Numbers 31

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Then the Lord said to Moses,

2 “First, avenge the sons of Israel from the Midianites, and then 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 And immediately Moses said: “Arm the men among you for a battle, so that they may be able to fulfill the retribution of the Lord on the Midianites.

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 Let one thousand men be chosen from each tribe of Israel, who shall be sent to war.”

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

5 And they gave one thousand from each tribe, that is, twelve thousand foot soldiers for battle.

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

6 And Moses sent them with Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest; also, he delivered to him the holy vessels, and the trumpets to sound.

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 And when they had fought against the Midianites and had prevailed, they killed all the men.

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

8 And they put to death by the sword their kings: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five leaders of the nation, and also Balaam the son of Beor.

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 And they seized their women and little ones, and all their cattle, and all their goods; whatever they were able to have, they despoiled.

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 Both their cities and their villages, as well as their fortresses, they burned.

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

11 And they carried away prey from everything that they had seized, both of men and of beasts.

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

12 And they led these to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to all the multitude of the sons of Israel. But the remainder of the articles they carried to the camp on the plains of Moab, next to the Jordan, opposite 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 Then Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the assembly went out to meet them beyond 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 And Moses, being angry with the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions, who had arrived 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 said: “Why have you spared the females?

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

16 Are not these the ones who deceived the sons of Israel at the suggestion of Balaam, and who caused you betray the Lord by the sin of Peor, because of which the people also were struck down?

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 Therefore, put to death all of them: whatever is of the male sex, even among the little ones, and cut the throats of those women who have known men by sexual relations.

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

18 But the young girls, and all female virgins, reserve for yourselves.

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

19 And remain beyond the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed a man, or who has touched one that was killed, shall be purified on the third day and on the seventh day.

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 all of the spoils, whether it is a garment, or a vessel, or another useful thing, made from the pelts or hair of goats, or from wood, shall be expiated.”

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

21 Likewise, Eleazar the priest spoke in this manner to the men of the army who had fought: “This is the precept 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 Gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin,

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

23 and all that may be able to pass through fire, shall be purified by fire. But whatever is not able to sustain fire shall be sanctified with the waters of expiation.

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 And you shall wash your garments on the seventh day, and, after having been purified, you shall 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 And the Lord also said to Moses:

And the Lord said to Moses,

26 “Take the sum of those things which were captured, from man even to beast, you and Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the common people.

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 you shall divide the prey equally, among those who went out to war and fought, and among the remainder of the multitude.

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 And you shall separate a portion for the Lord from the portion of those who fought and were in the battle: one soul out of five hundred, as much from humans, as from oxen and donkeys and 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 And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, because these are the first-fruits of 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 Likewise, from the half of the portion belonging to the sons of Israel, you shall receive the fiftieth head of humans, and of oxen, and donkeys, and sheep, and of all living things, and you shall give these to the Levites who stand watch over the care 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 And Moses and Eleazar did just as the Lord had instructed.

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

32 Now the prey which the army had seized 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 oxen,

And seventy-two thousand oxen,

34 sixty-one thousand donkeys,

And sixty-one thousand asses;

35 and thirty-two thousand human lives, of the female sex, who had not known men.

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

36 And one half of the portion was given to those who had been in the battle: 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 From these, for the portion of the Lord, there were accounted: six hundred seventy-five sheep;

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

38 and from the thirty-six thousand oxen, seventy-two oxen;

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

39 from the thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, sixty-one donkeys.

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

40 From the sixteen thousand human souls, there fell to the portion of the Lord thirty-two souls.

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

41 And Moses delivered the number of the first-fruits of the Lord to Eleazar the priest, just as had been commanded of him,

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 one half portion belonging to the sons of Israel, which he had separated from the portion of those who had been in the battle.

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

43 Yet truly, from the one half portion which fell to the remainder of the multitude, that is, from the three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,

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

44 and from the thirty-six thousand oxen,

And thirty-six thousand oxen,

45 and from the thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,

And thirty thousand, five hundred asses,

46 and from the sixteen thousand persons,

And sixteen thousand persons; )

47 Moses took the fiftieth head, and gave it to the Levites who stand watch at the tabernacle of the Lord, just as the Lord had instructed.

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 And when the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions had approached Moses, they said:

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

49 “We, your servants, have taken a census of the number of the fighting men, whom we had under our hand, and indeed not one was lacking.

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 For this reason, we offer as gifts to the Lord whatever gold each one was able to find amid the spoils, in anklets and arm bands, rings and bracelets, and little chains, so that you may intercede for us to 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 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received all the gold in its various kinds,

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

52 weighing sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels, from the tribunes and the centurions.

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 For whatever each one had taken away in the spoils was his own.

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

54 And having been accepted, they took it into the tabernacle of the testimony, as a memorial of the sons 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.