1 ARST While the Israelites were camped at a place called Acacia Grove, some of the men became unfaithful to God by sleeping with some of the women of the Moab people group who lived in that area. BSB BSB: While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,
2 ARST Then those women invited the men to come when the sacrifices were being offered to their gods. The Israelite men accepted. They went to the feasts with the women and worshiped the gods of the Moab people group. BSB BSB: who also invited them to the sacrifices for their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to these gods.
3 ARST By doing that, the Israelite people joined the women in worshiping the god Baal who the Moab people group thought lived on Mount Peor. That caused Yahweh to become very angry with his people, and he sent a severe plague on many of the Israelite people. BSB BSB: So Israel joined in worshiping Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD burned against them.
4 ARST Yahweh said this to Moses:“Seize all the leaders of those who are doing this and execute them while I am watching. Do that in the daytime. After you do that, I will no longer be angry with the Israelite people.” BSB BSB: 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.”
5 ARST So Moses said to the other Israelite leaders,“Each of you must execute your men who have joined others in worshiping Baal.” BSB BSB: So Moses told the judges of Israel, “Each of you must kill all of his men who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.”
6 ARST But later, while many people were crying at the entrance of the sacred tent, one of the Israelite men brought a woman from the Midian people group into his tent and started to sleep with her. Moses and all the people heard of it. BSB BSB: Just then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and the whole congregation of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
7 ARST When Phinehas, who was a grandson of Aaron, heard this he rose up from among the community, grabbed a spear. BSB BSB: On seeing this, Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand,
8 ARST Then he rushed into the man’ s tent. He thrust the spear completely through the man’ s body and into the woman’ s belly and killed both of them. When he did that, the plague that had started to strike the Israelites stopped. BSB BSB: followed the Israelite into the tent, and drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and on through the belly of the woman. So the plague against the Israelites was halted,
9 ARST But twenty- four thousand people had already died from that plague. BSB BSB: but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.
10 ARST Then Yahweh said to Moses, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses,
11 ARST “Phinehas has caused me to stop being angry with the Israelite people, by being as eager as I am to stop this sinful behavior. I was ready to get rid of all the Israelite people because I was extremely angry, but Phinehas has prevented me from doing that. BSB BSB: “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the Israelites; for he was zealous for My sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My zeal.
12 ARST Now tell him that I am making a special peace agreement with him. BSB BSB: Declare, therefore, that I am granting him My covenant of peace.
13 ARST In this agreement, I am promising to give to him and to his descendants the right to be priests. I am doing this because he showed that he was very eager to honor me, his God, by stopping this sinful behavior. He has satisfied my holy righteousness against the sinfulness of Israel by causing me to forgive them for their sin.” BSB BSB: It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”
14 ARST The Israelite man who was killed with the woman of the Moab people group was named Zimri son of Salu, who was the leader of a family from the tribe of Simeon. BSB BSB: The name of the Israelite who was slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.
15 ARST The woman’ s name was Kozbi. She was the daughter of Zur, who was the leader of one of the clans of the Midian people group. BSB BSB: And the name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.
16 ARST Then Yahweh said to Moses, BSB BSB: And the LORD said to Moses,
17 ARST “Take your men and attack the Midian people group and kill them. BSB BSB: “Attack the Midianites and strike them dead.
18 ARST They have become your enemies, because they tricked you Israelite people and induced many of you to worship Baal, and because one of your men slept with Kozbi, who was the daughter of a leader of the Midian people group. She was killed at the time the plague started because of the people who sinned at Mount Peor.” BSB BSB: For they assailed you deceitfully when they seduced you in the matter of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite leader, the woman who was killed on the day the plague came because of Peor.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.