Numbers 31

1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying:

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

Exact thou the avenging of the sons of Israel, from the Midianites, —and, afterwards, shalt thou be withdrawn unto thy kinsfolk.

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 spake unto the people saying, Arm ye from among you men, for the war, and let them go against Midian, to render the avenging of Yahweh upon Midian.

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

A thousand from each tribe, —of all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send forth unto the war.

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

And there volunteered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of each tribe, —twelve thousand, 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 a thousand of each tribe to the war, —them, and Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary, and the alarm trumpets, in his hand.

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

So they made war upon Midian, as Yahweh had commanded Moses, and slew 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.

and the kings of Midian, slew they besides their other slain namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian, —Balaam also, son of Beor, slew they 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.

And the sons of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, —all their cattle also and all their flocks and all their substance, carried they off as a prey;

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

all their cities also in their sites, and all their encampments, burned they up with fire.

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

Then took they all the spoil, and all the booty, —both of 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 brought in unto Moses and unto Eleazar the priest and unto the assembly of the sons of Israel—the captives and the booty, and the spoil unto the camp, —unto the waste plains of Moab, which are by Jordan, near Jericho.

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

And Moses, and Eleazar the priest and all the princes of the assembly, went forth to meet them, —unto the outside of the camp.

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.

Then was Moses sore displeased with the officers of the force, —the princes of thousands, and the princes of hundreds who were coming in from the warring host.

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

And Moses said unto them, —Have ye saved alive every female?

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.

Lo! they, became unto the sons of Israel, by the advice of Balaam, the cause of daring acts of treachery against Yahweh, over the affair of Peor, —and then came the plague against the assembly of Yahweh!

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

Now, therefore, slay ye every male among the young, —every woman also that hath cohabited with man, slay ye.

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

But all the young of womankind that have, not cohabited with man, preserve alive 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.

Ye, then, pitch outside the camp, for seven days, —whosoever hath killed a person and whoever hath touched the slain, cleanse yourselves (from sin) on the third day and on the seventh day ye and your captives,

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.”

Every garment also, and every article of skin and every thing made of goat’s-hair, and every article of wood, shall ye cleanse (from sin).

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 said Eleazar the priest unto the men of the host, who had been to the war: This, is the statute of the law, which Yahweh hath commanded Moses:

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

Surely the gold and the silver, —the bronze the iron, the tin and the 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.

whatsoever thing can go into fire, ye shall pass through fire and it shall be clean, only with the water of separation, shall ye cleanse it (from sin). But whatsoever cannot go into fire, ye shall pass through water.

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

And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and be clean, —and after-wards, shall ye come into the camp.

25 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying:

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;

Reckon thou up the sum of the booty that was captured, both of man and of beast, —thou and Eleazar the priest, and the ancestral heads of the assembly;

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

and divide the booty into two parts, between them who took upon them the war, who went out in the host, —and all the [rest of the] assembly.

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.

Then shalt thou levy a tribute unto Yahweh—from the men of war, who went forth in the host, one living thing, out of five hundred, —of the human beings, and of the herd, and of the asses and of the flock:

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

out of their half, shall ye take [them], —and thou shall give [them] unto Eleazar the priest as a heave-offering unto Yahweh.

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 out of the half allotted to the sons of Israel, shalt thou take one allotted portion out of fifty of the human beings, of the herd, of the asses and of the flock of all the cattle, —and shalt give them unto the Levites, who keep the charge of the habitation of Yahweh.

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

And Moses and Eleazar the priest did, —As Yahweh commanded Moses.

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

And it came to pass that the booty, over and above the prey which the people of the host had seized, was, —of the flock, six hundred and seventy-five thousand;

33 seventy-two thousand head of cattle,

and, of the herd, seventy-two thousand;

34 sixty-one thousand donkeys,

and, of the asses, sixty-one thousand;

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

and, of the human persons, even of the woman-kind who had not cohabited with man, —all the persons, thirty-two thousand.

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, the share of them who had gone forth in the host, was, —the number of the flock—three hundred and thirty-seven thousand and five hundred;

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

and so, the tribute unto Yahweh, out of the flock, was—six hundred and seventy-five;

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

and the herd, thirty-six thousand, —and the tribute of them unto Yahweh—seventy-two;

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

and the asses, thirty thousand and five hundred, —and the tribute of them unto Yahweh, sixty-one;

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

and the human persons, sixteen thousand, —and the tribute of them unto Yahweh, 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 tribute—the heave-offering of Yahweh, unto Eleazar the priest, —As Yahweh commanded Moses.

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

And, of the half, allotted unto the sons of Israel, —which Moses halved away from the men who had gone out in the host,

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

the half allotted unto the assembly, was—of the flock, three hundred and thirty-seven thousand, and five hundred;

44 thirty-six thousand head of cattle,

and, of the herd, six and thirty thousand;

45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,

and, of asses, thirty thousand and five hundred;

46 and sixteen thousand persons),

and, human persons, sixteen thousand.

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.

So then Moses took—out of the half belonging to the sons of Israel the allotted portion one out of fifty, of the human beings and of the beasts, —and gave them unto the Levites, the keepers of the charge of the habitation of Yahweh, As Yahweh commanded 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 came near unto Moses the officers who belonged unto the thousands of the host, —the princes of thousands and the princes of hundreds;

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 unto Moses, Thy servants have reckoned up the sum of the men of war who are in our hand, —and there is not missed from among us, a man!

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.”

Therefore have we brought near an offering unto Yahweh, what, each man, hath found—articles of gold, ankle chains and bracelets, rings earrings and buckles, —to put a propitiatory-covering over our souls before Yahweh.

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

So Moses, and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, —all the wrought articles.

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 all the gold of the heave-offering which they offered up unto Yahweh, was—sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, —of the princes of thousands, and of the princes of hundreds.

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

The men of the host, had taken prey, each man for himself.

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.

So then Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the princes of thousands, and hundreds, —and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the sons of Israel before Yahweh.