Numbers 1:3

You and Aaron are to number ¹  all in Israel who can serve in the army, ²  those who are ³  twenty years old or older, ⁴  by their divisions. ⁵ 

You and Aaron are to number by their divisions all the men in Israel twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army.

from twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go out to war in Israel, you and Aaron shall number them by their armies.

twenty years old or older who are able to go to war. You and Aaron are to direct the project,

You and Aaron are to register, company by company, every man who is twenty years and older who is able to fight in the army.

All those of twenty years old and over, who are able to go to war in Israel, are to be numbered by you and Aaron.

from twenty years old and upward, everyone in Israel able to go to war. You and Aaron shall enroll them, company by company.

"from twenty years old and above––all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies.

You and Aaron are to number ¹  all in Israel who can serve in the army, ²  those who are ³  twenty years old or older, ⁴  by their divisions. ⁵ 

¹ tn The verb (פָּקַד, paqad) means “to visit, appoint, muster, number.” The word is a common one in scripture. It has as its basic meaning the idea of “determining the destiny” of someone, by appointing, mustering, or visiting. When God “visits,” it is a divine intervention for either blessing or cursing. Here it is the taking of a census for war (see G. André, Determining the Destiny [ConBOT], 16).

² tn The construction uses the participle “going out” followed by the noun “army.” It describes everyone “going out in a military group,” meaning serving in the army. It was the duty of every able-bodied Israelite to serve in this “peoples” army. There were probably exemptions for the infirm or the crippled, but every male over twenty was chosen. For a discussion of warfare, see P. C. Craigie, The Problem of War in the Old Testament, and P. D. Miller, “The Divine Council and the Prophetic Call to War,” VT 18 (1968): 100-107.

³ tn The text simply has “from twenty years old and higher.”

⁴ tn Heb “and up.”

⁵ tn The noun (צָבָא, tsava’) means “army” or “military group.” But the word can also be used for nonmilitary divisions of labor (Num 4:3).