Numbers 25
1 And Israel remained among the acacias, —and the people began to go away unchastely unto the daughters of Moab;
While the Israelis were camped at a place called Acacia [Grove], some of the men caused themselves to become unacceptable to God by having sex with some of the women of the Moab [people-group who lived in that area].
2 who invited the people unto the sacrifices of their gods, —so the people did eat, and did bow themselves down unto their gods.
Then those women invited the men to come when the sacrifices were being offered to their gods. The Israeli men [accepted]. They went to the feasts with the women and worshiped the gods of the Moab people-group.
3 Thus Israel let himself be bound unto Baal-peor, and the anger of Yahweh kindled upon Israel.
By doing that, those Israeli people joined the women in worshiping the god Baal [add] the Moab people-group thought lived on Peor Mountain. That caused Yahweh to become very angry with his people.
4 And Yahweh said unto Moses—Take all the heads of the people, and crucify them unto Yahweh. in the face of the sun, —that the heat of the anger of Yahweh may turn away from Israel.
Yahweh said this to Moses/me: “Seize all the leaders of those men who are doing this and execute them while I am watching. Do that in the daytime. After you do that, I will no longer be angry with the Israeli people.”
5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, —Slay ye each one his men, who have let themselves he bound unto Baal-peor.
So Moses/I said to the other Israeli leaders, “Each of you must execute your men who have joined [others] in worshiping Baal.”
6 And lo! a man of the sons of Israel coming in, who brought near unto his brethren a Midianite woman, before the eyes of Moses, and before the eyes of all the assembly of the sons of Israel, when they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
[But later], while Moses/I and many [HYP] other people were crying at the entrance of the Sacred Tent, while they/we were watching, one of the Israeli men brought a woman from the Midian people-group into his tent [and started to have sex with her].
7 And Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest saw it, so he rose up out of the midst of the assembly, and took a spear in his hand;
When Phinehas, who was the grandson of Aaron, saw that, he grabbed a spear
8 and went in after the man of Israel into the pleasure-tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, in her parts of shame, —so the plague was restrained from against the sons of Israel.
and rushed into the man’s tent. He thrust the spear completely through the man’s body and into the woman’s belly [and killed both of them]. When he did that, the (plague/serious illness) [that had started to strike the Israelis] stopped.
9 Then was it found that they who had died by the plague were four and twenty thousand.
But 24,000 people had already died [from that plague].
10 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses saying:
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
11 Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, hath turned back my wrath from against the sons of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy, in their midst, so that I made not an end of the sons of Israel. in my jealousy.
“Phinehas has caused me to stop being angry with the Israeli people, by being as eager as I am [to stop this sinful behavior]. I was ready to get rid of all the Israeli people because I was extremely angry, but Phinehas has prevented me from doing that.
12 Wherefore say, —Behold me! giving unto him my covenant of peace;
Now tell him that I am making a special peace agreement with him.
13 so shall it prove to be unto him and unto his seed after him, the covenant of our age-abiding priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and did put a propitiatory-covering over the sons of Israel.
In this agreement, I am promising to give to him and to his descendants the right/authority to be priests. I am doing this because [he showed that] he was very eager to honor me, his God, by stopping this sinful behavior. He has caused the Israeli people to become acceptable to me again by causing them to be forgiven for their sin.”
14 Now, the name of the man of Israel that was smitten, who was smitten with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri son of Salu, —prince of an ancestral house of the Simeonites;
The Israeli man who was killed with the woman of the Moab people-group was named Zimri. He was the son of Salu, who was the leader of a family from the tribe of Simeon.
15 and, the name of the woman who was smitten, the Midianitess, was Cozbi, daughter of Zur, —the head of his kindred, of an ancestral house in Midian, was he.
The woman’s name was Cozbi. She was the daughter of Zur, who was the leader of one of the clans of the Midian people-group.
16 And Yahweh spake unto Moses saying:
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
17 Besiege the Midianites, —and ye shall smite them:
“[Take your men and] attack the Midian people-group and kill them.
18 for, besiegers, were they unto you, with their wiles wherewith they beguiled you, over the matter of Peor, —and over he matter of Cozbi, daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, who was smitten in the day of the plague, over the matter of Peor.
They have become your enemies, because they tricked you Israeli people and induced/persuaded many of you to worship Baal, and because [one of your men had sex with] Cozbi, who was the daughter of a leader of the Midian people-group. She was killed at the time the plague [started because the people sinned] at Peor [Mountain].”
