A Census of Israel's Warriors

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.

Levites Exempted

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.

Great Is the Lord

Of David.

¹Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;

fight against those who fight against me!

²Take hold of shield and buckler

and rise for my help!

³Draw the spear and javelin1

against my pursuers!

Say to my soul,

“I am your salvation!”

⁴Let them be put to shame and dishonor

who seek after my life!

Let them be turned back and disappointed

who devise evil against me!

⁵Let them be like chaff before the wind,

with the angel of the Lord driving them away!

⁶Let their way be dark and slippery,

with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

⁷For without cause they hid their net for me;

without cause they dug a pit for my life.2

⁸Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!

And let the net that he hid ensnare him;

let him fall into it—to his destruction!

⁹Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,

exulting in his salvation.

¹⁰All my bones shall say,

“O Lord, who is like you,

delivering the poor

from him who is too strong for him,

the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

¹¹Malicious3 witnesses rise up;

they ask me of things that I do not know.

¹²They repay me evil for good;

my soul is bereft.4

¹³But I, when they were sick—

I wore sackcloth;

I afflicted myself with fasting;

I prayed with head bowed5 on my chest.

¹⁴I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;

as one who laments his mother,

I bowed down in mourning.

¹⁵But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;

they gathered together against me;

wretches whom I did not know

tore at me without ceasing;

¹⁶like profane mockers at a feast,6

they gnash at me with their teeth.

¹⁷How long, O Lord, will you look on?

Rescue me from their destruction,

my precious life from the lions!

¹⁸I will thank you in the great congregation;

in the mighty throng I will praise you.

¹⁹Let not those rejoice over me

who are wrongfully my foes,

and let not those wink the eye

who hate me without cause.

²⁰For they do not speak peace,

but against those who are quiet in the land

they devise words of deceit.

²¹They open wide their mouths against me;

they say, “Aha, Aha!

Our eyes have seen it!”

²²You have seen, O Lord; be not silent!

O Lord, be not far from me!

²³Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication,

for my cause, my God and my Lord!

²⁴Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,

according to your righteousness,

and let them not rejoice over me!

²⁵Let them not say in their hearts,

“Aha, our heart's desire!”

Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”

²⁶Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether

who rejoice at my calamity!

Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor

who magnify themselves against me!

²⁷Let those who delight in my righteousness

shout for joy and be glad

and say evermore,

“Great is the Lord,

who delights in the welfare of his servant!”

²⁸Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness

and of your praise all the day long.

Cast Your Bread upon the Waters

¹Cast your bread upon the waters,

for you will find it after many days.

²Give a portion to seven, or even to eight,

for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.

³If the clouds are full of rain,

they empty themselves on the earth,

and if a tree falls to the south or to the north,

in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.

⁴He who observes the wind will not sow,

and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

⁵As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb1 of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

⁶In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

⁷Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.

⁸So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.2

⁹Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

¹⁰Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain3 from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Be Ready for Every Good Work

¹Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, ²to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. ³For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. ⁴But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. ⁸The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. ⁹But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. ¹⁰As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, ¹¹knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Final Instructions and Greetings

¹²When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. ¹³Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. ¹⁴And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.

¹⁵All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with you all.