Numbers 31 (JPS)

1And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:And the LORD said to Moses,

2'Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites; afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.'“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”

3And Moses spoke unto the people, saying: 'Arm ye men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the LORD'S vengeance on Midian.So 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.

4Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.'Send into battle a thousand men from each tribe of Israel.”

5So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.So a thousand men were recruited from each tribe of Israel—twelve thousand armed for war.

6And Moses sent them, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.And 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.

7And they warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew every male.Then they waged war against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male.

8And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian; Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.

9And the children of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took for a prey.The Israelites captured the Midianite women and their children, and they plundered all their herds, flocks, and goods.

10And all their cities in the places wherein they dwelt, and all their encampments, they burnt with fire.Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites had lived, as well as all their encampments,

11And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of man and of beast.and carried away all the plunder and spoils, both people and animals.

12And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and unto Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp, unto the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho.They 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.

13And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp.

14And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war.But Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who were returning from the battle.

15And Moses said unto them: 'Have ye saved all the women alive?“Have you spared all the women?” he asked them.

16Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to revolt so as to break faith with the LORD in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD.“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.

17Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.So now, kill all the boys, as well as every woman who has had relations with a man,

18But all the women children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.but spare for yourselves every girl who has never had relations with a man.

19And encamp ye without the camp seven days; whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, ye and your captives.All 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.

20And as to every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood, ye shall purify.'And purify every garment and leather good, everything made of goat’s hair, and every article of wood.”

21And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war that went to the battle: 'This is the statute of the law which the LORD hath commanded Moses:Then 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:

22Howbeit the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead—

23every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of sprinkling; and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make to go through the water.everything 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.

24And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye may come into the camp.'On the seventh day you are to wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may enter the camp.”

25And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:The LORD said to Moses,

26'Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the congregation;“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.

27and divide the prey into two parts: between the men skilled in war, that went out to battle, and all the congregation;Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to battle and the rest of the congregation.

28and levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the flocks;Set 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.

29take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, as a portion set apart for the LORD.Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the LORD.

30And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, even of all the cattle, and give them unto the Levites, that keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.'From 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.”

31And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD had commanded Moses,

32Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,and this plunder remained from the spoils the soldiers had taken: 675,000 sheep,

33and threescore and twelve thousand beeves,72,000 cattle,

34and threescore and one thousand asses,61,000 donkeys,

35and thirty and two thousand persons in all, of the women that had not known man by lying with him.and 32,000 women who had not slept with a man.

36And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep.This was the half portion for those who had gone to war: 337,500 sheep,

37And the LORD'S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.including a tribute to the LORD of 675,

38And the beeves were thirty and six thousand, of which the LORD'S tribute was threescore and twelve.36,000 cattle, including a tribute to the LORD of 72,

39And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred, of which the LORD'S tribute was threescore and one.30,500 donkeys, including a tribute to the LORD of 61,

40And the persons were sixteen thousand, of whom the LORD'S tribute was thirty and two persons.and 16,000 people, including a tribute to the LORD of 32.

41And Moses gave the tribute, which was set apart for the LORD, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as an offering for the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

42And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided off from the men that warred —From the Israelites’ half, which Moses had set apart from the men who had gone to war,

43now the congregation's half was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep,this half belonged to the congregation: 337,500 sheep,

44and thirty and six thousand beeves,36,000 cattle,

45and thirty thousand and five hundred asses,30,500 donkeys,

46and sixteen thousand persons —and 16,000 people.

47even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, that kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.From 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.

48And the officers that were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses;Then the officers who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and of hundreds—approached Moses

49and they said unto Moses: 'Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war that are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.and said, “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one of us is missing.

50And we have brought the LORD'S offering, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, armlets, and bracelets, signet-rings, ear-rings, and girdles, to make atonement for our souls before the LORD.'So 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.”

51And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.So Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them all the articles made out of gold.

52And all the gold of the gift that they set apart for the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. —All the gold that the commanders of thousands and of hundreds presented as an offering to the LORD weighed 16,750 shekels.

53For the men of war had taken booty, every man for himself. —Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself.

54And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.And 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.

Numbers 31

Vengeance on Midian

Division of the Spoils

The Voluntary Offering

You’ve read Numbers 31

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Numbers 31

Vengeance on Midian

Division of the Spoils

The Voluntary Offering

You’ve read Numbers 31

Go deeper