Numbers 31

1 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

2 Reuenge the children of Israel of the Midianites, and afterwarde shalt thou be gathered vnto thy people.

“First, avenge the sons of Israel from the Midianites, and then you shall be gathered to your people.”

3 And Moses spake to the people, saying, Harnesse some of you vnto warre, and let them goe against Midian, to execute the vengeance of the Lord against Midian.

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.

4 A thousande of euery tribe throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye sende to the warre.

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

5 So there were taken out of the thousands of Israel, twelue thousande prepared vnto warre, of euery tribe a thousand.

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

6 And Moses sent them to the warre, euen a thousand of euery tribe, and sent them with Phinehas the sonne of Eleazar the Priest to the warre: and the holy instruments, that is, the trumpets to blow were in his hand.

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.

7 And they warred against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and slue all the males.

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

8 They slue also the Kings of Midian among them that were slaine: Eui and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur and Reba fiue kings of Midian, and they slue Balaam the sonne of Beor with the sworde:

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.

9 But the children of Israel tooke the women of Midian prisoners, and their children, and spoyled all their cattell, and all their flockes, and all their goods.

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

10 And they burnt all their cities, wherein they dwelt, and all their villages with fire.

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

11 And they tooke all the spoyle and all the pray both of men and beastes.

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

12 And they brought the captiues and that which they had taken, and the spoyle vnto Moses and to Eleazar the Priest, and vnto the Congregation of the children of Israel, into ye campe in the playne of Moab, which was by Iorden toward Iericho.

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.

13 Then Moses and Eleazar the Priest, and all the princes of the Congregation went out of the campe to meete them.

Then Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the assembly went out to meet them beyond the camp.

14 And Moses was angry with the captaines of the hoste, with the captaines ouer thousands, and captaines ouer hundreds, which came from the warre and battel.

And Moses, being angry with the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions, who had arrived from the battle,

15 And Moses sayde vnto them, What? haue ye saued all the women?

said: “Why have you spared the females?

16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel through the counsell of Balaam to commit a trespasse against the Lord, as concerning Peor, and there came a plague among the Congregation of the Lord.

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?

17 Now therefore, slay all the males among the children, and kill all the women that haue knowen man by carnall copulation.

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.

18 But all the women children that haue not knowen carnall copulation, keepe aliue for your selues.

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

19 And ye shall remaine without the host seuen dayes, all that haue killed any person, and all that haue touched any dead, and purifie both your selues and your prisoners the third day and the seuenth.

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.

20 Also ye shall purifie euery garment and all that is made of skins and al worke of goates heare, and all things made of wood.

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.”

21 And Eleazar ye Priest sayd vnto the men of warre, which went to the battel, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses,

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:

22 As for gold, and siluer, brasse, yron, tynne, and lead:

Gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin,

23 Euen all that may abide the fire, yee shall make it goe through the fire, and it shalbe cleane: yet, it shalbe purified with the water of purification: and all that suffereth not the fire, yee shall cause to passe by the water.

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.

24 Ye shall wash also your clothes the seuenth day, and ye shalbe cleane: and afterward ye shall come into the Hoste.

And you shall wash your garments on the seventh day, and, after having been purified, you shall enter the camp.”

25 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

And the Lord also said to Moses:

26 Take the summe of the praie that was taken, both of persons and of cattell, thou and Eleazar the Priest, and the chiefe fathers of the Congregation.

“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.

27 And deuide the praye betweene the souldiers that went to the warre, and all the Congregation.

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

28 And thou shalt take a tribute vnto ye Lord of the men of warre, which went out to battel: one person of fiue hundreth, both of the persons, and of the beeues, and of the asses, and of the sheepe.

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.

29 Yee shall take it of their halfe and giue it vnto Eleazar the Priest, as an heaue offring of the Lord.

And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, because these are the first-fruits of the Lord.

30 But of the halfe of the children of Israel thou shalt take one, taken out of fiftie, both of the persons, of the beeues, of the asses, and of the sheepe, euen of all the cattel: and thou shalt giue them vnto the Leuites, which haue the charge of the Tabernacle of the Lord.

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.”

31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

And Moses and Eleazar did just as the Lord had instructed.

32 And the bootie, to wit, the rest of the praie which the men of warre had spoyled, was sixe hundreth seuentie and fiue thousand sheepe,

Now the prey which the army had seized was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,

33 And seuentie and two thousand beeues,

seventy-two thousand oxen,

34 And three score and one thousand asses,

sixty-one thousand donkeys,

35 And two and thirtie thousande persons in all, of women that had lyen by no man.

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

36 And the halfe, to wit, the part of them that went out to warre touching the nomber of sheepe, was three hundreth seuen and thirtie thousand, and fiue hundreth.

And one half of the portion was given to those who had been in the battle: three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep.

37 And the Lordes tribute of the sheepe was sixe hundreth and seuentie and fiue:

From these, for the portion of the Lord, there were accounted: six hundred seventy-five sheep;

38 And the beeues were six and thirty thousad, whereof the Lordes tribute was seuentie and two.

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

39 And the asses were thirtie thousande and fiue hundreth, whereof the Lordes tribute was three score and one:

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

40 And of persons sixtene thousand, whereof the Lordes tribute was two and thirtie persons.

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

41 And Moses gaue the tribute of the Lordes offring vnto Eleazar the Priest, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

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

42 And of the halfe of the children of Israel, which Moses deuided from the men of warre,

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.

43 (For the halfe that perteined vnto the Congregation, was three hundreth thirtie and seuen thousand sheepe and fiue hundreth,

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,

44 And sixe and thirtie thousand beeues,

and from the thirty-six thousand oxen,

45 And thirtie thousand asses, and fiue hudreth,

and from the thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,

46 And sixteene thousande persons)

and from the sixteen thousand persons,

47 Moses, I say, tooke of the halfe that perteined vnto the children of Israel, one taken out of fiftie, both of the persons, and of the cattell, and gaue them vnto the Leuites, which haue the charge of the Tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

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.

48 Then the captaines which were ouer thousandes of the hoste, the captaines ouer the thousandes, and the captaines ouer the hundreds came vnto Moses:

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

49 And saide to Moses, Thy seruants haue taken the summe of the men of warre which are vnder our authoritie, and there lacketh not one man of vs.

“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.

50 We haue therefore brought a present vnto the Lord, what euery man found of iewels of golde, bracelets, and cheines, rings, eare ringes, and ornaments of the legges, to make an atonement for our soules before the Lord.

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.”

51 And Moses and Eleazar the Priest tooke the golde of them, and all wrought iewels,

And Moses and Eleazar the priest received all the gold in its various kinds,

52 And all the golde of the offring that they offered vp to the Lord (of the captaines ouer thousands and hundreds) was sixteene thousande seuen hundreth and fiftie shekels,

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

53 (For the men of warre had spoyled, euery man for him selfe)

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

54 And Moses and Eleazar the Priest tooke the golde of the captaines ouer the thousandes, and ouer the hundreds, and brought it into the Tabernacle of the Congregation, for a memoriall of the children of Israel before the Lord.

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