Numbers 2

EasyEnglish Bible

Where the tribes put up their tents

2 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² ‘The Israelites must put up their tents on each side of the Tent of Meeting. They must not be very near to it but they must be all around it. They must live together in their tribes. Each person must be with his own tribe. Each tribe must have its own flag.^[a]

³ The people in Judah's tribe must be on the east side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them, and they must put up their tents in groups. The leader of the tribe of Judah is Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. ⁴ There will be 74,600 soldiers in his army.

⁵ The tribe of Issachar will put up their tents on one side of Judah's camp. The leader of the tribe of Issachar is Nethanel, the son of Zuar. ⁶ There will be 54,400 soldiers in his army.

⁷ The tribe of Zebulun will be on the other side of Judah's camp. The leader of the tribe of Zebulun is Eliab, the son of Helon. ⁸ There will be 57,400 soldiers in his army.

⁹ So there will be 186,400 soldiers in the three groups on Judah's side of the camp. When the people travel, these tribes will march first.

¹⁰ The tribe of Reuben must be on the south side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them, and they must put up their tents in groups. The leader of the tribe of Reuben is Elizur, the son of Shedeur. ¹¹ There will be 46,500 soldiers in his army.

¹² The tribe of Simeon will put up their tents on one side of Reuben's camp. The leader of the tribe of Simeon is Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai. ¹³ There will be 59,300 soldiers in his army.

¹⁴ The tribe of Gad will be on the other side of Reuben's camp. The leader of the tribe of Gad is Eliasaph, the son of Deuel. ¹⁵ There will be 45,650 soldiers in his army.

¹⁶ So there will be 151,450 soldiers in the three groups on Reuben's side of the camp. When the people travel, they will march second.

¹⁷ The Levites must march next. The Levites must carry the Tent of Meeting. They must march between the first two groups of tribes and the last two groups of tribes. Each man must be in his own place. They must march with their flag.

¹⁸ The tribe of Ephraim must be on the west side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them and they must live in groups. The leader of the tribe of Ephraim is Elishama, the son of Ammihud. ¹⁹ There will be 40,500 soldiers in his army.

²⁰ The tribe of Manasseh will be on one side of Ephraim's camp. The leader of the tribe of Manasseh is Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur. ²¹ There will be 32,200 soldiers in his army.

²² The tribe of Benjamin will be on the other side of Ephraim's camp. The leader of the tribe of Benjamin is Abidan, the son of Gideoni. ²³ There will be 35,400 soldiers in his army.

²⁴ So there will be 108,100 soldiers in the three groups on Ephraim's side of the camp. When the people travel, they will march third.

²⁵ The tribe of Dan must be on the north side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them and they must live in groups. The leader of the tribe of Dan is Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶ There will be 62,700 soldiers in his army.

²⁷ The tribe of Asher will put up their tents on one side of Dan's camp. The leader of the tribe of Asher is Pagiel, the son of Ocran. ²⁸ There will be 41,500 soldiers in his army.

²⁹ The tribe of Naphtali will be on the other side of Dan's camp. The leader of the tribe of Naphtali is Ahira, the son of Enan. ³⁰ There will be 53,400 soldiers in his army.

³¹ So there will be 157,600 soldiers in the three groups on Dan's side of the camp. They will march last with their flag.’

³² In that way, Moses and his helpers counted all the Israelite men who were able to fight. They counted them in groups, clan by clan. There were 603,550 soldiers. ³³ They did not count the Levites among the other Israelites. That was what the Lord had told Moses.

³⁴ The Israelites did everything that the Lord had told Moses. They put up their tents in groups, as the Lord wanted. Each tribe put up its tents under its own flag. When they started to travel, each man walked with his own clan and his own family.