The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Avenge the people of Israel on
the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” 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. You shall send a thousand from each of the
tribes of Israel to the war.” So there were provided, out of the
thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand
armed for war. 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 the trumpets for the alarm in his
hand. They warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and
killed every male. They 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.
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. All their cities in the places where
they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire, and
took all the spoil and all the plunder, both of man and of beast.
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 the plains of Moab by the Jordan
at Jericho.
Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the chiefs of the
congregation went to meet them outside the camp. 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. Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? Behold,
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. Now therefore, kill
every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has
known man by lying with him. But all the young girls who have not
known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves. Encamp
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. You shall purify
every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats' hair, and
every article of wood.”
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: only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron,
the tin, and the lead, everything 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. You must
wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. And
afterward you may come into the camp.”
The LORD said to Moses, “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, and divide the
plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle
and all the congregation. 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. Take
it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a
contribution to the LORD. 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.” And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded
Moses.
Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was
675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 persons in
all, women who had not known man by lying with him. And the half,
the portion of those who had gone out in the army, numbered 337,500
sheep, and the LORD's tribute of sheep was 675. The cattle were
36,000, of which the LORD's tribute was 72. The donkeys were
30,500, of which the LORD's tribute was 61. The persons were
16,000, of which the LORD's tribute was 32 persons. And Moses gave
the tribute, which was the contribution for the LORD, to Eleazar
the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
From the people of Israel's half, which Moses separated from that
of the men who had served in the army—now the congregation's half
was 337,500 sheep, 36,000 cattle, and 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000
persons—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.
Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the
commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near
to Moses 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. And 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.” And
Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold, all
crafted articles. 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. (The men in the army
had each taken plunder for himself.) 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 people of Israel before the LORD.
