Numbers 31

1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Then the Lord said to Moses,

2 “Avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”

Give the Midianites punishment for the wrong they did to the children of Israel: and after that you will go to rest with your people.

3 Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the LORD’s vengeance on Midian.

So Moses said to the people, Let men from among you be armed for war to put into effect against Midian the Lord's punishment on them.

4 You shall send one thousand out of every tribe, throughout all the tribes of Israel, to the war.”

From every tribe of Israel send a thousand to the war.

5 So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

So from the thousands of Israel a thousand were taken from every tribe, twelve thousand men armed for war.

6 Moses sent them, one thousand of every tribe, to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.

And Moses sent them out to war, a thousand from every tribe, and with them Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, taking in his hands the vessels of the holy place and the horns for sounding the note of war.

7 They fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses. They killed every male.

And they made war on Midian, as the Lord gave orders to Moses; and they put to death every male.

8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.

They put the kings of Midian to death with the rest, Evi and Reken and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian: and Balaam, the son of Beor, they put to death with the sword.

9 The children of Israel took the women of Midian captive with their little ones; and all their livestock, all their flocks, and all their goods, they took as plunder.

The women of Midian with their little ones the children of Israel took prisoner; and all their cattle and flocks and all their goods they took for themselves;

10 All their cities in the places in which they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire.

And after burning all their towns and all their tent-circles,

11 They took all the captives, and all the plunder, both of man and of animal.

They went away with the goods they had taken, man and beast.

12 They brought the captives with the prey and the plunder, to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho.

And the prisoners and the goods and everything they had taken, they took to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the people of Israel, to the tent-circle in the lowlands of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

13 Moses and Eleazar the priest, with all the princes of the congregation, went out to meet them outside of the camp.

Then Moses and Eleazar the priest and the chiefs of the people went out to them before they had come into the tent-circle.

14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war.

And Moses was angry with the chiefs of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds who had come back from the war.

15 Moses said to them, “Have you saved all the women alive?

And Moses said to them, Why have you kept all the women safe?

16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD.

It was these who, moved by Balaam, were the cause of Israel's sin against the Lord in the question of Peor, because of which disease came on the people of the Lord.

17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

So now put every male child to death, and every woman who has had sex relations with a man.

18 But all the girls, who have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

But all the female children who have had no sex relations with men, you may keep for yourselves.

19 “Encamp outside of the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, you and your captives.

You yourselves will have to keep outside the tent-circle for seven days, anyone of you who has put any person to death or come near a dead body; and on the third day and on the seventh day make yourselves and your prisoners clean.

20 You shall purify every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.”

And every bit of clothing, and anything made of leather or goats' hair or wood, you are to make clean.

21 Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses.

Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had been to the fight, This is the rule of the law which the Lord has given to Moses:

22 However the gold, and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

But gold and silver and brass and iron and tin and lead,

23 everything that may withstand the fire, you shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water for impurity. All that does not withstand the fire you shall make to go through the water.

And anything which may be heated, is to go through the fire and be made clean; but in addition it is to be put in the water of cleaning: and anything which may not go through the fire is to be put in the water.

24 You shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. Afterward you shall come into the camp.”

And on the seventh day, after washing your clothing, you will be clean, and then you may come into the tent-circle.

25 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

And the Lord said to Moses,

26 “Count the plunder that was taken, both of man and of animal, you, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the congregation;

Get an account of everything which was taken in the war, of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of families of the people:

27 and divide the plunder into two parts: between the men skilled in war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation.

And let division be made of it into two parts, one for the men of war who went out to the fight, and one for all the people:

28 Levy a tribute to the LORD of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred; of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks.

And from the men of war who went out let there be offered to the Lord one out of every five hundred, from the persons, and from the oxen and asses and sheep:

29 Take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for the LORD’s wave offering.

Take this from their part and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to be lifted up to the Lord.

30 Of the children of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the livestock, and give them to the Levites, who perform the duty of the LORD’s tabernacle.”

And from the part given to the children of Israel, take one out of every fifty, from the persons, and from the oxen and asses and sheep, and give it to the Levites who have the care of the House of the Lord.

31 Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.

So Eleazar and Moses did as the Lord had given orders to Moses.

32 Now the plunder, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,

Now the beasts taken, in addition to what the fighting-men took for themselves, were six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep,

33 seventy-two thousand head of cattle,

And seventy-two thousand oxen,

34 sixty-one thousand donkeys,

And sixty-one thousand asses;

35 and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of the women who had not known man by lying with him.

And thirty-two thousand persons, that is, women who had never had sex relations with a man.

36 The half, which was the portion of those who went out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep;

And the half given as their part to the men who went to the war, was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand, five hundred sheep,

37 and the LORD’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred seventy-five.

Of which the Lord's part was six hundred and seventy-five.

38 The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was seventy-two.

The number of oxen was thirty-six thousand, of which the Lord's part was seventy-two;

39 The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the LORD’s tribute was sixty-one.

The number of asses was thirty thousand, five hundred, of which the Lord's part was sixty-one.

40 The persons were sixteen thousand, of whom the LORD’s tribute was thirty-two persons.

And the number of persons was sixteen thousand, of which the Lord's part was thirty-two persons.

41 Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD’s wave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.

And Moses gave the Lord's part, lifted up as an offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord had given orders to Moses.

42 Of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided off from the men who fought

And from the half given to the children of Israel, which Moses had kept separate from that given to the fighting-men,

43 (now the congregation’s half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,

(Now the people's half was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand, five hundred sheep,

44 thirty-six thousand head of cattle,

And thirty-six thousand oxen,

45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,

And thirty thousand, five hundred asses,

46 and sixteen thousand persons),

And sixteen thousand persons; )

47 even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of animal, and gave them to the Levites, who performed the duty of the LORD’s tabernacle, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Even from the children of Israel's half, Moses took one out of every fifty, men and beasts, and gave them to the Levites who had the care of the House of the Lord; as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

48 The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses.

Then the men in authority over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came to Moses,

49 They said to Moses, “Your servants have taken the sum of the men of war who are under our command, and there lacks not one man of us.

And said to him, Your servants have taken note of the number of all the fighting-men under our orders, and every one is present;

50 We have brought the LORD’s offering, what every man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before the LORD.”

And we have here an offering for the Lord from what every man took in the war, ornaments of gold, leg-chains and arm-rings, finger-rings, ear-rings, and neck-ornaments, to make our souls free from sin before the Lord.

51 Moses and Eleazar the priest took their gold, even all worked jewels.

So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, even all the worked ornaments.

52 All the gold of the wave offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels.

And the gold which the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds gave, as an offering to be lifted up before the Lord, came to sixteen thousand, seven hundred and fifty shekels.

53 The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.

(For every man of the army had taken goods for himself in the war.)

54 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Meeting for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.

Then Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold given by the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and took it into the Tent of meeting, to be a sign in memory of the children of Israel before the Lord.