Numbers 25

1 Now when Israel was living in Shittim the people became false to the Lord, doing evil with the daughters of Moab:

When the Israelites were staying at Shittim the men started to have sex with Moabite women

2 For they sent for the people to be present at the offerings made to their gods; and the people took part in their feasts and gave honour to their gods.

who invited them to the sacrifices made to their gods. The Israelites ate the pagan meals and bowed down before these gods.

3 So Israel had relations with the women of Moab in honour of the Baal of Peor: and the Lord was moved to wrath against Israel.

In this way the Israelites devoted themselves in worship to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry with them.

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, Take all the chiefs of the people, hanging them up in the sun before the Lord, so that the wrath of the Lord may be turned from Israel.

The Lord told Moses, “Arrest all the Israelite leaders and kill them before the Lord where everyone can see in order to turn the Lord's furious anger away from the people.”

5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, Let everyone put to death those of his men who have had relations with the women of Moab in honour of the Baal of Peor.

So Moses instructed Israel's judges, “Each of you has to kill all of your men who have devoted themselves to worshiping Baal of Peor.”

6 Then one of the children of Israel came to his brothers, taking with him a woman of Midian, before the eyes of Moses and all the meeting of the people, while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of meeting.

Right then an Israelite man brought a Midianite woman to his family tent in full view of Moses and all the Israelites as they were crying at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

7 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, seeing it, got up from among the people and took a spear in his hand,

When he saw this, Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, left the assembly, grabbed a spear

8 And went after the man of Israel into the tent, driving the spear through the two of them, through the man of Israel and through the stomach of the woman. So the disease was stopped among the children of Israel.

and followed the man into his tent. There Phinehas drove the spear through both of them, through the Israelite and on into the woman's stomach. This action stopped the plague that had started to kill the Israelites,

9 But twenty-four thousand of them had come to their death by the disease.

but 24,000 had already died.

10 And the Lord said to Moses,

The Lord told Moses,

11 Through Phinehas, and because of his passion for my honour, my wrath has been turned away from the children of Israel, so that I have not sent destruction on them all in my wrath.

“Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites, because out of all of them he was passionately dedicated to me, so I did not destroy the Israelites in my passionate anger.

12 So say to them that I will make with him an agreement of peace:

So make an announcement that I am granting him my peace agreement.

13 And by this agreement, he and his sons after him have the right to be priests for ever; because, by his care for the honour of his God, he took away the sin of the children of Israel.

It will be an agreement that ensures a permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was passionately dedicated to his God and set the Israelites right.”

14 Now the man of Israel who was put to death with the woman of Midian was Zimri, the son of Salu, a chief of one of the families of the Simeonites.

The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri, son of Salu, a family leader of the tribe of Simeon.

15 And the woman of Midian who was put to death was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was the head of a family in Midian.

The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi, daughter of Zur, a family leader of a Midianite tribe.

16 Then the Lord said to Moses,

The Lord told Moses,

17 Take up arms against the Midianites and overcome them;

“Attack the Midianites and kill them,

18 For they are a danger to you with their false ways, causing sin to come on you in the question of Peor, and because of Cozbi, their sister, the daughter of the chief of Midian, who was put to death at the time of the disease which came on you because of Peor.

because they attacked you deceptively, leading you astray by using Peor and their woman Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite leader—the woman who was killed on the day the plague came because of their devotion to Peor.”