The Israelis traveled

11 On the twentieth day of May in the second year after the/we Israelis left Egypt, the cloud rose up from above the Sacred Tent. 12 So we/the Israelis traveled from the Sinai Desert, and we/they continued traveling north until the cloud stopped in the Paran Desert. 13 That was the first time we/they moved, obeying the instructions that Yahweh had given to Moses/me to tell them.

14 The group that went first, carrying their flag/banner, was the group from the tribe of Judah. Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, was their leader. 15 The group from the tribe of Issachar followed them. Nethanel, the son of Zuar, was their leader. 16 The group from the tribe of Zebulun went next. Eliab, the son of Helon, was their leader. 17 Then they dismantled the Sacred Tent, and the descendants of Gershon and Merari carried it, and they went next.

18 The group from the tribe of Reuben went next, carrying their flag. Elizur, the son of Shedeur, was their leader. 19 The group from the tribe of Simeon was next. Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, was their leader. 20 The group from the tribe of Gad was next. Eliasaph, the son of Deuel, was their leader. 21 The group descended from Kohath was next. They carried the sacred items from the Sacred Tent. The Sacred Tent itself was set up at the new location before they arrived there.

22 The group from the tribe of Ephraim was next, carrying their flag. Elishama, the son of Ammihud, was their leader. 23 The group from the tribe of Manasseh went next. Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, was their leader. 24 The group from the tribe of Benjamin, went next. Abidan, the son of Gideoni, was their leader.

25 The ones who went last were the group from the tribe of Dan, carrying their flag. Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, was their leader. 26 The group from the tribe of Asher went next. Pagiel, the son of Ocran, was their leader. 27 The group from the tribe of Naphtali went last. Ahira, the son of Enan, was their leader. 28 That was the order in which the groups of Israeli tribes traveled.

29 One day Moses/I said to his/my brother-in-law Hobab, the son of Reuel from the Midian people-group, “We are on the way to the place that Yahweh promised to give to us. Come with us, and we will take good care of you, because Yahweh has promised to do good things for us Israeli people.”

30 But Hobab replied, “No, I will not go with you. I want to return to my own land and to my own family.”

31 But Moses/I said, “Please do not leave us. You know the places where we can set up our tents in this desert, and you can guide us. 32 Come with us. We will share with you all the good things that Yahweh gives to us.”

33 So Hobab agreed to go with them. The Israelis left Sinai Mountain, which they called Yahweh’s Mountain, and they walked for three days. The men carrying the sacred chest went in front of the other people for those three days, and they kept looking for a place to set up their tents. 34 The cloud sent by Yahweh was over them every day.

35 Each morning when the men who were carrying the sacred chest started to walk, Moses/I said,

“Yahweh, arise!

Scatter your enemies!

Cause those who hate you to run away from you!”

36 And each time the men stopped to set down the sacred chest, Moses/I said,

“Yahweh, stay close to the thousands of us Israelis!”