Numbers 25:4
New International Version
The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the LORD’s fierce anger may turn away from Israel.”

New Living Translation
The LORD issued the following command to Moses: “Seize all the ringleaders and execute them before the LORD in broad daylight, so his fierce anger will turn away from the people of Israel.”

English Standard Version
And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”

Berean Standard Bible
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that His fierce anger may turn away from Israel.”

King James Bible
And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.

New King James Version
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the LORD, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”

New American Standard Bible
And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”

NASB 1995
The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”

NASB 1977
And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”

Legacy Standard Bible
And Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all who are the heads of the people and execute them in broad daylight before Yahweh, so that the burning anger of Yahweh may turn away from Israel.”

Amplified Bible
The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people [who have committed sin with the Moabites], and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”

Christian Standard Bible
The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD so that his burning anger may turn away from Israel.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD so that His burning anger may turn away from Israel.”

American Standard Version
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up unto Jehovah before the sun, that the fierce anger of Jehovah may turn away from Israel.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And LORD JEHOVAH said to Moshe: “Take all the Heads of the people and stretch them out before LORD JEHOVAH against the sun and turn back the heat of his wrath from the children of Israel.”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the Lord said to Moses, Take all the princes of the people, and make them examples of judgment for the Lord in the face of the sun, and the anger of the Lord shall be turned away from Israel.

Contemporary English Version
So 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. Maybe then I will stop being angry with the Israelites."

Douay-Rheims Bible
Said to Moses: Take all the princes of the people, and hang them up on gibbets against the sun: that my fury may be turned away from Israel.

English Revised Version
And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up unto the LORD before the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people, and execute them in broad daylight in the LORD's presence. This will turn the LORD's anger away from Israel."

Good News Translation
and said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of Israel and, in obedience to me, execute them in broad daylight, and then I will no longer be angry with the people."

International Standard Version
so the LORD told Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight for the LORD, so the LORD's burning anger may be withdrawn from Israel."

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up unto the LORD in face of the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.'

Literal Standard Version
And YHWH says to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them before YHWH in sight of the sun; and the fierceness of the anger of YHWH turns back from Israel.”

Majority Standard Bible
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that His fierce anger may turn away from Israel.”

New American Bible
The LORD said to Moses: Gather all the leaders of the people, and publicly execute them before the LORD, that the blazing wrath of the LORD may turn away from Israel.

NET Bible
The LORD said to Moses, "Arrest all the leaders of the people, and hang them up before the LORD in broad daylight, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel."

New Revised Standard Version
The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and impale them in the sun before the LORD, in order that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”

New Heart English Bible
The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up to the LORD before the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel."

Webster's Bible Translation
And the LORD said to Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.

World English Bible
Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up to Yahweh before the sun, that the fierce anger of Yahweh may turn away from Israel.”

Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them before Jehovah -- over-against the sun; and the fierceness of the anger of Jehovah doth turn back from Israel.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Moab Seduces Israel
3So Israel joined in worshiping Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD burned against them. 4Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that His fierce anger may turn away from Israel.” 5So Moses told the judges of Israel, “Each of you must kill all of his men who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.”…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 13:17
Nothing devoted to destruction shall cling to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger, grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers,

2 Samuel 21:6
let seven of his male descendants be delivered to us so that we may hang them before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD." "I will give them to you," said the king.

Psalm 106:29
So they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.


Treasury of Scripture

And the LORD said to Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.

judges

Exodus 18:21,25,26
Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: …

slay ye

Exodus 22:20
He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

Exodus 32:27,28
And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour…

Deuteronomy 13:6,9,13,15
If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; …

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Anger Broad Chiefs Daylight Execute Expose Hang Hanging Heads Israel Kill Leaders Moses Over-Against Sun Turn Turned
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Anger Broad Chiefs Daylight Execute Expose Hang Hanging Heads Israel Kill Leaders Moses Over-Against Sun Turn Turned
Numbers 25
1. Israel at Shittim commit unfaithfulness and idolatry
6. Phinehas kills Zimri and Cozbi
10. God therefore gives him an everlasting priesthood
16. The Midianites are to be troubled














(4) Take all the heads of the people.--The "heads" or "chiefs" of the people seem to be identical with the "judges" of the following verse. Some understand by "all the heads" those only who had been the chief offenders, whilst others understand the word "take" as equivalent to "assemble," or "bring before thee," and refer the word "them" to the offenders.

Hang them up . . . --It is obvious from Numbers 25:5 that the punishment of impaling or crucifying was not to be inflicted until after death. The LXX. renders the Hebrew verb which is here used (and which is found also in 2Samuel 21:6; 2Samuel 21:9) by the same word which occurs in Hebrews 6:6, and is there translated "to put to an open shame."

Verse 4. - The Lord said unto Moses. It seems strange that so fearful an apostasy had gone so far without interference on the part of Moses. He may have been absent from the camp on account of the wars with the Amorite kings; or he may have trusted to the chiefs to see that due order and discipline was maintained in the camps. Take all the heads of the people, i.e., the chiefs, who ought to have prevented, and might have prevented, this monstrous irregularity, but who seem, if we may judge from the case of Zimri, to have countenanced it. The mere neglect of duty in so gross a case was reason enough for summary execution. Hang them up before the Lord. Either by way of impalement or by way of crucifixion, both of which were familiar modes of punishment. In this case the guilty persons were probably slain first, and exposed afterwards. The hanging up was not ordered on account of its cruelty, nor merely for the sake of publicity ("against the sun ), but in order to show that the victims were devoted to the wrath of God against sin (cf. Deuteronomy 21:23; 2 Samuel 21:2-6). The Septuagint has here παραδειγμάτισον αὐτούς. Cf. Hebrews 6:6, where this word is coupled with "crucify." Them is no authority for referring the "them" (אותָם) to the guilty persons instead of to the heads of the people, as is done by the Targums and by many commentators.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then the LORD
יְהוָ֜ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

said
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

Moses,
מֹשֶׁ֗ה (mō·šeh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver

“Take
קַ֚ח (qaḥ)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

all
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the leaders
רָאשֵׁ֣י (rā·šê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 7218: The head

of the people
הָעָ֔ם (hā·‘ām)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

and execute
וְהוֹקַ֥ע (wə·hō·w·qa‘)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 3363: To sever oneself, to be dislocated, to abandon, to impale

them in
נֶ֣גֶד (ne·ḡeḏ)
Preposition
Strong's 5048: A front, part opposite, a counterpart, mate, over against, before

broad daylight
הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ (haš·šā·meš)
Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 8121: The sun, the east, a ray, a notched battlement

before the LORD,
לַיהוָ֖ה (Yah·weh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

so that His
יְהוָ֖ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

fierce
חֲר֥וֹן (ḥă·rō·wn)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2740: A burning of anger

anger
אַף־ (’ap̄-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 639: The nose, nostril, the face, a person, ire

may turn away
וְיָשֹׁ֛ב (wə·yā·šōḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Jussive - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

from Israel.”
מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (mî·yiś·rā·’êl)
Preposition-m | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc


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OT Law: Numbers 25:4 Yahweh said to Moses Take all (Nu Num.)
Numbers 25:3
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