they are to have no inheritance.”

But Sihon did not permit Israel to pass through his border; he ¹  gathered all his forces ²  together and went out against Israel into the wilderness. When ³  he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel.

Just then ¹  one of the Israelites came and brought to his brothers ²  a Midianite woman in the plain view of Moses and of ³  the whole community of the Israelites, while they ⁴  were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

“Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites, when he manifested such zeal ¹  for my sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in my zeal. ² 

Those of them who were numbered were 23,000, all males from a month old and upward, for they were not numbered among the Israelites; no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites.

And every daughter who possesses an inheritance from any of the tribes of the Israelites must become the wife of a man from any family in her father’s tribe, so that every Israelite ¹  may retain the inheritance of his fathers.

“Take a census ¹  of the entire ²  Israelite community ³  by their clans and families, ⁴  counting the name of every individual male. ⁵ 

These were the men whom Moses and Aaron numbered ¹  along with the twelve leaders of Israel, each of whom ²  was from his own family.

All the Israelites who were twenty years old or older, who could serve in Israel’s army, were numbered ¹  according to their families.

“Only the tribe of Levi ¹  you must not number ²  or count ³  with ⁴  the other Israelites.

But the Levites must camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that the Lord’s anger ¹  will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are responsible for the care ²  of the tabernacle of the testimony.”

“Every one ¹  of the Israelites must camp ²  under his standard with the emblems of his family; ³  they must camp at some distance ⁴  around the tent of meeting. ⁵ 

These are the Israelites, numbered according to their families. ¹  All those numbered in the camps, by their divisions, are 603,550.