1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Avenge
the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto
thy people.
3 And
Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and
let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of Midian.
4 Of
every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to
the war.
5 So
there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe,
twelve thousand armed for war.
6 And
Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of
Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to
blow in his hand.
7 And
they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew
all the males.
8 And
they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba,
five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.
9 And
the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and
their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their
flocks, and all their goods.
10 And
they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles,
with fire.
11 And
they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.
12 And
they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar
the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp
at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.
13 And
Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went
forth to meet them without the camp.
14 And
Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the
captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the
battle.
15 And
Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
16 Behold,
these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit
trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among
the congregation of the LORD.
17 Now
therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath
known man by lying with him.
18 But
all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive
for yourselves.
19 And
do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and
whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the
third day, and on the seventh day.
20 And
purify all your raiment,
and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood.
21 And
Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the
ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses;
22 Only
the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23 Every
thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be
clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all
that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.
24 And
ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and
afterward ye shall come into the camp.
25 And
the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
26 Take
the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar
the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation:
27 And
divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who
went out to battle, and between all the congregation:
28 And
levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war which went out to battle: one
soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and
of the asses, and of the sheep:
29 Take it of
their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an
heave offering of the LORD.
30 And
of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the
persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of
beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle
of the LORD.
31 And
Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
32 And
the booty, being the
rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and
seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,
33 And
threescore and twelve thousand beeves,
34 And
threescore and one thousand asses,
35 And
thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by
lying with him.
36 And
the half, which was the
portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and
seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep:
37 And
the LORD'S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.
38 And
the beeves were thirty
and six thousand; of which the LORD'S tribute was threescore and twelve.
39 And
the asses were thirty
thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD'S tribute was threescore
and one.
40 And
the persons were sixteen
thousand; of which the LORD'S tribute was thirty and two persons.
41 And
Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD'S heave offering, unto
Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
42 And
of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men that warred,
43 (Now
the half that pertained unto the
congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven
thousand and five hundred sheep,
44 And
thirty and six thousand beeves,
45 And
thirty thousand asses and five hundred,
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 beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the
tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
48 And
the officers which were over thousands of the host, the
captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:
49 And
they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under
our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.
50 We
have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath gotten, of
jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an
atonement for our souls before the LORD.
51 And
Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all
wrought jewels.
52 And
all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains
of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven
hundred and fifty shekels.
53 (For the men of war had taken spoil, every
man for himself.)
54 And
Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of
hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a
memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.
