Numbers 1:46-53

⁴⁶They counted 603,550 men.

⁴⁷But the men who were descended from Levi were not counted,

⁴⁸because Yahweh had said to Moses,

⁴⁹“You must not count the tribe of Levi or include them in the total of the people of Israel.

⁵⁰Instead, assign the Levites to care for the tabernacle of the covenant decrees, and to care for all the furnishings in the tabernacle and for everything in it. The Levites must carry the tabernacle, and they must carry the tabernacle's furnishings. They must care for the tabernacle and make their camp around it.

⁵¹When the tabernacle is to move to another place, the Levites must take it down. When the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites must set it up. Any stranger who comes near the tabernacle must be killed.

⁵²When the people of Israel set up their tents, each man must do so near the banner that belongs to his armed group.

⁵³However, the Levites must set up their tents around the tabernacle of the covenant decrees so that my anger does not come upon the people of Israel. The Levites must care for the tabernacle of the covenant decrees.”