Numbers 31

¹ Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”

³ Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute Yahweh’s vengeance on Midian. ⁴ Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, you shall send to the war.” ⁵ So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. ⁶ Moses sent them, one thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.

⁷ They warred against Midian, as Yahweh commanded Moses, and killed every male. ⁸ They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. ⁹ The children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, with their little ones, and took as plunder all their livestock, all their flocks, and all their goods. ¹⁰ They burned all their cities in the places in which they lived, and all their encampments, with fire.

¹¹ They took all the spoil, and all the plunder, both of man and of animal. ¹² They brought the captives, the plunder, and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho.

¹³ Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation went out to meet them outside of the camp. ¹⁴ Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war. ¹⁵ Moses said to them, “Have you saved all the women alive? ¹⁶ Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against Yahweh in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of Yahweh. ¹⁷ Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. ¹⁸ But all the girls, who have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

¹⁹ “Encamp outside of the camp seven days. Whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, you and your captives. ²⁰ You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats’ hair, and all articles of wood.”

²¹ Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, “This is the statute of the law which Yahweh has commanded Moses: ²² however the gold, and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, ²³ everything that may abide the fire, you shall make go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water for impurity. All that doesn’t abide the fire you shall make go through the water. ²⁴ You shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean; and afterward you shall come into the camp.”

²⁵ Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ “Take the sum of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of animal, you and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation. ²⁷ Divide the plunder into two parts: between the men skilled in war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation. ²⁸ Levy a tribute to Yahweh of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks. ²⁹ Take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for Yahweh’s wave offering. ³⁰ Of the children of Israel’s half, you shall take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the animals, and give them to the Levites, who keep the duty of Yahweh’s tabernacle.”

³¹ Moses and Eleazar the priest did as Yahweh commanded Moses.

³² The plunder, remaining of the spoil which the men of war had taken, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep, ³³ seventy-two thousand cattle, ³⁴ sixty-one thousand donkeys, ³⁵ and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of the women who had not known man by lying with him.

³⁶ The half, which was the portion of those who went out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep; ³⁷ and Yahweh’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred seventy-five. ³⁸ The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which Yahweh’s tribute was seventy-two. ³⁹ The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which Yahweh’s tribute was sixty-one. ⁴⁰ The persons were sixteen thousand, of whom Yahweh’s tribute was thirty-two persons.

⁴¹ Moses gave the tribute, which was Yahweh’s wave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

⁴² Of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided off from the men who warred, ⁴³ (now the congregation’s half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, ⁴⁴ thirty-six thousand cattle, ⁴⁵ thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, ⁴⁶ and sixteen thousand persons), ⁴⁷ even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of animal, and gave them to the Levites, who kept the duty of Yahweh’s tabernacle, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

⁴⁸ The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses; ⁴⁹ and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken the sum of the men of war who are under our hand, and there lacks not one man of us. ⁵⁰ We have brought Yahweh’s offering, what every man has gotten, of jewels of gold, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before Yahweh.”

⁵¹ Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all worked jewels. ⁵² All the gold of the wave offering that they offered up to Yahweh, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels. ⁵³ (For the men of war had taken plunder, every man for himself.) ⁵⁴ Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Meeting, for a memorial for the children of Israel before Yahweh.