Vengeance on Midian

Numbers 31

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 n "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall o be gathered to your people." 3 So 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. 4 You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war." 5 So there were provided, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand p armed for war. 6 And 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 q the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7 They warred against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and r killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, s Evi, Rekem, t Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed u Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. 9 And 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. 10 All their cities in the places where they lived, and all their v encampments, they burned with fire, 11 w and took all the spoil and all the plunder, both of man and of beast. 12 Then 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 x the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

13 Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the chiefs of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp. 14 And Moses was angry with y the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 15 Moses said to them, "Have you z let all the women live? 16 Behold, a these, b on Balaam's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of c Peor, and so d the plague came among the congregation of the Lord. 17 Now therefore, e kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. 18 But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him f keep alive for yourselves. 19 g Encamp outside the camp seven days. Whoever of you has killed any person and h whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats' hair, and every article of wood."

21 Then 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: 22 only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified i with the water for impurity. And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water. 24 You must j wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. And afterward you may come into the camp."

25 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, 27 and k divide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. 28 And levy for the Lord a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, l one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks. 29 Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the Lord. 30 And from the people of Israel's half you shall take m 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 n who keep guard over the tabernacle of the Lord." 31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

32 Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys, 35 and 32,000 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him. 36 And the half, the portion of those who had gone out in the army, numbered 337,500 sheep, 37 and o the Lord's tribute of sheep was 675. 38 The cattle were 36,000, of which the Lord's tribute was 72. 39 The donkeys were 30,500, of which the Lord's tribute was 61. 40 The persons were 16,000, of which the Lord's tribute was 32 persons. 41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the contribution for the Lord, to Eleazar the priest, p as the Lord commanded Moses.

42 From the people of Israel's half, which Moses separated from that of the men who had served in the army - 43 now the congregation's half was 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 and 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 persons - 47 q from 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.

48 Then r the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses 49 and 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. 50 And we have brought the Lord's offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and beads, s to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord." 51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold, all crafted articles. 52 And 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. 1 53 t (The men in the army had each taken plunder for himself.) 54 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, u as a memorial for the people of Israel before the Lord.

  1. Cross References
    Numbers 25:17
    Harass the Midianites and strike them down.
  2. Cross References
    Numbers 20:24
    Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah.
  3. Cross References
    Numbers 32:27
    But your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord orders.
    Joshua 4:13
    About 40,000 ready for war passed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho.
  4. Cross References
    Numbers 10:6
    And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out.
    Numbers 10:9
    And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.
    Leviticus 23:24
    Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation.
  5. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 20:13
    And when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword.
    Judges 21:11
    This is what you shall do: every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction.
    1 Samuel 27:9
    And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and come back to Achish.
    1 Kings 11:15 - 16
    For when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain, he struck down every male in Edom
  6. Cross References
    Joshua 13:21
    That is, all the cities of the tableland, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses defeated with the leaders of Midian, Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land.
  7. Cross References
    Numbers 25:15
    And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father's house in Midian.
  8. Cross References
    Joshua 13:22
    Balaam also, the son of Beor, the one who practiced divination, was killed with the sword by the people of Israel among the rest of their slain.
  9. Cross References
    Genesis 25:16
    These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes.
  10. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 20:14
    But the women and the little ones, the livestock, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as plunder for yourselves. And you shall enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God has given you.
    Joshua 8:2
    And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.
  11. Cross References
    Numbers 22:1
    Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho.
  12. Cross References
    Numbers 31:48
    Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses
  13. Cross References
    1 Samuel 15:3
    Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'
  14. Cross References
    Numbers 25:2
    These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.
  15. Cross References
    Numbers 24:14
    And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.
    2 Peter 2:15
    Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing.
    Revelation 2:14
    But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.
  16. Cross References
    Numbers 23:28
    So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the desert.
  17. Cross References
    Numbers 25:9
    Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
  18. Cross References
    Judges 21:11 - 12
    This is what you shall do: every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction.
  19. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 21:10 - 14
    When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive.
  20. Cross References
    Numbers 5:2
    Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead.
  21. Cross References
    Numbers 19:12
    He shall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean.
    Numbers 19:22
    And whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean, and anyone who touches it shall be unclean until evening.
  22. Cross References
    Numbers 19:9
    And a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place. And they shall be kept for the water for impurity for the congregation of the people of Israel; it is a sin offering.
  23. Cross References
    Leviticus 11:25
    And whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.
  24. Cross References
    Joshua 22:8
    He said to them, "Go back to your tents with much wealth and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.
    1 Samuel 30:24
    Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.
  25. Cross References
    Numbers 18:26
    Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, 'When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe.
    Numbers 31:30 - 41
    And 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.
    Numbers 31:47
    From 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.
  26. Cross References
    Numbers 31:42 - 47
    From the people of Israel's half, which Moses separated from that of the men who had served in the army -
  27. Cross References
    Numbers 1:53
    But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony.
  28. Cross References
    Numbers 31:28
    And 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.
  29. Cross References
    Numbers 18:8
    Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, "Behold, I have given you charge of the contributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual due.
    Numbers 18:19
    All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you.
  30. Cross References
    Numbers 31:30
    And 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.
  31. Cross References
    Numbers 31:14
    And 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.
  32. Cross References
    Exodus 30:12
    When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.
  33. Cross References
    Numbers 31:32
    Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 675,000 sheep.
    Deuteronomy 20:14
    But the women and the little ones, the livestock, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as plunder for yourselves. And you shall enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God has given you.
  34. Cross References
    Exodus 30:16
    You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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