Numbers 25

1 And Israel dwells in Shittim, and the people begin to go whoring to daughters of Moab,

And Israel stayed in Shittim, and the people began to commit prostitution with the daughters of Moab.

2 and they call for the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people eat and bow themselves to their gods,

And they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.

3 and Israel is joined to Ba‘al-Peor, and the anger of YHWH burns against Israel.

And Israel joined himself to Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.

4 And YHWH says to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them before YHWH in sight of the sun; and the fierceness of the anger of YHWH turns back from Israel.”

And the LORD said to Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.

5 And Moses says to [the] judges of Israel, “Each slays his men who are joined to Ba‘al-Peor.”

And Moses said to the judges of Israel, Slay you every one his men that were joined to Baalpeor.

6 And behold, a man of the sons of Israel has come, and brings a Midianitess to his brothers before the eyes of Moses and before the eyes of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, who are weeping at the opening of the Tent of Meeting;

And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought to his brothers a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

7 and Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, sees, and rises from the midst of the congregation, and takes a javelin in his hand,

And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;

8 and goes in after the man of Israel to the hollow place, and pierces them both, the man of Israel and the woman—to her belly, and the plague is restrained from the sons of Israel;

And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

9 and the dead by the plague are twenty-four thousand.

And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.

10 And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

11 “Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My fury from the sons of Israel by his being zealous with My zeal in their midst, and I have not consumed the sons of Israel in My zeal.

Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.

12 Therefore say, Behold, I am giving My covenant of peace to him,

Why say, Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace:

13 and it has been to him and to his seed after him [for] a covenant of a continuous priesthood, because that he has been zealous for his God, and makes atonement for the sons of Israel.”

And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.

14 And the name of the man of Israel who is struck, who has been struck with the Midianitess, [is] Zimri son of Salu, prince of the house of a father of the Simeonite;

Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites.

15 and the name of the woman who is struck, the Midianitess, [is] Cozbi daughter of Zur; he [is] head of peoples of a father’s house in Midian.

And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.

16 And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

17 “Distress the Midianites, and you have struck them,

Vex the Midianites, and smite them:

18 for they are adversaries to you with their frauds, [with] which they have acted fraudulently to you, concerning the matter of Peor and concerning the matter of Cozbi, daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, who is struck in the day of the plague for the matter of Peor.”

For they vex you with their wiles, with which they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor’s sake.