1Then Yahweh said this to Aaron and Moses/me:
2“When the Israelis set up their tents, they should set them up in areas that surround the Sacred Tent, but not close to it. The people of each tribe must set up their tents in a different area. Each tribe must erect in that area a banner of their own clan and a flag that represents their tribe.
3So there will be 86,400 troops on the east side of the Sacred Tent. Whenever the Israelis move to a new location, those three tribes must go in front of the others.
4So there will be 151,450 troops on the south side of the Sacred Tent. Those three tribes will follow the first group when the Israelis travel.
5Behind that group will walk the descendants of Levi, who will carry the Sacred Tent. The Israelis will march in the same order that they always set up their tents. Each tribe will carry its own flag.
6So there will be 108,100 troops on the west side of the Sacred Tent. Those three tribes will follow the second group, behind the descendants of Levi.
7So there will be 157,600 troops on the north side of the Sacred Tent. Those three tribes will be last. They must carry their own flags when the Israelis travel.”
8So there were 603,550 Israeli men who were able to fight who were listed according to their families’ ancestors.
9But just as Yahweh had commanded, the names of the descendants of Levi were not included.
10The Israelis did everything that Yahweh had told Moses/me. They set up their tents close to their tribal flags, and when they traveled to a new location, they walked with their own clans and family groups.