Numbers 25

1 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].

Israel stayed in Shittim, and the men began to prostitute themselves with women of Moab,

2 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.

for the Moabites had invited the people to the sacrifices to their gods. So the people ate and bowed down to Moabite gods.

3 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.

The men of Israel joined in worshiping Baal of Peor, and Yahweh's anger was kindled against Israel.

4 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.”

Yahweh said to Moses, “Kill all the leaders of the people and hang them up before me to expose them in the daylight, so that my fierce anger may turn away from Israel.”

5 So Moses/I said to the other Israeli leaders, “Each of you must execute your men who have joined [others] in worshiping Baal.”

So Moses said to Israel's leaders, “Each of you must execute his people who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.”

6 [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].

Then one of the men of Israel came and brought among his family members a Midianite woman. This happened in the sight of Moses and all the community of the people of Israel, while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

7 When Phinehas, who was the grandson of Aaron, saw that, he grabbed a spear

When Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, saw that, he rose up from among the community and took a spear in his hand.

8 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.

He followed the Israelite man into the tent and thrust the spear through both of their bodies, both the Israelite man and the woman. So a plague that God had sent on the people of Israel stopped.

9 But 24,000 people had already died [from that plague].

Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand in number.

10 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,

11 “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.

“Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, has turned my rage away from the people of Israel because he was passionate with my zeal among them. So I have not consumed the people of Israel in my fierceness.

12 Now tell him that I am making a special peace agreement with him.

Therefore say, 'Yahweh says, “Look, I am giving to Phinehas my covenant of peace.

13 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.”

For him and his descendants after him, it will be a covenant of an everlasting priesthood because he was zealous for me, his God. He has atoned for the people of Israel.”'”

14 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.

Now the name of the Israelite man who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, a leader of an ancestor's family among the Simeonites.

15 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.

The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Kozbi daughter of Zur, who was head of a tribe and family in Midian.

16 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

So Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,

17 “[Take your men and] attack the Midian people-group and kill them.

“Treat the Midianites as enemies and attack them,

18 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].”

for they treated you like enemies with their deceitfulness. They led you into evil in the case of Peor and in the case of their sister Kozbi, the daughter of a leader in Midian, who was killed on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.”