Numbers 25

1 And Israel remained among the acacias, —and the people began to go away unchastely unto the daughters of Moab;

2 who invited the people unto the sacrifices of their gods, —so the people did eat, and did bow themselves down unto their gods.

3 Thus Israel let himself be bound unto Baal-peor, and the anger of Yahweh kindled upon Israel.

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.

5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, —Slay ye each one his men, who have let themselves he bound unto Baal-peor.

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.

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;

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.

9 Then was it found that they who had died by the plague were four and twenty thousand.

10 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses saying:

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.

12 Wherefore say, —Behold me! giving unto him my covenant of peace;

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.

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;

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.

16 And Yahweh spake unto Moses saying:

17 Besiege the Midianites, —and ye shall smite 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.