Numbers 31
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Yahweh spoke to Moses/me and said,
2 Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.
“Before you die, [tell the] Israeli people that they should (pay back/get revenge on) the Midian people-group for what they did to you.”
3 And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm ye men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the LORD’S vengeance on Midian.
So Moses/I said to the people, “Get some men prepared for battle. Yahweh will enable them to (pay back/get revenge on) the Midian people-group [for what they did to us].
4 Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.
Select 1,000 men from each tribe to fight.”
5 So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
So 12,000 men prepared for fighting in the battle, 1,000 from each tribe.
6 And Moses sent them, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.
When Moses/I sent them to the battle, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, went with them. He took with him some of the things from the Sacred Tent and the trumpets that would be blown to give the signal [to start the battle].
7 And they warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew every male.
The Israeli men fought the soldiers from the Midian people-group, as Yahweh had told Moses/me to tell them to do, and they killed every man from the Midian people-group.
8 And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain; Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.
Among those whom they killed were the five kings of the Midian people-group—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed with a sword Balaam, the son of Beor.
9 And the children of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took for a prey.
They captured all the women and children of the Midian people-group and took away their cattle, their flocks of sheep, and herds of goats, and all their other possessions.
10 And all their cities in the places wherein they dwelt, and all their encampments, they burnt with fire.
Then they burned down all the houses in the towns and villages where the people of the Midian people-group lived,
11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of man and of beast.
but they took home with them all the women and children and animals and possessions.
12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and unto Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho.
They brought all these to Eliezer and Moses/me, and to the rest of the Israeli people who were at their/our camp on the plains where the Moab people-group lived, near the Jordan River, across from Jericho.
13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.
Eleazar and all the leaders of the people and Moses/I went outside the camp to greet/meet with them.
14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, which came from the service of the war.
But Moses/I was angry with some of the men who had returned from the battle. He/I was angry with the army officers and the men who were commanders of 1,000 men and those who were commanders of 100 men.
15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
He/I asked them, “Why did you allow the women to live [RHQ]?
16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD.
They are the ones who did what Balaam suggested and urged/persuaded our people to worship Baal [instead of Yahweh]. As a result, Yahweh caused a plague to strike his people while they were at Peor.
17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
So, now you must kill all the boys of the Midian people-group, and also kill all the women who have had sex [EUP] with any man.
18 But all the women children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
Spare only the girls who are virgins [EUP]. You can keep them to be your [wives or your slaves].
19 And encamp ye without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, ye and your captives.
All of you who have killed someone or touched the corpse of someone who was killed [in the battle] must stay outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and on the seventh day, you must [perform the ritual to] cause you and those whom you have captured to become acceptable to God again.
20 And as to every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’ [hair], and all things made of wood, ye shall purify yourselves.
You must also wash your clothes and anything [that you took to the battle] that is made of leather or goat’s hair or wood.”
21 And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the statute of the law which the LORD hath commanded Moses:
Then Eleazar said to the soldiers who had returned from the battle, “This is what Yahweh has instructed Moses:
22 howbeit the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
You must put into a fire any gold or silver or bronze or iron or tin or lead things [that you brought back from the battle].
23 every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make to go through the water.
Put everything that will not burn into the fire, and then they will be acceptable for you to use. But also sprinkle those things with the water that causes things and people to become acceptable to God. The things that would burn [if you put them] in a fire, sprinkle them with that water.
24 And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.
On the seventh day, wash your clothes, and then you will become acceptable to God again. After you do that, you may return to the camp.”
25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
26 Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers’ [houses] of the congregation:
“Tell Eleazar and the leaders of the family groups that they must write down a list of all the goods, the women, and the animals that were captured [in the battle].
27 and divide the prey into two parts; between the men skilled in war, that went out to battle, and all the congregation:
Then they must divide all those things, half given to the men who fought in the battle and the other half given to the rest of the people.
28 and levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, [both] of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the flocks:
From the men who fought in the battle, take one from every 500 people and from every 500 cattle and donkeys and sheep, to be a tax for me.
29 take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for the LORD’S heave offering.
Take these things to Eleazar to (be my share/belong to me).
30 And of the children of Israel’s half, thou shalt take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, [even] of all the cattle, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.
And from the half that belongs to the ordinary people, take one item from every 50. That includes people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and other animals. Give those things to the descendants of Levi who take care of my Sacred Tent.”
31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
So Eleazar and Moses/I did what Yahweh commanded.
32 Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,
There were 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 virgins that they had captured from the Midian people-group.
33 and threescore and twelve thousand beeves,
34 and threescore and one thousand asses,
35 and thirty and two thousand persons in all, of the women that had not known man by lying with him.
36 And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep:
The men who fought in the battle took 337,000 sheep [from the battle],
37 and the LORD’S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.
and they gave 675 of them to Yahweh.
38 And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the LORD’S tribute was threescore and twelve.
They took 36,000 cattle and gave 72 of them to Yahweh.
39 And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD’S tribute was threescore and one.
They took 30,500 donkeys, and they gave 61 of them to Yahweh.
40 And the persons were sixteen thousand; of whom the LORD’S tribute was thirty and two persons.
They took 16,000 virgins, and they dedicated 32 of them to Yahweh.
41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD’S heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Moses/I gave to Eleazar all [the animals] that had been given to Yahweh, as Yahweh had commanded.
42 And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided off from the men that warred,
Moses/I separated what those who had fought in the battle received from what the other people received. The people had taken 337,500 sheep, 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 virgins,
43 (now the congregation’s half was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand, seven thousand and five hundred sheep,
44 and thirty and six thousand beeves,
45 and thirty thousand and five hundred asses,
46 and sixteen thousand persons; )
47 even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
From what the people received, Moses/I took one from every 50 items and dedicated them to Yahweh. That included animals and people. As Yahweh commanded, he/I gave them all to the descendants of Levi who took care of the Sacred Tent.
48 And the officers which were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:
Then the army officers and those who commanded 1,000 men and those who commanded 100 men came to Moses/me.
49 and they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.
They said, “We, who are your servants, have counted the soldiers whom we command, and [we found that] none of them (is missing/has been killed).
50 And we have brought the LORD’S oblation, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, ankle chains, and bracelets, signet-rings, earrings, and armlets, to make atonement for our souls before the LORD.
So [to thank Yahweh for that], we have brought to him a gift of the gold items that we found [after the battle]: Gold arm bands and bracelets and rings and earrings and necklaces. This will enable us to be forgiven for our sins.”
51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.
So Eleazar and Moses/I accepted the gold items that they brought.
52 And all the gold of the heave offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.
The total of it weighed about (420 pounds/190 kg.).
53 ([For] the men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.)
Each soldier had taken these things for himself.
54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.
Eleazar and Moses/I accepted these gold items from these commanders and put them in the Sacred Tent to remind the Israeli people about how Yahweh [had helped them defeat the Midian people-group].
