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BibleStudyIt Numbers 31

  • Numbers Chapter 31

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War against the Midianites

31 The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘You must punish the Midianites because they caused the Israelites to worship idols. After you have done that, you will die.’

3 Moses said to the people, ‘Choose some men to go and fight against the Midianites. Give them weapons to punish the Midianites as the Lord wants. 4 Choose 1,000 men from each Israelite tribe to go and fight.’

5 They did that. There were 12,000 men ready with weapons to fight the battle. 6 Moses sent those men out to fight. There were 1,000 men from each tribe. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, went with them. Phinehas took with him the special things from God's Holy Tent. He also took the trumpets to make sounds for the battle.

7 They attacked the Midianites as the Lord had told them. They killed all the men. 8 That included the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba. They also killed Balaam, the son of Beor, with a sword.

9 Israel's men took hold of the women and children of Midian. They took their animals and everything that was valuable. 10 They burned all their towns and their camps. 11 They took for themselves the people, the animals and everything that was valuable. 12 They took all the prisoners and the things that they had taken to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest. They brought them to the camp of the Israelites. That was on the flat ground in Moab beside the Jordan River. Jericho was on the other side of the river.

13 Moses, Eleazar and the leaders of the Israelites went to meet them outside the camp. 14 Moses was angry with the leaders and the officers of the army who had come back from the battle against the Midianites.

15 Moses said to them, ‘Why have you let all the women live? 16 You should not have done that. These women caused the Israelites to turn against the Lord . They did what Balaam said to them at Peor. As a result, a bad disease killed many of the Lord 's people. 17 Because of that, kill all the boys, and kill every woman who has had sex with a man. 18 But as for the girls who have not had sex with a man, you may keep them for yourselves.’

19 Moses said, ‘Any soldier who has killed someone, or who has touched a dead body is unclean. He must stay outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and on the seventh day, you must wash yourselves to become clean. You must do the same thing to your Midianite prisoners. 20 You must also make these things clean: any clothes or anything made from leather, wool or wood.’

21 Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers, ‘This is the rule that the Lord told Moses: 22 You must put all the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, and other metals in a fire. 23 Put in the fire anything that the fire will not destroy. The fire will make those things clean. But you must also wash them with water. As for anything that the fire would destroy, wash them with water to make them clean. 24 On the seventh day, you must wash your clothes. After that you will be clean again. Then you can come into the camp.’

They shared the things that they had taken

25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 ‘You and Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the family clans must count all the people and animals that you took in the battle. 27 Give one half of all those things to the soldiers who went to fight the war against the Midianites. Give the other half to the rest of the people. 28 From the half which belongs to the soldiers, keep one part out of every 500. Do that with the Midianite prisoners, the cows, the donkeys and the sheep. Those parts will be for the Lord . 29 Give those to Eleazar the priest. He will offer them to the Lord . 30 From the half that belongs to the people, keep one part out of every 50. Do that with the Midianite prisoners, the cows, the donkeys and the sheep. Those parts will be for the Levites who take care of the Lord 's special tent.’

31 Moses and Eleazar did as the Lord said.

32 The soldiers had brought from the battle: 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cows, 34 61,000 donkeys 35 and 32,000 young women who had not had sex with a man.

36 The soldiers' half included 337,500 sheep. 37 So there were 675 sheep for the Lord . 38 The soldiers' half also included 36,000 cows. So there were 72 cows for the Lord . 39 The soldiers' half also included 30,500 donkeys. So there were 61 donkeys for the Lord . 40 The soldiers' half also included 16,000 people. So there were 32 people for the Lord .

41 Moses gave the part that was for the Lord to Eleazar, the priest. He would offer these to the Lord , as the Lord had commanded Moses.

42 Moses made the half for the Israelite people separate from the half that was for the soldiers. 43 The people's half included 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cows, 45 30,500 donkeys 46 and 16,000 people. 47 From the Israelites' half, Moses took one part out of every 50. He gave those to the Levites who took care of the Lord 's special tent. That was what the Lord had commanded Moses to do.

48 Then the leaders and the officers of the army went to Moses. 49 They said to him: ‘We have counted the soldiers who went to fight against the Midianites. They have all come back safely. 50 So we have brought a gift to offer to the Lord . We have brought gold rings, ear-rings, necklaces and other gold things that people wear. They are gifts to remove our sins so that the Lord will forgive us.’

51 Moses and Eleazar took all the gold things that the soldiers' officers and leaders brought to them. 52 They weighed all the gold that was offered to the Lord . The weight was 16,750 shekels. 53 The soldiers had also taken gold things from the enemy for themselves. 54 Moses and Eleazar took the gold gifts from the soldiers' officers and leaders into the Tent of Meeting. It would help the Israelites to remember how the Lord had helped them.

Israel Fights Back Against the Midianites

31 The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 2 “Moses, tell the Israelites this: ‘Go and attack the Midianites, and do to them what they did to you.’ After that Moses, you will die.” [ a ]

3 So Moses spoke to the people. He said, “Choose some of your men to be soldiers. The Lord will use these men to do to the Midianites what they did to you. 4 Choose 1000 men from each of the tribes of Israel. 5 There will be a total of 12,000 soldiers from the tribes of Israel.”

6 Moses sent these 12,000 men to war. He sent Phinehas son of Eleazar with them as the priest. Phinehas took the holy things and the horns and trumpets with him. 7 The Israelites fought the Midianites as the Lord had commanded. They killed all the Midianite men. 8 Among the people who they killed were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with a sword.

9 The Israelites took the Midianite women and children as prisoners. They also took all their sheep, cattle, and other things. 10 Then they burned all their towns and villages. 11 They took all the people and animals 12 and brought them to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the other Israelites. They brought all the things they took in war to the camp of Israel. The Israelites were camped in the Jordan Valley in Moab, on the east side of the Jordan River across from Jericho. 13 Then Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the people went out of the camp to meet with the soldiers.

14 Moses was very angry with the leaders of the army, the commanders of 1000 men, and the commanders of 100 men, who came back from the war. 15 Moses said to them, “Why did you let the women live? 16 These are the women who listened to Balaam and caused the men of Israel to turn away from the Lord that time at Peor. The disease will come to the Lord ’s people again. 17 Now, kill all the Midianite boys, and kill all the Midianite women who have had sexual relations with a man. 18 You can let all the young girls live—but only if they never had sexual relations with any man. 19 And then, all you men who killed other people must stay outside the camp for seven days. You must stay outside the camp even if you just touched a dead body. On the third day you and your prisoners must make yourselves pure. You must do the same thing again on the seventh day. 20 You must wash all of your clothes. You must wash anything made with leather, wool, or wood. You must purify yourselves.”

21 Then Eleazar the priest spoke to the soldiers. He said, “These are the rules that the Lord gave to Moses for soldiers coming back from war. 22-23 You must put gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead into the fire and then wash these things with the special water to make them pure. If something can be put in the fire, you must put it in fire to purify it. If things cannot be put in fire, you must still wash them with the special water. 24 On the seventh day you must wash all of your clothes. Then you will be pure. After that you can come into camp.”

25 Then the Lord said to Moses, 26 “You, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders should count all the prisoners, animals, and everything the soldiers took in war. 27 Then divide these things between the soldiers who went to war and the rest of the Israelites. 28 Take part of these things from the soldiers who went to war. That part will belong to the Lord . His share is one from every 500 items. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, and sheep. 29 Take that share from the soldiers’ half of the things they took in war. Then give these things to Eleazar the priest. That part will belong to the Lord . 30 And then, from the people’s half, take one thing for every 50 items. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, or any other animal. Give that share to the Levites, because they take care of the Lord ’s Holy Tent.”

31 So Moses and Eleazar did what the Lord commanded Moses. 32 The soldiers had taken 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys, 35 and 32,000 women. (These are only the women who had not had sexual relations with any man.) 36 The soldiers who went to war got 337,500 sheep. 37 They gave 675 sheep to the Lord . 38 The soldiers got 36,000 cattle. They gave 72 cattle to the Lord . 39 The soldiers got 30,500 donkeys. They gave 61 donkeys to the Lord . 40 The soldiers got 16,000 women. They gave 32 women to the Lord . 41 Moses gave all these gifts for the Lord to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord had commanded him.

42 Then Moses counted the people’s half. This was their share that Moses had taken from the soldiers who had gone to war. 43 The people got 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 women. 47 Moses took one out of every 50 women and animals. He gave them to the Levites because they took care of the Lord ’s Holy Tent. Moses did this as the Lord had commanded.

48 Then the leaders of the army (the leaders over 1000 men and the leaders over 100 men) came to Moses. 49 They told Moses, “We, your servants, have counted our soldiers. We have not missed any of them. 50 So we are bringing the Lord ’s gift from every soldier. We are bringing things that are made of gold—armbands, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces. This gift to the Lord is to make us pure.”

51 So Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted all these gold items from them. 52 The gold that the commanders [ b ] and captains [ c ] gave to the Lord weighed about 424 pounds. [ d ] 53 The soldiers kept the rest of their share of the things they took in war. 54 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the commanders and captains and then put that gold in the Meeting Tent. This present was a memorial [ e ] before the Lord for the Israelites.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 31:2 you will die Literally, “you will be gathered to your people.”
  2. Numbers 31:52 commanders Literally, “leaders of 1000 men.”
  3. Numbers 31:52 captains Literally, “leaders of 100 men.”
  4. Numbers 31:52 424 pounds Literally, “16,750 shekels” (190 kg).
  5. Numbers 31:54 memorial Something that helps people remember things that happened in the past.

31 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.

3 And 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.

4 Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.

5 So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

6 And 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.

7 And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.

8 And 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.

9 And 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.

10 And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.

11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.

12 And 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.

13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.

14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.

15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?

16 Behold, 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 .

17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

19 And 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.

20 And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood.

21 And 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;

22 Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

23 Every 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.

24 And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.

25 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

26 Take 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:

27 And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:

28 And 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:

29 Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the Lord .

30 And 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 .

31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

32 And 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,

33 And threescore and twelve thousand beeves,

34 And threescore and one thousand asses,

35 And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.

36 And 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:

37 And the Lord 'S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.

38 And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the Lord 'S tribute was threescore and twelve.

39 And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the Lord 'S tribute was threescore and one.

40 And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the Lord 'S tribute was thirty and two persons.

41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the Lord 'S heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.

42 And 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,

44 And thirty and six thousand beeves,

45 And thirty thousand asses and five hundred,

46 And sixteen thousand persons;)

47 Even 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.

48 And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:

49 And 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.

50 We 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 .

51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.

52 And 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.)

54 And 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 .

The Slaughter of Midian

31 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 ( A ) Take vengeance on the Midianites for the sons of Israel; afterward you will be ( B ) gathered to your people.” 3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, so that they may [ a ] go against Midian to execute ( C ) the Lord s vengeance on Midian. 4 You shall send a thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel to the war.” 5 So there were selected from the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 And Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war with them, ( D ) and the holy implements and ( E ) the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7 So they made war against Midian, just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and ( F ) they killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of those killed: ( G ) Evi, Rekem, ( H ) Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed ( I ) Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. 9 And the sons of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and they plundered all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their property. 10 Then they [ b ] burned all their cities where they lived and all their encampments. 11 And ( J ) they took all the plunder and all the spoils, both of people and of livestock. 12 They brought the captives and the spoils and the plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab which are by the Jordan, opposite Jericho.

13 And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp. 14 But 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. 15 And Moses said to them, “Have you [ c ] spared ( K ) all the women? 16 ( L ) Behold, they caused the sons of Israel, through the [ d ] counsel of ( M ) Balaam, to be unfaithful to the Lord in the matter of Peor, so that the plague took place among the congregation of the Lord ! 17 ( N ) Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man [ e ] intimately. 18 However, all the [ f ] girls who have not known a [ g ] man intimately, keep alive for yourselves. 19 ( O ) And as for you, camp outside the camp for seven days; whoever has killed a person and whoever has touched anyone killed, purify yourselves, you and your captives, on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 And you shall purify for yourselves every garment, every article of leather, every work of goats’ hair , and every article of wood.”

21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the Law which the Lord has commanded Moses: 22 only the gold and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 everything that can [ h ] withstand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it will be clean, only it shall be purified with ( P ) water for impurity. But whatever cannot [ i ] withstand the fire you shall pass through the water. 24 And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and you will be clean; and afterward you may enter the camp.”

Division of the Plunder

25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “You and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ households of the congregation take a count of the spoils [ j ] that were captured, both of people and of livestock; 27 and ( Q ) divide the spoils between the warriors who went to battle and all the congregation. 28 Also, ( R ) collect a tribute tax for the Lord from the men of war who went to battle, one [ k ] in five hundred of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the sheep; 29 take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest, as an [ l ] offering to the Lord . 30 And from the sons of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn from every fifty of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the sheep, from all the animals; and give them to the Levites who ( S ) perform the duty of the tabernacle of the Lord .” 31 Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

32 Now the spoils that remained from the plunder which the [ m ] men of war had plundered was 675,000 sheep, 33 seventy-two thousand cattle, 34 sixty-one thousand donkeys, 35 and of captive people, of the women who had not known a [ n ] man intimately, in all were thirty-two thousand people.

36 The half, the share of those who went to war, was as follows : the number of sheep was 337,500, 37 the Lord s tribute tax of the sheep was 675; 38 the cattle were thirty-six thousand, from which the Lord s tribute tax was seventy-two; 39 the donkeys were 30,500, from which the Lord s tribute tax was sixty-one; 40 and the captive people were sixteen thousand, from whom the Lord s tribute tax was thirty-two persons. 41 And Moses gave the tribute tax, which was the Lord s offering, to Eleazar the priest, just ( T ) as the Lord had commanded Moses.

42 As for the sons of Israel’s half, which Moses [ o ] separated from the men who had gone to war— 43 now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep, 44 thirty-six thousand cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys, 46 and the captive people were sixteen thousand— 47 from the sons of Israel’s half Moses took one drawn from every fifty, both of people and of animals, and gave them to the Levites, who performed the duty of the tabernacle of the Lord , just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, approached Moses, 49 and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a census of the men of war who are [ p ] under our authority, and no man of us is missing. 50 So we have brought as an offering to the Lord what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, ( U ) to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord .” 51 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all kinds of crafted articles. 52 All the gold of the offering which they offered up to the Lord , from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels. 53 ( V ) The men of war had taken plunder, every man for himself. 54 So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it to the tent of meeting as ( W ) a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord .

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 31:3 Lit be
  2. Numbers 31:10 Lit burned with fire
  3. Numbers 31:15 Lit let...live
  4. Numbers 31:16 Lit word
  5. Numbers 31:17 Lit in bed with a man
  6. Numbers 31:18 Lit children among the women
  7. Numbers 31:18 Lit man’s bed
  8. Numbers 31:23 Lit come into
  9. Numbers 31:23 Lit come into
  10. Numbers 31:26 Lit of captives
  11. Numbers 31:28 Lit soul from
  12. Numbers 31:29 Or uplifted offering , and so throughout the ch
  13. Numbers 31:32 Lit people
  14. Numbers 31:35 Lit man’s bed
  15. Numbers 31:42 Lit divided
  16. Numbers 31:49 Lit in our hand

Vengeance on the Midianites

31 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Take vengeance on the Midianites ( A ) for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people. ( B )

3 So Moses said to the people, “Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites so that they may carry out the Lord ’s vengeance ( C ) on them. 4 Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel.” 5 So twelve thousand men armed for battle, ( D ) a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel. 6 Moses sent them into battle, ( E ) a thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas ( F ) son of Eleazar, the priest, who took with him articles from the sanctuary ( G ) and the trumpets ( H ) for signaling.

7 They fought against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, ( I ) and killed every man. ( J ) 8 Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba ( K ) —the five kings of Midian. ( L ) They also killed Balaam son of Beor ( M ) with the sword. ( N ) 9 The Israelites captured the Midianite women ( O ) and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder. ( P ) 10 They burned ( Q ) all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps. ( R ) 11 They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals, ( S ) 12 and brought the captives, spoils ( T ) and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly ( U ) at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho. ( V )

13 Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army ( W ) —the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who returned from the battle.

15 “Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. 16 “They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice ( X ) and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the Peor incident, ( Y ) so that a plague ( Z ) struck the Lord ’s people. 17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, ( AA ) 18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

19 “Anyone who has killed someone or touched someone who was killed ( AB ) must stay outside the camp seven days. ( AC ) On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves ( AD ) and your captives. 20 Purify every garment ( AE ) as well as everything made of leather, goat hair or wood. ( AF )

21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, ( AG ) “This is what is required by the law that the Lord gave Moses: 22 Gold, silver, bronze, iron, ( AH ) tin, lead 23 and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, ( AI ) and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing. ( AJ ) And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water. 24 On the seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean. ( AK ) Then you may come into the camp. ( AL )

Dividing the Spoils

25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads ( AM ) of the community are to count all the people ( AN ) and animals that were captured. ( AO ) 27 Divide ( AP ) the spoils equally between the soldiers who took part in the battle and the rest of the community. 28 From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the Lord ( AQ ) one out of every five hundred, whether people, cattle, donkeys or sheep. 29 Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the priest as the Lord ’s part. 30 From the Israelites’ half, select one out of every fifty, whether people, cattle, donkeys, sheep or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord ’s tabernacle. ( AR ) 31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

32 The plunder remaining from the spoils ( AS ) that the soldiers took was 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys 35 and 32,000 women who had never slept with a man.

36 The half share of those who fought in the battle was:

337,500 sheep, 37 of which the tribute for the Lord ( AT ) was 675;

38 36,000 cattle, of which the tribute for the Lord was 72;

39 30,500 donkeys, of which the tribute for the Lord was 61;

40 16,000 people, of whom the tribute for the Lord was 32.

41 Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as the Lord ’s part, ( AU ) as the Lord commanded Moses. ( AV )

42 The half belonging to the Israelites, which Moses set apart from that of the fighting men— 43 the community’s half—was 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys 46 and 16,000 people. 47 From the Israelites’ half, Moses selected one out of every fifty people and animals, as the Lord commanded him, and gave them to the Levites, who were responsible for the care of the Lord ’s tabernacle.

48 Then the officers ( AW ) who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—went to Moses 49 and said to him, “Your servants have counted ( AX ) the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing. ( AY ) 50 So we have brought as an offering to the Lord the gold articles each of us acquired—armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves ( AZ ) before the Lord .”

51 Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted from them the gold—all the crafted articles. 52 All the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds that Moses and Eleazar presented as a gift to the Lord weighed 16,750 shekels. [ a ] 53 Each soldier had taken plunder ( BA ) for himself. 54 Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting ( BB ) as a memorial ( BC ) for the Israelites before the Lord .

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 31:52 That is, about 420 pounds or about 190 kilograms