Moab Seduces Israel
(1 Corinthians 10:1–13)

1And Israel remained in Shittim,† and the people began to prostitute themselves with the daughters of Moab. 2And they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3And Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of YHWH was kindled against Israel.

4And YHWH said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people, and hang the offenders before YHWH out in the sun, that the burning of the nose of YHWH may turn away from Israel.”

5And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each man must kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.”

The Zeal of Phinehas

6And indeed, one of the sons of Israel came and presented to his brothers a Midianitess before the eyes of Moses and before the eyes of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they were weeping at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 7And Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, and he rose from among the congregation and took a spear in his hand, 8and he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust through the two of them, the man of Israel and the woman—through her body.

And the plague was stopped among the sons of Israel. 9And those who died in the plague were four and twenty thousand.

10And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 11“Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the sons of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the sons of Israel in My zeal. 12Therefore say, behold, I give to him My covenant of peace. 13And it shall be to him and his seed after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, upon that he was zealous for his God and made atonement upon the sons of Israel.”

14And the name of the man of Israel who was killed, who was killed with the Midianitess, was Zimri son of Salu, a leader of a house of a father of the Simeonite. 15And the name of the woman who was killed, the Midianitess, was Cozbi the daughter of Zur; he was head of a tribe of a house of a father in Midian.

16And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 17“Harass the Midianites and strike them. 18For they harassed you⁺ with their schemes by which they seduced you⁺ in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister who was killed in the day of the plague over the matter of Peor.”