Numbers 31

1 And the LORD said to Moses,

Then the Lord said to Moses,

2 “Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will 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 So Moses told the people, “Arm some of your men for war, that they may go against the Midianites and execute the LORD’s vengeance on them.

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 Send into battle a thousand men from each tribe of Israel.”

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

5 So a thousand men were recruited from each tribe of Israel—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 And Moses sent the thousand from each tribe into battle, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took with him the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling.

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 Then they waged war against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and 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 Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam 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 Israelites captured the Midianite women and their children, and they plundered all their herds, flocks, and goods.

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 Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites had lived, as well as all their encampments,

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

11 and carried away all the plunder and spoils, both people and animals.

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

12 They brought the captives, spoils, and plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of Israel at the camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from 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 And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went to meet them outside 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 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who were returning from the battle.

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 “Have you spared all the women?” he asked them.

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

16 “Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck 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 So now, kill all the boys, as well as every woman who has had relations with a man,

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

18 but spare for yourselves every girl who has never had relations with a man.

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

19 All of you who have killed a person or touched the dead are to remain outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and the seventh day you are to purify both yourselves 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 And purify every garment and leather good, everything made of goat’s hair, and every article of wood.”

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

21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into 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 Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead—

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

23 everything that can withstand the fire—must be put through the fire, and it will be clean. But it must still be purified with the water of purification. And everything that cannot withstand the fire must pass 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 On the seventh day you are to wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may enter 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 said to Moses,

And the Lord said to Moses,

26 “You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads of the congregation are to take a count of what was captured, both of man and beast.

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 Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to battle and the rest of 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 Set aside a tribute for the LORD from what belongs to the soldiers who went into battle: one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, or sheep.

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 as an offering to the LORD.

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

30 From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every fifty, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep, or other animals, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.”

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 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD had commanded Moses,

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

32 and this plunder remained from the spoils the soldiers had taken: 675,000 sheep,

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

33 72,000 cattle,

And seventy-two thousand oxen,

34 61,000 donkeys,

And sixty-one thousand asses;

35 and 32,000 women who had not slept with a man.

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

36 This was the half portion for those who had gone to war: 337,500 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 including a tribute to the LORD of 675,

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

38 36,000 cattle, including a tribute to the LORD of 72,

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

39 30,500 donkeys, including a tribute to the LORD of 61,

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

40 and 16,000 people, including a tribute to the LORD of 32.

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

41 Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as an offering for the LORD, as the LORD had 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 From the Israelites’ half, which Moses had set apart from the men who had gone to war,

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

43 this half belonged to the congregation: 337,500 sheep,

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

44 36,000 cattle,

And thirty-six thousand oxen,

45 30,500 donkeys,

And thirty thousand, five hundred asses,

46 and 16,000 people.

And sixteen thousand persons; )

47 From the Israelites’ half, Moses took one out of every fifty persons and animals and gave them to the Levites who kept charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD had commanded him.

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 Then the officers who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and of hundreds—approached Moses

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

49 and said, “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one of us is missing.

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 So we have brought to the LORD an offering of the gold articles each man acquired—armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves 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 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them all the articles made out of gold.

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

52 All the gold that the commanders of thousands and of hundreds presented as an offering to the LORD weighed 16,750 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 Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself.

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

54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the Tent of Meeting as a memorial for the Israelites 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.