| Holman Christian Standard Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1While Israel was staying in the Acacia Grove, the people began to have sexual relations with the women of Moab. | 1While Israel remained encamped in Shittim, the people began to commit sexual immorality with Moabite women, |
| 2The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods. | 2who also invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods. So the people ate what they had sacrificed and then worshipped their gods. |
| 3So Israel aligned itself with Baal of Peor, and the LORD's anger burned against Israel. | 3The people joined the Baal-peor cult. As a result, the anger of the LORD flared up against Israel, |
| 4The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD so that His burning anger may turn away from Israel." | 4so the LORD told Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight for the LORD, so the LORD's burning anger may be withdrawn from Israel." |
| 5So Moses told Israel's judges, "Kill each of the men who aligned themselves with Baal of Peor." | 5Then Moses ordered the judges of Israel, "Each one of you is to execute the men in his own tribe who joined the Baal-peor cult." |
| 6An Israelite man came bringing a Midianite woman to his relatives in the sight of Moses and the whole Israelite community while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. | 6That very moment, one of the Israelis arrived, bringing to his brothers one of the Midianite women, right in front of Moses and the entire community of Israel, while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting! |
| 7When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand, | 7When Eleazar's son Phinehas, grandson of Aaron the priest saw this, he jumped up from the middle of the community, grabbed a javelin in his hand, |
| 8followed the Israelite man into the tent, and drove it through both the Israelite man and the woman--through her belly. Then the plague on the Israelites was stopped, | 8followed the Israeli man inside his tent, and impaled the two of them—the Israeli man and the woman—right through both of them and into her abdomen. Then the plague infecting the Israelis was brought to a halt. Nevertheless, |
| 9but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000. | 924,000 people died because of the plague. |
| 10The LORD spoke to Moses, " | 10The LORD told Moses, |
| 11Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the Israelites because he was zealous among them with My zeal, so that I did not destroy the Israelites in My zeal. | 11"Eleazar's son Phinehas, grandson of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from Israel. Because his zealousness reflected my own zeal for them, I didn't consume Israel in my jealousy. |
| 12Therefore declare: I grant him My covenant of peace. | 12Therefore, I'm certainly going to be giving him my covenant of peace, |
| 13It will be a covenant of perpetual priesthood for him and his future descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites." | 13for him and for his descendants after him, too, a covenant of perpetual priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelis." |
| 14The name of the slain Israelite man, who was struck dead with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite ancestral house. | 14Now the name of the Israeli man who was slain, along with the Midianite woman, was Salu's son Zimri, a leader from the tribe of Simeon. |
| 15The name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal head of an ancestral house in Midian. | 15The woman who was slain, that is, the Midianite woman, was named Cozbi. She was the daughter of Zur, a leader of one of the ancestral houses of Midian. |
| 16The LORD told Moses: " | 16Later, the LORD ordered Moses, |
| 17Attack the Midianites and strike them dead. | 17"Attack the Midianites and execute them, |
| 18For they attacked you with the treachery that they used against you in the Peor incident. They did the same in the case involving their sister Cozbi, daughter of the Midianite leader who was killed the day the plague came at Peor." | 18because they've acted deceitfully, bringing trouble to you in this incident at Peor with Cozbi, daughter of a prince from Midian, who was killed during the plague that came about because of the incident at Peor." |
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