| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, | 1Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 2“Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall 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 spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the LORD’s vengeance on Midian. | 3So Moses said to the people, “Choose some men, and arm them to fight the LORD’s war of revenge against Midian. |
| 4You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war.” | 4From each tribe of Israel, send 1,000 men into battle.” |
| 5So there were provided, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, 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 them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. | 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. |
| 7They warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every male. | 7They attacked Midian as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men. |
| 8They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed Balaam the 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. |
| 9And the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, and they took as plunder all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods. | 9Then the Israelite army captured the Midianite women and children and seized their cattle and flocks and all their wealth as plunder. |
| 10All their cities in the places where they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire, | 10They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived. |
| 11and took all the spoil and all the plunder, both of man and of beast. | 11After they had gathered the plunder and captives, both people and animals, |
| 12Then they brought the captives and the plunder and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at 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. |
| 13Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the chiefs 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. |
| 14And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. | 14But Moses was furious with all the generals and captains who had returned from the battle. |
| 15Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? | 15“Why have you let all the women live?” he demanded. |
| 16Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among 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. |
| 17Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. | 17So kill all the boys and all the women who have had intercourse with a man. |
| 18But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves. | 18Only the young girls who are virgins may live; you may keep them for yourselves. |
| 19Encamp outside the camp seven days. Whoever of you has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. | 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. |
| 20You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats’ 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 men in the army who had gone to battle: “This is the statute of the law that 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, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, | 22Anything made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead— |
| 23everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for impurity. And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall 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. |
| 24You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. And afterward you may come into 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“Take the count of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation, | 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. |
| 27and divide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all 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. |
| 28And levy for the LORD a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks. | 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 a contribution to the LORD. | 29Give this share of the army’s half to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the LORD. |
| 30And from the people of Israel’s half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep guard over 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.” |
| 31And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. | 31So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. |
| 32Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 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 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him. | 35and 32,000 virgin girls. |
| 36And the half, the portion of those who had gone out in the army, numbered 337,500 sheep, | 36Half of the plunder was given to the fighting men. It totaled 337,500 sheep and goats, |
| 37and the LORD’s tribute of sheep was 675. | 37of which 675 were the LORD’s share; |
| 38The cattle were 36,000, of which the LORD’s tribute was 72. | 3836,000 cattle, of which 72 were the LORD’s share; |
| 39The donkeys were 30,500, of which the LORD’s tribute was 61. | 3930,500 donkeys, of which 61 were the LORD’s share; |
| 40The persons were 16,000, of which the LORD’s tribute was 32 persons. | 40and 16,000 virgin girls, of whom 32 were the LORD’s share. |
| 41And Moses gave the tribute, which was the contribution for the LORD, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses. | 41Moses gave all the LORD’s share to Eleazar the priest, just as the LORD had directed him. |
| 42From the people of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from that of the men who had served in the army— | 42Half of the plunder belonged to the people of Israel, and Moses separated it from the half belonging to the fighting men. |
| 43now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep, | 43It totaled 337,500 sheep and goats, |
| 4436,000 cattle, | 4436,000 cattle, |
| 45and 30,500 donkeys, | 4530,500 donkeys, |
| 46and 16,000 persons— | 46and 16,000 virgin girls. |
| 47from the people of Israel’s half Moses took one of every 50, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites who kept guard over the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. | 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 thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses | 48Then all the generals and captains came to Moses |
| 49and said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the men of war who are under our command, and there is not a man missing from us. | 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! |
| 50And we have brought the LORD’s offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and beads, 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. ” |
| 51And Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold, all crafted articles. | 51So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from all the military commanders—all kinds of jewelry and crafted objects. |
| 52And all the gold of the contribution that they presented to the LORD, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels. | 52In all, the gold that the generals and captains presented as a gift to the LORD weighed about 420 pounds. |
| 53(The men in the army had each 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 people of Israel 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. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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