[11] Then the LORD said to Moses, [12] “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the LORD a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. [13] Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD. [14] All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the LORD. [15] The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives. [16] Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD, making atonement for your lives.”
