NumbersChapter 31

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¹The LORD said to Moses, ²"Pay back the Midianites for what they did to the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people." ³So Moses said to the people, "Get some of your men ready for war. They will go against the Midianites. They will carry out the LORD's vengeance on them. ⁴Send a thousand men from each tribe of Israel into battle." ⁵So a thousand men were chosen from each tribe of Israel. That made twelve thousand men armed for war. ⁶Moses sent the thousand men from each tribe into battle. Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest went with them. He took with him the holy objects from the sanctuary and the trumpets for giving signals. ⁷They fought against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses. They killed every male. ⁸Among those killed were the five kings of Midian. Their names were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. ⁹The Israelites captured the Midianite women and their children. They took all their herds, flocks, and goods as plunder. ¹⁰Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites had lived. They also burned all their camps. ¹¹They carried away all the plunder and loot, both people and animals. ¹²They brought the captives, the loot, and the plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest. They brought them to the people of Israel at the camp. The camp was on the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. ¹³Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the people went out to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴But Moses was angry with the officers of the army. These were the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds. They were coming back from the battle. ¹⁵He asked them, "Have you let all the women live? ¹⁶Look, these women followed Balaam's advice. They led the sons of Israel to turn away from the LORD at Peor. That's why the plague struck the LORD's people. ¹⁷So now, kill all the boys. Also kill every woman who has slept with a man. ¹⁸But keep alive for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man. ¹⁹Any of you who has killed someone or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and the seventh day, you must make yourselves and your captives clean. ²⁰Also make clean every piece of clothing and everything made of leather. Clean everything made of goat's hair and everything made of wood." ²¹Then Eleazar the priest spoke to the soldiers who had gone into battle. He said, "This is the rule of the law that the LORD gave Moses. ²²Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead, ²³and everything else that can stand the fire, must be put through the fire. Then it will be clean. But it must still be made clean with the water for cleansing. And everything that can't stand the fire must be put through the water. ²⁴On the seventh day, wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may come into the camp." ²⁵The LORD said to Moses, ²⁶"You and Eleazar the priest and the family leaders of the people must count everything that was captured. Count both the people and the animals. ²⁷Then divide the captives into two halves. Give one half to the soldiers who went out to battle. Give the other half to the rest of the people. ²⁸From the soldiers who went into battle, set apart a share for the LORD. Take one out of every five hundred. Do this with the people, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep. ²⁹Take it from the soldiers' half. Give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the LORD. ³⁰From the Israelites' half, take one out of every fifty. Do this with the people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and other animals. Give them to the Levites who take care of the LORD's tabernacle." ³¹So Moses and Eleazar the priest did what the LORD had commanded Moses. ³²This was what was left from the loot the soldiers had taken: 675,000 sheep, ³³72,000 cattle, ³⁴61,000 donkeys, ³⁵and 32,000 women who had never slept with a man. ³⁶This was the half that went to those who had fought in the war: 337,500 sheep, ³⁷and 675 of these were the share for the LORD; ³⁸36,000 cattle, and 72 of these were the share for the LORD; ³⁹30,500 donkeys, and 61 of these were the share for the LORD; ⁴⁰and 16,000 people, and 32 of these were the share for the LORD. ⁴¹Moses gave the LORD's share to Eleazar the priest as an offering for the LORD. He did as the LORD had commanded Moses. ⁴²Moses had set apart the Israelites' half from the half for the men who went to war. ⁴³This half belonged to the people: 337,500 sheep, ⁴⁴36,000 cattle, ⁴⁵30,500 donkeys, ⁴⁶and 16,000 people. ⁴⁷From the Israelites' half, Moses took one out of every fifty people and animals. He gave them to the Levites who took care of the LORD's tabernacle. He did as the LORD had commanded him. ⁴⁸Then the officers over the army units came to Moses. These were the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds. ⁴⁹They said to him, "We, your servants, have counted the soldiers under us. Not one of us is missing. ⁵⁰So we have brought an offering to the LORD. It is the gold things each man took: arm bands, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces. We bring them to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD." ⁵¹So Moses and Eleazar the priest took from them all the things made of gold. ⁵²The commanders of thousands and of hundreds gave all this gold as an offering to the LORD. It weighed 16,750 shekels.a ⁵³Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself. ⁵⁴Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds. They brought it into the Tent of Meeting. It was a reminder for the Israelites before the LORD.