16. Eliab son of Helon was over the division of the tribe of Zebulun.
17. Then the Meeting Tent was taken down. The Gershonites and Merarites, who carried it, moved next.
18. Then came the divisions from the camp of Reuben under their flag. Elizur son of Shedeur was the commander.
19. Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was over the division of the tribe of Simeon.
20. Eliasaph son of Deuel was over the division of the tribe of Gad.
21. Then came the Kohathites. They carried the holy things. The Holy Tent was to be set up before they arrived.
22. Next came the divisions from the camp of Ephraim under their flag. Elishama son of Ammihud was the commander.
23. Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of Manasseh.
24. Abidan son of Gideoni was over the division of the tribe of Benjamin.
25. The last ones were the rear guard for all the tribes. These were the divisions from the camp of Dan under their flag. Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai was the commander.
26. Pagiel son of Ocran was over the division of the tribe of Asher.
27. Ahira son of Enan was over the division of the tribe of Naphtali.
28. This was the order the Israelite divisions marched in when they moved.
29. Hobab was the son of Reuel the Midianite. Reuel, who is also called Jethro, was Moses’ father-in-law. Moses said to Hobab, “We are moving to the land God promised to give us. Come with us. We will be good to you. The Lord has promised good things to Israel.”
30. But Hobab answered, “No, I will not go. I will go back to my own land where I was born.”
31. But Moses said, “Please don’t leave us. You know where we can camp in the desert. You can be our guide.
32. Come with us. We will share with you all the good things the Lord gives us.”
33. So they left the mountain of the Lord. The Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went in front of the people. For three days they looked for a place to camp.
34. The Lord’s cloud was over them during the day when they left their camp.