Numbers 31
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses/me and said,
And the LORD said to Moses,
2 “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.”
“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”
3 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].
So Moses told the people, “Arm some of your men for war, that they may go against the Midianites and execute the LORD’s vengeance on them.
4 Select 1,000 men from each tribe to fight.”
Send into battle a thousand men from each tribe of Israel.”
5 So 12,000 men prepared for fighting in the battle, 1,000 from each tribe.
So a thousand men were recruited from each tribe of Israel—twelve thousand armed for war.
6 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].
And Moses sent the thousand from each tribe into battle, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took with him the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling.
7 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.
Then they waged war against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male.
8 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.
Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
9 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.
The Israelites captured the Midianite women and their children, and they plundered all their herds, flocks, and goods.
10 Then they burned down all the houses in the towns and villages where the people of the Midian people-group lived,
Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites had lived, as well as all their encampments,
11 but they took home with them all the women and children and animals and possessions.
and carried away all the plunder and spoils, both people and animals.
12 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.
They brought the captives, spoils, and plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of Israel at the camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho.
13 Eleazar and all the leaders of the people and Moses/I went outside the camp to greet/meet with them.
And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp.
14 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.
But Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who were returning from the battle.
15 He/I asked them, “Why did you allow the women to live [RHQ]?
“Have you spared all the women?” he asked them.
16 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.
“Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD.
17 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.
So now, kill all the boys, as well as every woman who has had relations with a man,
18 Spare only the girls who are virgins [EUP]. You can keep them to be your [wives or your slaves].
but spare for yourselves every girl who has never had relations with a man.
19 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.
All of you who have killed a person or touched the dead are to remain outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and the seventh day you are to purify both yourselves and your captives.
20 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.”
And purify every garment and leather good, everything made of goat’s hair, and every article of wood.”
21 Then Eleazar said to the soldiers who had returned from the battle, “This is what Yahweh has instructed Moses:
Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses:
22 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].
Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead—
23 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.
everything that can withstand the fire—must be put through the fire, and it will be clean. But it must still be purified with the water of purification. And everything that cannot withstand the fire must pass through the water.
24 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.”
On the seventh day you are to wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may enter the camp.”
25 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
The LORD said to Moses,
26 “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].
“You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads of the congregation are to take a count of what was captured, both of man and beast.
27 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.
Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to battle and the rest of the congregation.
28 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.
Set aside a tribute for the LORD from what belongs to the soldiers who went into battle: one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, or sheep.
29 Take these things to Eleazar to (be my share/belong to me).
Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the LORD.
30 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.”
From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every fifty, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep, or other animals, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.”
31 So Eleazar and Moses/I did what Yahweh commanded.
So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD had commanded Moses,
32 There were 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 virgins that they had captured from the Midian people-group.
and this plunder remained from the spoils the soldiers had taken: 675,000 sheep,
72,000 cattle,
61,000 donkeys,
and 32,000 women who had not slept with a man.
36 The men who fought in the battle took 337,000 sheep [from the battle],
This was the half portion for those who had gone to war: 337,500 sheep,
37 and they gave 675 of them to Yahweh.
including a tribute to the LORD of 675,
38 They took 36,000 cattle and gave 72 of them to Yahweh.
36,000 cattle, including a tribute to the LORD of 72,
39 They took 30,500 donkeys, and they gave 61 of them to Yahweh.
30,500 donkeys, including a tribute to the LORD of 61,
40 They took 16,000 virgins, and they dedicated 32 of them to Yahweh.
and 16,000 people, including a tribute to the LORD of 32.
41 Moses/I gave to Eleazar all [the animals] that had been given to Yahweh, as Yahweh had commanded.
Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as an offering for the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
42 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,
From the Israelites’ half, which Moses had set apart from the men who had gone to war,
this half belonged to the congregation: 337,500 sheep,
36,000 cattle,
30,500 donkeys,
and 16,000 people.
47 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.
From the Israelites’ half, Moses took one out of every fifty persons and animals and gave them to the Levites who kept charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD had commanded him.
48 Then the army officers and those who commanded 1,000 men and those who commanded 100 men came to Moses/me.
Then the officers who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and of hundreds—approached Moses
49 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).
and said, “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one of us is missing.
50 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.”
So we have brought to the LORD an offering of the gold articles each man acquired—armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.”
51 So Eleazar and Moses/I accepted the gold items that they brought.
So Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them all the articles made out of gold.
52 The total of it weighed about (420 pounds/190 kg.).
All the gold that the commanders of thousands and of hundreds presented as an offering to the LORD weighed 16,750 shekels.
53 Each soldier had taken these things for himself.
Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself.
54 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].
And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the Tent of Meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD.
