¹Then the Lord spoke to Moses and said, ²“Make two silver trumpets for yourself. You will make them as beaten work, and they will be for you for convoking the congregation and for moving the camps. ³And when they blow them, all the congregation will gather round you at the entrance to the tent of contact. ⁴And if they blow just one trumpet, then the leaders will gather round you – the heads of the thousands of Israel. ⁵And when you sound a signal to move, the camps encamped on the east will move. ⁶And when you sound a second signal to move, then the camps encamped to the south will move. They will sound a signal to move for their journeys. ⁷And when you convene the assembly, you will blow, but you will not sound a signal to move. ⁸And the sons of Aaron – the priests – will blow the trumpets, and these things will be an age-abiding statute to you and to your descendants. ⁹And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you will sound the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies. ¹⁰And on a joyous day of yours, and at your festivals, and on the first day of your months, you will blow the trumpets at your burnt offerings and at your peace-sacrifices, and they will be a memorial to you before your God. I am the Lord your God.” ¹¹And it came to pass in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, that the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle of the testimony. ¹²So the sons of Israel moved and went on their travels from the Sinai Desert, and the cloud settled in the Desert of Paran. ¹³And they moved for the first time at the Lord's command through the intermediacy of Moses. ¹⁴And the ensign of the camp of the sons of Judah moved first in their armies, and in charge of its army was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. ¹⁵And in charge of the army of the tribe of the sons of Issachar was Nethaneel the son of Zuar. ¹⁶And in charge of the army of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. ¹⁷And the tabernacle was taken down, and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari moved, bearing the tabernacle. ¹⁸And the ensign of the camp of Reuben moved according to their armies, and in charge of its army was Elizur the son of Shedeur. ¹⁹And in charge of the army of the tribe of the sons of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. ²⁰And in charge of the army of the tribe of the sons of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. ²¹And the Kohathites moved – the bearers of the sanctuary – and they set the tabernacle up before the rest arrived. ²²And the ensign of the camp of the sons of Ephraim moved according to their armies, and in charge of its army was Elishama the son of Ammihud. ²³And in charge of the army of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. ²⁴And in charge of the army of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. ²⁵And the ensign of the camp of the sons of Dan moved, keeping the rearguard of all the camps according to their armies. And in charge of his army was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶And in charge of the army of the tribe of the sons of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ocran. ²⁷And in charge of the army of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. ²⁸These were the removal operations of the sons of Israel according to their armies when they moved. ²⁹And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are moving to the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well, for the Lord has spoken of well-being concerning Israel.” ³⁰But he said to him, “I will not go. Rather, I will go to my land and to my native country.” ³¹Then he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know how we should encamp in the desert, and you will be our eyes. ³²And it will come to pass if you go with us, that we will treat you well with the same goodness with which the Lord treats us well.” ³³And they moved from the mountain of the Lord, three days' journey, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord travelled in front of them for the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them. ³⁴And the Lord's cloud was over them by day as they travelled from the camp. ³⁵And it came to pass, as the ark was travelling, that Moses said,

“Arise, O Lord,

And let your enemies be scattered,

And let those who hate you

Flee from your presence.”

³⁶And when it rested, he said,

“Return, O Lord,

To the very many thousands of Israel.”