Numbers 1:46-53

⁴⁶The total was 603,550 men.

⁴⁷But this number did not include the names of the men of the tribe of Levi,

⁴⁸because Yahweh had said to Moses/me,

⁴⁹“When you ◄count/write the names of► the men of the tribes of Israel, do not count the men in the tribe of Levi.

⁵⁰Appoint the male descendants of Levi to take care of the Sacred Tent and the chest inside it that contains the tablets on which are written the Ten Commandments. They must also take care of the other things that are inside the tent. When you travel, they are the ones who must carry the tent and all the things that are inside it, and they must take care of it and set up their tents around it.

⁵¹Whenever it is time for all of you to move to another location, the descendants of Levi are the ones who must dismantle the tent. And when it is time to stop traveling, they are the ones who must set up the Sacred Tent again. Any other person who goes near the Sacred Tent to do this work must be executed.

⁵²The people of each Israeli tribe must set up their tents in their own area, and they must set up a flag/banner that represents their tribe.

⁵³But the male descendants of Levi must set up their tents around the Sacred Tent, in order to protect the other Israeli people from being punished MTY by Yahweh for coming close to the Sacred Tent. The descendants of Levi are the ones who must stand around the Sacred Tent to guard it.”