Numbers 31
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2“First, avenge the sons of Israel from the Midianites, and then you shall be gathered to your people.”
3And immediately Moses said: “Arm the men among you for a battle, so that they may be able to fulfill the retribution of the Lord on the Midianites.
4Let one thousand men be chosen from each tribe of Israel, who shall be sent to war.”
5And they gave one thousand from each tribe, that is, twelve thousand foot soldiers for battle.
6And Moses sent them with Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest; also, he delivered to him the holy vessels, and the trumpets to sound.
7And when they had fought against the Midianites and had prevailed, they killed all the men.
8And they put to death by the sword their kings: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five leaders of the nation, and also Balaam the son of Beor.
9And they seized their women and little ones, and all their cattle, and all their goods; whatever they were able to have, they despoiled.
10Both their cities and their villages, as well as their fortresses, they burned.
11And they carried away prey from everything that they had seized, both of men and of beasts.
12And they led these to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to all the multitude of the sons of Israel. But the remainder of the articles they carried to the camp on the plains of Moab, next to the Jordan, opposite Jericho.
13Then Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the assembly went out to meet them beyond the camp.
14And Moses, being angry with the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions, who had arrived from the battle,
15said: “Why have you spared the females?
16Are not these the ones who deceived the sons of Israel at the suggestion of Balaam, and who caused you betray the Lord by the sin of Peor, because of which the people also were struck down?
17Therefore, put to death all of them: whatever is of the male sex, even among the little ones, and cut the throats of those women who have known men by sexual relations.
18But the young girls, and all female virgins, reserve for yourselves.
19And remain beyond the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed a man, or who has touched one that was killed, shall be purified on the third day and on the seventh day.
20And all of the spoils, whether it is a garment, or a vessel, or another useful thing, made from the pelts or hair of goats, or from wood, shall be expiated.”
21Likewise, Eleazar the priest spoke in this manner to the men of the army who had fought: “This is the precept of the law, which the Lord has commanded Moses:
22Gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin,
23and all that may be able to pass through fire, shall be purified by fire. But whatever is not able to sustain fire shall be sanctified with the waters of expiation.
24And you shall wash your garments on the seventh day, and, after having been purified, you shall enter the camp.”
25And the Lord also said to Moses:
26“Take the sum of those things which were captured, from man even to beast, you and Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the common people.
27And you shall divide the prey equally, among those who went out to war and fought, and among the remainder of the multitude.
28And you shall separate a portion for the Lord from the portion of those who fought and were in the battle: one soul out of five hundred, as much from humans, as from oxen and donkeys and sheep.
29And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, because these are the first-fruits of the Lord.
30Likewise, from the half of the portion belonging to the sons of Israel, you shall receive the fiftieth head of humans, and of oxen, and donkeys, and sheep, and of all living things, and you shall give these to the Levites who stand watch over the care of the tabernacle of the Lord.”
31And Moses and Eleazar did just as the Lord had instructed.
32Now the prey which the army had seized was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,
33seventy-two thousand oxen,
34sixty-one thousand donkeys,
35and thirty-two thousand human lives, of the female sex, who had not known men.
36And one half of the portion was given to those who had been in the battle: three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep.
37From these, for the portion of the Lord, there were accounted: six hundred seventy-five sheep;
38and from the thirty-six thousand oxen, seventy-two oxen;
39from the thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, sixty-one donkeys.
40From the sixteen thousand human souls, there fell to the portion of the Lord thirty-two souls.
41And Moses delivered the number of the first-fruits of the Lord to Eleazar the priest, just as had been commanded of him,
42from the one half portion belonging to the sons of Israel, which he had separated from the portion of those who had been in the battle.
43Yet truly, from the one half portion which fell to the remainder of the multitude, that is, from the three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
44and from the thirty-six thousand oxen,
45and from the thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,
46and from the sixteen thousand persons,
47Moses took the fiftieth head, and gave it to the Levites who stand watch at the tabernacle of the Lord, just as the Lord had instructed.
48And when the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions had approached Moses, they said:
49“We, your servants, have taken a census of the number of the fighting men, whom we had under our hand, and indeed not one was lacking.
50For this reason, we offer as gifts to the Lord whatever gold each one was able to find amid the spoils, in anklets and arm bands, rings and bracelets, and little chains, so that you may intercede for us to the Lord.”
51And Moses and Eleazar the priest received all the gold in its various kinds,
52weighing sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels, from the tribunes and the centurions.
53For whatever each one had taken away in the spoils was his own.
54And having been accepted, they took it into the tabernacle of the testimony, as a memorial of the sons of Israel before the Lord.
1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.
3And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the Lord of Midian.
4Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.
5So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
6And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand.
7And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.
8And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.
9And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.
10And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.
11And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.
12And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.
13And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.
14And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.
15And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
16Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.
17Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
18But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
19And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.
20And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.
21And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses;
22Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.
24And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.
25And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
26Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation:
27And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:
28And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:
29Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the Lord.
30And of the children of Israel’s half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.
31And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.
32And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,
33And threescore and twelve thousand beeves,
34And threescore and one thousand asses,
35And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.
36And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep:
37And the Lord’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.
38And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the Lord’s tribute was threescore and twelve.
39And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the Lord’s tribute was threescore and one.
40And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the Lord’s tribute was thirty and two persons.
41And Moses gave the tribute, which was the Lord’s heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.
42And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided from the men that warred,
43(Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep,
44And thirty and six thousand beeves,
45And thirty thousand asses and five hundred,
46And sixteen thousand persons;)
47Even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses.
48And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:
49And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.
50We have therefore brought an oblation for the Lord, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the Lord.
51And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.
52And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the Lord, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.
53(For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)
54And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord.