Numbers 31
31
The LORD Commands Israel to Defeat Midian
1The Lord said to Moses, 2“Get even with the Midianites for what they did to the Israelites. After that you will join your ancestors ⌞in death⌟.”
3Moses said to the people, “Some of your men must get ready to go to war against the Midianites. The Lord will use them to get even with Midian. 4Send 1,000 men from each of the tribes of Israel.”
5So 1,000 men from each tribe were supplied from the divisions of Israel—12,000 men ready for war. 6Then Moses sent them off to war, 1,000 men from each tribe along with Phinehas, son of the priest Eleazar. Phinehas took with him the holy articles and the trumpets for the fanfare.
7They went to war against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed every man. 8Among those killed were the five kings of Midian—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed Balaam, son of Beor, in battle. 9The Israelites took the Midianite women and children as prisoners of war. They also took all their animals, their livestock, and their valuables as loot. 10They burned all the cities where the Midianites lived and all their settlements. 11Then they took everything as loot, including all the people and animals, 12and brought the prisoners of war, the loot, and everything to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the community of Israel at the camp on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from Jericho.
13Moses, the priest Eleazar, and all the leaders of the community went outside the camp to meet them. 14Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of the companies and battalions, who were returning from battle.
15“Why did you let all the women live?” he asked them. 16“Remember, they were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and caused the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the incident that took place at Peor. The Lord’s community experienced a plague at that time. 17So kill all the Midianite boys and every Midianite woman who has gone to bed with a man. 18But save for yourselves every girl who has never gone to bed with a man.
19“Everyone who killed a person or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp seven days. You and your prisoners of war must use the ritual water on the third and seventh days in order to take away your sin. 20Do the same for all the clothes and everything made of leather, goats’ hair, or wood.”
21Then the priest Eleazar said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is what the Lord’s teachings told Moses to do: 22Any gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead— 23anything that won’t burn—must be put through fire in order to make it clean.#31:23 “Clean” refers to anything that is presentable to God. Then it must also be put through the ritual water in order to take away its sin. Whatever might burn must ⌞only⌟ be put through the ritual water. 24On the seventh day wash your clothes, and you will be clean. Then you may come into the camp.”
25The Lord said to Moses, 26“You, the priest Eleazar, and the heads of the families of the community need to count all the loot, including the people and animals you captured. 27Divide the loot between the soldiers who served in the war and the rest of the community. 28Collect a tax for the Lord. From the soldiers who served in the war collect one out of every 500 things. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. 29Collect all these things from the soldiers’ half of the loot, and give them to the priest Eleazar as a contribution to the Lord. 30From the Israelites’ half of the loot, collect one out of every 50 things. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and every other kind of animal. Give them to the Levites who are in charge of the work done at the Lord’s tent.” 31Moses and the priest Eleazar did as the Lord commanded Moses.
32This is the loot that was left from everything that the troops took: 675,000 sheep and goats, 3372,000 cattle, 3461,000 donkeys, and 3532,000 women who had never gone to bed with a man.
36Half of it went to the soldiers who served in the war. Of the 337,500 sheep and goats they received, 37675 went to the Lord as taxes. 38Of the 36,000 cattle they received, 72 went to the Lord as taxes. 39Of the 30,500 donkeys they received, 61 went to the Lord as taxes. 40Of the 16,000 people they received, 32 went to the Lord as taxes.
41Moses gave the Lord’s taxes to the priest Eleazar, as the Lord had commanded him.
42Moses took the Israelites’ half of the loot from the soldiers. 43The community received 337,500 sheep and goats, 4436,000 cattle, 4530,500 donkeys, 46and 16,000 people.
47From the Israelites’ half Moses collected one out of every 50 things, including people and animals, as the Lord commanded him. Then he gave all this to the Levites who were in charge of the work done at the Lord’s tent.
48Then the officers from the military divisions, the commanders of the companies and battalions of men, came to Moses. 49They said to him, “Sir, we have counted all the soldiers under our command, and not one of them is missing. 50So we have brought as gifts to the Lord the gold jewelry that each of us found—arm bands, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and pendants. We offer them to make peace with the Lord.”
51Moses and the priest Eleazar took all the hand-crafted gold articles from them. 52All the gold contributed to the Lord by the commanders weighed about 420 pounds. 53Each soldier kept his own loot. 54Moses and the priest Eleazar took the gold from the commanders and brought it into the Lord’s presence at the tent of meeting as a reminder to the Israelites.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Bemiḏbar (Numbers) 31
31
1And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
2Take vengeance for the children of Yisra’ĕl on the Miḏyanites. After that you are to be gathered to your people.
3And Mosheh spoke to the people, saying, “Arm some of yourselves for the campaign, and let them go against the Miḏyanites to take vengeance for יהוה on Miḏyan.
4Send a thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Yisra’ĕl for the campaign.
5So there were supplied from the tribes of Yisra’ĕl one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed ones for the campaign.
6And Mosheh sent them on the campaign, one thousand from each tribe, them and Pineḥas son of El‛azar the priest on the campaign, with the set-apart utensils and the trumpets for sounding in his hand.
7And they fought against the Miḏyanites, as יהוה commanded Mosheh, and killed all the males.
8And they killed the sovereigns of Miḏyan with the rest of those who were pierced: Ewi, and Reqem, and Tsur, and Ḥur, and Reḇa, the five sovereigns of Miḏyan. And they killed Bil‛am son of Be‛or with the sword.
9And the sons of Yisra’ĕl took all the women of Miḏyan captive, with their little ones, and took as spoil all their livestock, and all their possessions.
10And they burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt, and all their settlements.
11And they took all the spoil and all the booty, both of man and beast.
12And they brought the captives, and the booty, and the spoil to Mosheh, and to El‛azar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl, to the camp in the desert plains of Mo’aḇ by the Yardĕn of Yeriḥo.
13And Mosheh, and El‛azar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp.
14But Mosheh was wroth with the officers of the army, with the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, who had come from the campaign.
15And Mosheh said to them, “Have you kept all the women alive?
16“Look, they are the ones who caused the children of Yisra’ĕl, through the word of Bil‛am, to trespass against יהוה in the matter of Pe‛or, and there was a plague among the congregation of יהוה.
17“And now, kill every male among the little ones. And every woman who has known a man by lying with a man you shall kill.
18“But keep alive for yourselves all the female children who have not known a man by lying with a man.
19“And you, camp outside the camp seven days. Whoever has killed any being, and whoever has touched any slain, cleanse yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day.
20And cleanse every garment, and every object of leather and all the work of goats’ hair, and every object of wood.”
21And El‛azar the priest said to the men of the campaign who went to the battle, “This is the law of the Torah which יהוה commanded Mosheh:
22“Only the gold, and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23every object that passes through fire, you put through the fire, and it shall be clean; only, let it be cleansed with the water for uncleanness. And whatever does not pass through fire you pass through water.
24“And you shall wash your garments on the seventh day and be clean, and afterwards come into the camp.”
25And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
26“Count up the plunder that was taken, of man and of beast, you and El‛azar the priest and the heads of the fathers of the congregation.
27“And you shall divide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the battle, who went out on the campaign, and all the congregation.
28“And set aside a levy for יהוה on the men of battle who went out on the campaign: one out of every five hundred, of man, and of the cattle, and of the donkeys, and of the sheep.
29“Take it from their half, and give it to El‛azar the priest as a contribution to יהוה.
30And from the children of Yisra’ĕl’s half you shall take one of every fifty, of man, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the sheep, of all the livestock, and give them to the Lĕwites guarding the duty of the Dwelling Place of יהוה.
31And Mosheh and El‛azar the priest did as יהוה commanded Mosheh.
32And the booty remaining from the plunder, which the people of the campaign had taken, was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep,
33and seventy-two thousand cattle,
34and sixty-one thousand donkeys,
35and thirty-two thousand human beings in all, of women who had not known a man by lying with a man.
36And the half, the portion for those who went out on the campaign, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
37and the levy unto יהוה of the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five.
38And the cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the levy unto יהוה was seventy-two.
39And the donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the levy unto יהוה was sixty-one.
40And the human beings were sixteen thousand, of which the levy unto יהוה was thirty-two beings.
41So Mosheh gave the levy which was the contribution unto יהוה to El‛azar the priest, as יהוה commanded Mosheh.
42And from the children of Yisra’ĕl’s half, which Mosheh divided from the men who campaigned:
43now the half belonging to the congregation was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
44and thirty-six thousand cattle,
45and thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,
46and sixteen thousand human beings.
47Then Mosheh took from the children of Yisra’ĕl’s half: one out of every fifty, drawn from man and beast, and gave them to the Lĕwites, who guarded the duty of the Dwelling Place of יהוה, as יהוה commanded Mosheh.
48And the officers who were over thousands of the campaign, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, came near to Mosheh,
49and they said to Mosheh, “Your servants have taken a count of the fighting men under our command, and not a man of us is missing.
50So we have brought an offering for יהוה, what every man found of ornaments of gold: armlets and bracelets and signet rings and earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before יהוה.
51And Mosheh and El‛azar the priest received the gold from them, all the fashioned ornaments.
52And all the gold of the offering that they presented to יהוה, from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty sheqels.
53The men of the campaign had taken spoil, every man for himself.
54And Mosheh and El‛azar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Appointment as a remembrance for the children of Yisra’ĕl before יהוה.
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