| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1And the LORD said to Moses, | 1Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 2“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.” | 2“On behalf of the people of Israel, take revenge on the Midianites for leading them into idolatry. After that, you will die and join your ancestors.” |
| 3So Moses told the people, “Arm some of your men for war, that they may go against the Midianites and execute the LORD’s vengeance on them. | 3So Moses said to the people, “Choose some men, and arm them to fight the LORD’s war of revenge against Midian. |
| 4Send into battle a thousand men from each tribe of Israel.” | 4From each tribe of Israel, send 1,000 men into battle.” |
| 5So a thousand men were recruited from each tribe of Israel—twelve thousand armed for war. | 5So they chose 1,000 men from each tribe of Israel, a total of 12,000 men armed for battle. |
| 6And Moses sent the thousand from each tribe into battle, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took with him the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling. | 6Then Moses sent them out, 1,000 men from each tribe, and Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest led them into battle. They carried along the holy objects of the sanctuary and the trumpets for sounding the charge. |
| 7Then they waged war against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. | 7They attacked Midian as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men. |
| 8Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. | 8All five of the Midianite kings—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—died in the battle. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. |
| 9The Israelites captured the Midianite women and their children, and they plundered all their herds, flocks, and goods. | 9Then the Israelite army captured the Midianite women and children and seized their cattle and flocks and all their wealth as plunder. |
| 10Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites had lived, as well as all their encampments, | 10They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived. |
| 11and carried away all the plunder and spoils, both people and animals. | 11After they had gathered the plunder and captives, both people and animals, |
| 12They brought the captives, spoils, and plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of Israel at the camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho. | 12they brought them all to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the whole community of Israel, which was camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho. |
| 13And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp. | 13Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. |
| 14But Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who were returning from the battle. | 14But Moses was furious with all the generals and captains who had returned from the battle. |
| 15“Have you spared all the women?” he asked them. | 15“Why have you let all the women live?” he demanded. |
| 16“Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD. | 16“These are the very ones who followed Balaam’s advice and caused the people of Israel to rebel against the LORD at Mount Peor. They are the ones who caused the plague to strike the LORD’s people. |
| 17So now, kill all the boys, as well as every woman who has had relations with a man, | 17So kill all the boys and all the women who have had intercourse with a man. |
| 18but spare for yourselves every girl who has never had relations with a man. | 18Only the young girls who are virgins may live; you may keep them for yourselves. |
| 19All of you who have killed a person or touched the dead are to remain outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and the seventh day you are to purify both yourselves and your captives. | 19And all of you who have killed anyone or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp for seven days. You must purify yourselves and your captives on the third and seventh days. |
| 20And purify every garment and leather good, everything made of goat’s hair, and every article of wood.” | 20Purify all your clothing, too, and everything made of leather, goat hair, or wood.” |
| 21Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses: | 21Then Eleazar the priest said to the men who were in the battle, “The LORD has given Moses this legal requirement: |
| 22Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead— | 22Anything made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead— |
| 23everything that can withstand the fire—must be put through the fire, and it will be clean. But it must still be purified with the water of purification. And everything that cannot withstand the fire must pass through the water. | 23that is, all metals that do not burn—must be passed through fire in order to be made ceremonially pure. These metal objects must then be further purified with the water of purification. But everything that burns must be purified by the water alone. |
| 24On the seventh day you are to wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may enter the camp.” | 24On the seventh day you must wash your clothes and be purified. Then you may return to the camp.” Division of the Plunder |
| 25The LORD said to Moses, | 25And the LORD said to Moses, |
| 26“You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads of the congregation are to take a count of what was captured, both of man and beast. | 26“You and Eleazar the priest and the family leaders of each tribe are to make a list of all the plunder taken in the battle, including the people and animals. |
| 27Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to battle and the rest of the congregation. | 27Then divide the plunder into two parts, and give half to the men who fought the battle and half to the rest of the people. |
| 28Set aside a tribute for the LORD from what belongs to the soldiers who went into battle: one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, or sheep. | 28From the army’s portion, first give the LORD his share of the plunder—one of every 500 of the prisoners and of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. |
| 29Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the LORD. | 29Give this share of the army’s half to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the LORD. |
| 30From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every fifty, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep, or other animals, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.” | 30From the half that belongs to the people of Israel, take one of every fifty of the prisoners and of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and other animals. Give this share to the Levites, who are in charge of maintaining the LORD’s Tabernacle.” |
| 31So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD had commanded Moses, | 31So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. |
| 32and this plunder remained from the spoils the soldiers had taken: 675,000 sheep, | 32The plunder remaining from everything the fighting men had taken totaled 675,000 sheep and goats, |
| 3372,000 cattle, | 3372,000 cattle, |
| 3461,000 donkeys, | 3461,000 donkeys, |
| 35and 32,000 women who had not slept with a man. | 35and 32,000 virgin girls. |
| 36This was the half portion for those who had gone to war: 337,500 sheep, | 36Half of the plunder was given to the fighting men. It totaled 337,500 sheep and goats, |
| 37including a tribute to the LORD of 675, | 37of which 675 were the LORD’s share; |
| 3836,000 cattle, including a tribute to the LORD of 72, | 3836,000 cattle, of which 72 were the LORD’s share; |
| 3930,500 donkeys, including a tribute to the LORD of 61, | 3930,500 donkeys, of which 61 were the LORD’s share; |
| 40and 16,000 people, including a tribute to the LORD of 32. | 40and 16,000 virgin girls, of whom 32 were the LORD’s share. |
| 41Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as an offering for the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. | 41Moses gave all the LORD’s share to Eleazar the priest, just as the LORD had directed him. |
| 42From the Israelites’ half, which Moses had set apart from the men who had gone to war, | 42Half of the plunder belonged to the people of Israel, and Moses separated it from the half belonging to the fighting men. |
| 43this half belonged to the congregation: 337,500 sheep, | 43It totaled 337,500 sheep and goats, |
| 4436,000 cattle, | 4436,000 cattle, |
| 4530,500 donkeys, | 4530,500 donkeys, |
| 46and 16,000 people. | 46and 16,000 virgin girls. |
| 47From the Israelites’ half, Moses took one out of every fifty persons and animals and gave them to the Levites who kept charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD had commanded him. | 47From the half-share given to the people, Moses took one of every fifty prisoners and animals and gave them to the Levites, who maintained the LORD’s Tabernacle. All this was done as the LORD had commanded Moses. |
| 48Then the officers who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and of hundreds—approached Moses | 48Then all the generals and captains came to Moses |
| 49and said, “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one of us is missing. | 49and said, “We, your servants, have accounted for all the men who went out to battle under our command; not one of us is missing! |
| 50So we have brought to the LORD an offering of the gold articles each man acquired—armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.” | 50So we are presenting the items of gold we captured as an offering to the LORD from our share of the plunder—armbands, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces. This will purify our lives before the LORD and make us right with him. ” |
| 51So Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them all the articles made out of gold. | 51So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from all the military commanders—all kinds of jewelry and crafted objects. |
| 52All the gold that the commanders of thousands and of hundreds presented as an offering to the LORD weighed 16,750 shekels. | 52In all, the gold that the generals and captains presented as a gift to the LORD weighed about 420 pounds. |
| 53Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself. | 53All the fighting men had taken some of the plunder for themselves. |
| 54And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the Tent of Meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD. | 54So Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gifts from the generals and captains and brought the gold to the Tabernacle as a reminder to the LORD that the people of Israel belong to him. |
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