Numbers 31
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- 1The LORD spoke to Moses and said,
- 2Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward, you will be gathered to your people.
- 3So Moses told the people, "Arm some of your men for war. Send them against Midian to carry out the LORD's vengeance.
- 4Send 1,000 soldiers from each tribe — every tribe in Israel must contribute."
- 5So there were taken from the thousands of Israel, 1,000 from each tribe, making a total of 12,000 armed for war.
- 6Moses sent them off to war — 1,000 from each tribe — along with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who carried the holy vessels from the sanctuary and the signal trumpets.
- 7They attacked Midian, just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and killed every man.
- 8Among the dead were the 5 kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
- 9The Israelites captured all the Midianite women and children and seized all their cattle, flocks, and possessions as plunder.
- 10They burned all the cities where they lived and all their splendid castles with fire.
- 11They gathered up everything they had captured — people and animals alike.
- 12Then they brought the captives, the livestock, and all the plunder back to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the whole Israelite community at the camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan River across from Jericho.
- 13Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went out to meet the returning army outside the camp.
- 14But Moses was furious with the military commanders — the officers over thousands and the officers over hundreds — as they came back from the battle.
- 15Moses said to them, ‘Have you kept all the women alive?’
- 16These are the ones who, following Balaam's advice, led the Israelites to sin against the LORD in the matter of Peor, resulting in a plague among the LORD's people.
- 17Now kill every boy among the captives, and kill every woman who has slept with a man.
- 18But spare every young girl who has never slept with a man — keep them alive for yourselves.
- 19"All of you who have killed anyone or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp for 7 days. On the 3rd day and again on the 7th day, purify yourselves and your captives.
- 20Purify every piece of clothing, everything made of leather, everything made of goat hair, and everything made of wood."
- 21Then Eleazar the priest addressed the soldiers who had fought in the battle: "Here is the rule from the law that the LORD gave Moses:
- 22Gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead —
- 23anything that can withstand fire must be passed through fire to be made clean, but it must also be purified with the water of purification. Anything that can't withstand fire must be passed through water instead.
- 24On the 7th day, wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that, you may return to the camp."
- 25The LORD spoke to Moses and said,
- 26"You, Eleazar the priest, and the family leaders of the community must take a full count of everything that was captured — both people and animals.
- 27Then divide the plunder into 2 equal shares: one half for the soldiers who fought in the battle, and the other half for the rest of the community.
- 28From the soldiers' half, set aside a tribute for the LORD: 1 out of every 500 — whether people, cattle, donkeys, or sheep.
- 29Take this from the soldiers' share and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the LORD.
- 30From the community's half, take 1 out of every 50 — whether people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, or any other livestock — and give them to the Levites who are responsible for the LORD's tabernacle."
- 31Moses and Eleazar the priest did exactly as the LORD commanded Moses.
- 32The plunder, which was the remainder of what the soldiers had captured, amounted to 675,000 sheep,
- 3372,000 cattle,
- 3461,000 donkeys,
- 35and 32,000 young women who had never slept with a man.
- 36The half given to the soldiers who had fought in the battle came to 337,500 sheep.
- 37From these, the LORD's tribute was 675 sheep.
- 38The soldiers' share of cattle was 36,000, and the LORD's tribute from these was 72.
- 39The soldiers' share of donkeys was 30,500, and the LORD's tribute from these was 61.
- 40The soldiers' share of captive people was 16,000, and the LORD's tribute from these was 32 persons.
- 41Moses gave this tribute — the LORD's offering — to Eleazar the priest, just as the LORD had commanded.
- 42As for the other half that Moses set apart for the community from the soldiers' plunder:
- 43the community's half came to 337,500 sheep,
- 4436,000 cattle,
- 4530,500 donkeys,
- 46and 16,000 people.
- 47From the community's half, Moses took 1 out of every 50 — both people and animals — and gave them to the Levites who maintained the LORD's tabernacle, just as the LORD had commanded.
- 48Then the military commanders — the officers over thousands and the officers over hundreds — came to Moses.
- 49They said to Moses, "Your servants have counted the men of war under our command, and not one man is missing."
- 50So we've brought an offering to the LORD from the gold items each man collected: armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces — to make atonement for our souls before the LORD."
- 51Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from them — all of it finely crafted jewelry.
- 52The total gold offering presented to the LORD by the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds weighed 16,750 shekels.
- 53(The ordinary soldiers had each kept plunder for themselves.)
- 54Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the commanders and brought it into the Tent of Meeting as a memorial for the people of Israel before the LORD.