Numbers 25
25
Israel Worships Baal
1While Israel was staying in the Acacia Grove, # 25:1 Or in Shittim,# 25:1 Nm 33:49; Jos 2:1; 3:1; Mc 6:5 the people began to prostitute themselves with the women of Moab. 2The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods. # 25:2 Ex 34:15–16; 1Co 10:8; Rv 2:14 3So Israel aligned itself with Baal of Peor, # 25:3 Nm 23:28 and the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. # 25:3 Dt 4:3; Ps 106:28–29; Hs 9:10 4The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute # 25:4 Or impale, or hang, or expose; Hb obscure them in broad daylight before the Lord so that his burning anger may turn away from Israel.”
5So Moses told Israel’s judges, “Kill each of the men who aligned themselves with Baal of Peor.”
Phinehas Intervenes
6An Israelite man came bringing a Midianite woman to his relatives in the sight of Moses and the whole Israelite community while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 7When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand, 8followed the Israelite man into the tent, # 25:8 Perhaps a tent shrine or bridal tent and drove it through both the Israelite man and the woman — through her belly. Then the plague on the Israelites was stopped, 9but those who died in the plague numbered twenty-four thousand. # 25:9 1Co 10:8
10The Lord spoke to Moses, 11“Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites because he was zealous among them with my zeal, # 25:11 Or jealousy,# 25:11 Ex 34:14; Zch 8:2 so that I did not destroy the Israelites in my zeal. 12Therefore declare: I grant him my covenant of peace. # 25:12 Is 54:10; Ezk 34:25; 37:26; Mal 2:5 13It will be a covenant of perpetual priesthood for him and his future descendants, # 25:13 Ex 40:15; Ps 106:30–31 because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”
14The name of the slain Israelite man, who was struck dead with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. # 25:14 Lit a father’s house, also in v. 15 15The name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal head of a family in Midian.
Vengeance against the Midianites
16The Lord told Moses, 17“Attack the Midianites and strike them dead. 18For they attacked you with the treachery that they used against you in the Peor incident. They did the same in the case involving their sister Cozbi, daughter of the Midianite leader who was killed the day the plague came at Peor.”
Currently Selected:
Numbers 25: CSB
Highlight
Copy
Compare
Share
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Numbers 25
25
The people are unfaithful
The Israelites worship Baal
1While the Israelites were camped at Acacia, some of the men had sex with Moabite women. 2These women then invited the men to ceremonies where sacrifices were offered to their gods. The men ate the meat from the sacrifices and worshipped the Moabite gods.
3The LORD was angry with Israel because they had worshipped the god Baal-Peor. 4So he said to Moses, “Take the Israelite leaders who are responsible for this and have them killed in front of my sacred tent where everyone can see. Perhaps then I will stop being angry with the Israelites.”
5Moses told Israel's officials,#25.5 officials: These were special leaders who were probably responsible for an entire tribe or part of a tribe. “Each of you must put to death any of your men who worshipped Baal.”
6Later, Moses and the people were at the sacred tent, crying, when one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite#25.6 Midianite: Used here as a general term for various peoples who lived east of the River Jordan. Some of these people were probably ruled by the Moabite king (see Genesis 36.35). woman to meet his family. 7Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron#25.7 Phinehas…Aaron: Hebrew “Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron”. the priest, saw the couple and left the crowd. He found a spear 8and followed the man into his tent, where he ran the spear through the man and into the woman's stomach. The LORD immediately stopped punishing Israel with a deadly disease, 9but twenty-four thousand Israelites had already died.
10The LORD said to Moses, 11“In my anger, I would have wiped out the Israelites if Phinehas had not been faithful to me. 12-13But instead of punishing them, I forgave them. So because of the loyalty that Phinehas showed, I solemnly promise that he and his descendants will always be my priests.”
14The Israelite man that was killed was Zimri son of Salu, who was one of the leaders of the Simeon tribe. 15And the Midianite woman killed with him was Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite clan leader named Zur.
16The LORD told Moses, 17-18“The Midianites are now enemies of Israel, so attack and defeat them! They tricked the people of Israel into worshipping their god at Peor, and they are responsible for the death of Cozbi, the daughter of one of their own leaders.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Copy
Compare
Share
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012