Numbers 23-31

New American Standard Bible

The Prophecies of Balaam

23 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” ² Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered up a bull and a ram on each altar. ³ Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a bare hill.

⁴ Now God met with Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have set up the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.” ⁵ Then the Lord ^(A)put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you shall speak.” ⁶ So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab. ⁷ And he took up his discourse and said,

¹¹ Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? ^(I)I took you to put a curse on my enemies, but behold, you have actually blessed them!” ¹² He replied, “Must I not be careful to speak ^(J)what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

¹³ Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from where you may see them, although you will only see the extreme end of them and will not see all of them; and put a curse on them for me from there.” ¹⁴ So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ¹⁵ Then he said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet the Lord over there.” ¹⁶ Then the Lord met Balaam and ^(K)put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you shall speak.” ¹⁷ So he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” ¹⁸ Then he took up his discourse and said,

²⁵ Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!” ²⁶ But Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘^[b](X)Whatever the Lord speaks, I must do’?”

²⁷ Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be ^[c]agreeable with God that you curse them for me from there.” ²⁸ So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the ^[d]desert. ²⁹ And Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” ³⁰ Balak did just as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.

The Prophecy from Peor

24 When Balaam saw that it ^[e]pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to ^[f]seek ^(Y)omens, rather he turned his ^[g]attention toward the ^(Z)wilderness. ² And Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel ^[h]camping tribe by tribe; and ^(AA)the Spirit of God came upon him. ³ Then he took up his discourse and said,

¹⁰ Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his ^[n]hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times! ¹¹ So ^[o]flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.” ¹² And Balaam said to Balak, “^(AN)Did I not in fact tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, ¹³ ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the ^[p]command of the Lord, either good or bad, ^(AO)of my own ^[q]accord. ^(AP)What the Lord speaks, I will ^[r]speak’? ¹⁴ So now, behold, ^(AQ)I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you of what this people will do to your people in the ^[s]days to come.”

¹⁵ Then he took up his discourse and said,

²⁰ And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,

²¹ And he looked at the ^(AX)Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,

²³ Then he took up his discourse and said,

²⁵ Then Balaam arose, and he departed and returned to ^(BC)his place, and Balak also went on his way.

The Sin of Peor

25 While Israel remained at ^(BD)Shittim, the people began ^(BE)to commit infidelity with the daughters of Moab. ² For ^(BF)they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³ So ^(BG)Israel ^[z]became followers of ^[aa]Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry with Israel. ⁴ And the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and ^[ab]execute them ^[ac]in broad daylight before the Lord, ^(BH)so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” ⁵ So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you ^(BI)kill his men who have ^[ad]become followers of ^[ae]Baal of Peor.”

⁶ Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a ^(BJ)Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, ^(BK)while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ^7 (BL)When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, ⁸ and he went after the man of Israel into the inner room of the tent and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman, through the abdomen. ^(BM)So the plague on the sons of Israel was brought to a halt. ^9 (BN)But those who died from the plague were twenty-four thousand in number.

The Zeal of Phinehas

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹ “^(BO)Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has averted My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was ^[af]jealous with My ^[ag]jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel ^(BP)in My ^[ah]jealousy. ¹² Therefore say, ‘^(BQ)Behold, I am giving him My ^(BR)covenant of peace; ¹³ and it shall be for him and for his ^[ai]descendants after him, a covenant of a ^(BS)permanent priesthood, because he was ^[aj]jealous for his God and ^(BT)made atonement for the sons of Israel.’”

¹⁴ Now the name of the ^[ak]dead man of Israel who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites. ¹⁵ And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was ^(BU)Cozbi the daughter of ^(BV)Zur, ^[al]who was head of the people of a father’s household in Midian.

¹⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “^(BW)Be hostile to the Midianites and attack them; ¹⁸ for they have been hostile to you with their tricks, with which they have deceived you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister who was killed on the day of the plague because of Peor.”

Census of a New Generation

26 ^[am]Then it came about after the ^(BX)plague, ^[an]that the Lord spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, ² “^(BY)Take a ^[ao]census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ households, whoever is able to go to war in Israel.” ³ So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them ^(BZ)in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ⁴ “Take a census of the people from twenty years old and upward, as the Lord has commanded Moses.”

Now the sons of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were as follows:

⁵ Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; ⁶ of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. ⁷ These are the families of the Reubenites, and those who were counted of them were ^(CA)43,730. ⁸ The son of Pallu: Eliab. ⁹ The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were ^(CB)called by the congregation, who fought against Moses and against Aaron in the group of Korah, when they fought against the Lord, ¹⁰ and ^(CC)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah, when that group died, ^(CD)when the fire devoured 250 men, so that they became a warning sign. ^11 (CE)The sons of Korah, however, did not die.

¹² The sons of Simeon by their families: of ^[ap]Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of ^[aq]Jachin, the family of the Jachinites; ¹³ of ^[ar]Zerah, the family of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. ¹⁴ These are the families of the Simeonites, ^(CF)22,200 in number.

¹⁵ The sons of Gad by their families: of ^[as]Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites; ¹⁶ of ^[at]Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites; ¹⁷ of ^[au]Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites. ¹⁸ These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered of them, ^(CG)40,500.

¹⁹ The ^(CH)sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ The ^(CI)sons of Judah by their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites. ²¹ The sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. ²² These are the families of Judah by those who were numbered of them, ^(CJ)76,500.

²³ The ^(CK)sons of Issachar by their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of ^[av]Puvah, the family of the Punites; ²⁴ of ^[aw]Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. ²⁵ These are the families of Issachar by those who were numbered of them, ^(CL)64,300.

²⁶ The ^(CM)sons of Zebulun by their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. ²⁷ These are the families of the Zebulunites by those who were numbered of them, ^(CN)60,500.

²⁸ The ^(CO)sons of Joseph by their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. ²⁹ The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and ^(CP)Machir fathered Gilead: of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. ³⁰ These are the sons of Gilead: of ^[ax]Iezer, the family of the ^(CQ)Iezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites; ³¹ and of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; ³² and of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. ³³ Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, only daughters; and ^(CR)the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ³⁴ These are the families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were ^(CS)52,700.

³⁵ These are the sons of Ephraim by their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of ^[ay]Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. ³⁶ These are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. ³⁷ These are the families of the sons of Ephraim by those who were numbered of them, ^(CT)32,500. These are the sons of Joseph by their families.

³⁸ The sons of Benjamin by their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of ^[az]Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites; ³⁹ of ^[ba]Shephupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of ^[bb]Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. ⁴⁰ The sons of Bela were ^[bc]Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. ⁴¹ These are the sons of Benjamin by their families; and those who were numbered of them were ^(CU)45,600.

⁴² These are the sons of Dan by their families: of ^[bd]Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan by their families. ⁴³ All the families of the Shuhamites, by those who were numbered of them, were ^(CV)64,400.

⁴⁴ The ^(CW)sons of Asher by their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the family of the Beriites. ⁴⁵ Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. ⁴⁶ And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. ⁴⁷ These are the families of the sons of Asher by those who were numbered of them, ^(CX)53,400.

⁴⁸ The ^(CY)sons of Naphtali by their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites; ⁴⁹ of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of ^(CZ)Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. ⁵⁰ These are the families of Naphtali by their families; and those who were numbered of them were ^(DA)45,400.

⁵¹ These are the ones who were numbered of the sons of Israel, ^(DB)601,730.

⁵² Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵³ “^[be]Among these the land shall be divided as an inheritance according to the number of names. ^54 (DC)To a larger group you shall increase their inheritance, and to a smaller group you shall decrease their inheritance; each shall be given their inheritance corresponding to the total of those who were numbered of them. ⁵⁵ But the land shall be ^(DD)divided by lot. They shall receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers. ⁵⁶ Corresponding to the selection by lot, their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller groups.”

^57 (DE)These are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites. ⁵⁸ These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, and the family of the Korahites. ^(DF)Kohath fathered Amram. ⁵⁹ And the name of Amram’s wife ^(DG)was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses, and their sister Miriam. ^60 (DH)And to Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ^61 (DI)But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered ^[bf]strange fire before the Lord. ⁶² Those who were numbered of them were ^(DJ)twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and upward, for ^(DK)they were not numbered among the sons of Israel ^(DL)since no inheritance was given to them among the sons of Israel.

⁶³ These are the ones who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. ^64 (DM)But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. ⁶⁵ For the Lord had said ^[bg]of them, “^(DN)They shall certainly die in the wilderness.” And not a man was left of them, ^(DO)except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

A Law of Inheritance

27 Then ^(DP)the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph, came forward; and these are ^(DQ)the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ² They stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, before the leaders, and all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, ³ “Our father ^(DR)died in the wilderness, yet he was not among the group of those who gathered together against the Lord, in the group of Korah; but he died in his own sin, and ^(DS)he had no sons. ⁴ Why should the name of our father be withdrawn from among his family simply because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s brothers.” ^5 (DT)So Moses brought their case before the Lord.

⁶ Then the Lord said to ^[bh]Moses, ⁷ “^(DU)The daughters of Zelophehad are right about their statements. You shall certainly give them hereditary property among their father’s brothers, and you shall transfer the inheritance of their father to them. ⁸ Further, you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. ⁹ And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. ¹¹ And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his nearest relative in his own family, and he shall take possession of it; and it shall be a ^(DV)statutory ordinance to the sons of Israel, just as the Lord has commanded Moses.’”

^12 (DW)Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up to this ^(DX)mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the sons of Israel. ¹³ When you have seen it, you too ^(DY)will be gathered to your people, ^(DZ)just as Aaron your brother ^[bi]was; ¹⁴ for in the wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, ^(EA)you rebelled against My ^[bj]command to treat Me as holy before their eyes at the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

Joshua to Succeed Moses

¹⁵ Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, ¹⁶ “^(EB)May the Lord, the God of the spirits of ^[bk]humanity, appoint a man over the congregation, ¹⁷ who ^(EC)will go out ^[bl]and come in before them, and lead them out and ^[bm]bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord will not be ^(ED)like sheep that have no shepherd.” ¹⁸ So the Lord said to Moses, “^[bn]Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man ^(EE)in whom is the Spirit, and ^(EF)lay your hand on him; ¹⁹ and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and ^(EG)commission him in their sight. ²⁰ And you shall put some of your ^[bo]authority on him, so that all the congregation of the sons of Israel will obey him. ²¹ Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him ^(EH)by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his ^[bp]command they shall go out, and at his ^[bq]command they shall come in, both he and all the sons of Israel with him, all the congregation.” ²² Then Moses did just as the Lord commanded him; he took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. ²³ Then he laid his hands on him and ^(EI)commissioned him, just as the Lord had spoken ^[br]through Moses.

Laws for Offerings

28 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be careful to present to Me My offering, My ^(EJ)food for My offerings by fire, of a soothing aroma to Me, at their appointed time.’ ^3 (EK)And you shall say to them, ‘This is the offering by fire which you shall offer to the Lord: two male lambs one year old without defect as a continual burnt offering every day. ⁴ You shall offer the one lamb in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer ^[bs]at twilight; ⁵ also ^(EL)a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a ^(EM)grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a ^[bt]hin of pure oil. ⁶ It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained on Mount Sinai as a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. ⁷ Then the drink offering with it shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb; ^(EN)in the Holy Place pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the Lord. ⁸ The other lamb you shall offer ^[bu]at twilight; as the grain offering of the morning and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord.

⁹ ‘Then on the Sabbath day two male lambs one year old without defect, and two-tenths of an ^[bv]ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering: ¹⁰ This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath in addition to the ^(EO)continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

¹¹ ‘Then ^(EP)at the beginning of each of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the Lord: two ^[bw]bulls and one ram, seven male lambs one year old without defect; ^12 (EQ)and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, for each bull; and two-tenths of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, for the one ram; ¹³ and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering of a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. ¹⁴ Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull and a third of a hin for the ram and a fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year. ¹⁵ And one male goat as a sin offering to the Lord; it shall be offered with its drink offering in addition to the ^(ER)continual burnt offering.

¹⁶ ‘^(ES)The Lord’s Passover shall be on the fourteenth day of the first month. ^17 (ET)On the fifteenth day of this month there shall be a ^(EU)feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. ¹⁸ On the ^(EV)first day there shall be a holy assembly; you shall do no laborious work. ¹⁹ But you shall present an offering by fire, a burnt offering to the Lord: two ^[bx]bulls and one ram, and seven male lambs one year old, that you have ^(EW)without defect. ²⁰ For their grain offering, you shall offer fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for a bull, and two-tenths for the ram. ²¹ A tenth of an ephah you shall offer for ^[by]each of the seven lambs; ²² and one male goat as a ^(EX)sin offering to make atonement for you. ²³ You shall present these besides ^(EY)the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. ²⁴ In this way you shall present daily, for seven days, ^(EZ)the food of the offering by fire, of a soothing aroma to the Lord; it shall be presented with its drink offering in addition to the ^(FA)continual burnt offering. ²⁵ On the seventh day you shall have a holy assembly; ^(FB)you shall do no laborious work.

²⁶ ‘Also on ^(FC)the day of the first fruits, when you present a new grain offering to the Lord in your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy assembly; ^(FD)you shall do no laborious work. ²⁷ But you shall offer a burnt offering as a soothing aroma to the Lord: two bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs one year old; ²⁸ and as their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram, ²⁹ and a tenth for ^[bz]each of the seven lambs; ³⁰ also one male goat to make atonement for you. ^31 (FE)Besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, you shall present them with their drink offerings. They shall be without ^[ca]defect.

Offerings of the Seventh Month

29 ‘^(FF)Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy assembly; ^(FG)you shall do no laborious work. It will be to you a day for blowing trumpets. ² And you shall offer a burnt offering as a soothing aroma to the Lord: one ^[cb]bull, one ram, and seven male lambs one year old without defect; ³ also their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ^[cc]ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, ⁴ and a tenth for ^[cd]each of the seven lambs, ⁵ and one male goat as a sin offering, to make atonement for you, ^6 (FH)besides the burnt offering of the new moon and its grain offering, and the ^(FI)continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, for a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.

⁷ ‘Then on ^(FJ)the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy assembly, and you shall humble yourselves; you shall not do any work. ⁸ You shall present a burnt offering to the Lord as a soothing aroma: one bull, one ram, and seven male lambs one year old, that you have ^(FK)without defect; ⁹ and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the one ram, ¹⁰ and a tenth for each of the seven lambs; ¹¹ one male goat as a sin offering, besides ^(FL)the sin offering of atonement and ^(FM)the continual burnt offering, and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

¹² ‘Then on ^(FN)the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy assembly; you ^(FO)shall do no laborious work, and you shall celebrate with a feast to the Lord for seven days. ¹³ You shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire as a soothing aroma to the Lord: thirteen bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs one year old, which are without defect; ¹⁴ and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for ^[ce]each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths for ^[cf]each of the two rams, ¹⁵ and a tenth for each of the fourteen lambs; ¹⁶ and one male goat as a sin offering, ^(FP)besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

¹⁷ ‘Then on ^(FQ)the second day: twelve bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ¹⁸ and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number ^(FR)according to the ordinance; ¹⁹ and one male goat as a sin offering, ^(FS)besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

²⁰ ‘Then on the third day: eleven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ²¹ and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ²² and one male goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and its drink offering.

²³ ‘Then on the fourth day: ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ²⁴ their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ²⁵ and one male goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

²⁶ ‘Then on the fifth day: nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs one year old ^(FT)without defect; ²⁷ and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ²⁸ and one male goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and its drink offering.

²⁹ ‘Then on the sixth day: eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ³⁰ and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ³¹ and one male goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offerings.

³² ‘Then on the seventh day: seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ³³ and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ³⁴ and one male goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

³⁵ ‘^(FU)On the eighth day you shall have a sacred assembly; you shall do no laborious work. ³⁶ But you shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the Lord: one bull, one ram, and seven male lambs one year old without defect; ³⁷ their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ³⁸ and one male goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and its drink offering.

³⁹ ‘You shall present these to the Lord at your ^(FV)appointed times, besides your vowed offerings and your ^[cg]voluntary offerings, for your burnt offerings, your grain offerings, your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings.’” ^40 [ch]And Moses spoke to the sons of Israel in accordance with everything that the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Law of Vows

30 ^[ci]Then Moses spoke to ^(FW)the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the word which the Lord has commanded: ^2 (FX)If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to ^[cj]put himself under a binding obligation, he shall not break his word; he shall act in accordance with everything that comes out of his mouth.

³ “And if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and puts herself under a binding obligation in her father’s house in her youth, ⁴ and her father hears her vow and her obligation under which she has put herself, and her father ^[ck]says nothing to her, then all her vows shall ^[cl]remain valid and every binding obligation under which she has put herself shall ^[cm]remain valid. ⁵ But if her father expresses disapproval to her on the day he hears of it, none of her vows or her obligations under which she has put herself shall remain valid; and the Lord will ^[cn]forgive her because her father has expressed disapproval to her.

⁶ “However, if she happens to ^[co]marry while ^[cp]under her vows or the impulsive statement of her lips by which she has obligated herself, ⁷ and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day he hears it, then her vows shall remain valid and her binding obligations under which she has put herself shall remain valid. ⁸ But if on the day her husband hears of it, he expresses disapproval to her, then he will annul her vow which ^[cq]she is under and the impulsive statement of her lips by which she has obligated herself; and the Lord will ^[cr]forgive her.

⁹ “But as for the vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, every binding obligation under which she has put herself, shall remain valid against her. ¹⁰ However, if a married woman vowed in her husband’s house, or put herself under a binding obligation with an oath, ¹¹ and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not express disapproval to her, then all her vows shall remain valid and every binding obligation under which she put herself shall remain valid. ¹² But if her husband actually annuls them on the day he hears them, then no utterance from her lips concerning her vows or the obligation she put on herself shall remain valid; her husband has annulled them, and the Lord will ^[cs]forgive her.

¹³ “Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it. ¹⁴ But if her husband in fact says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her binding obligations which are on her; he has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them. ¹⁵ However, if he actually annuls them ^[ct]after he has heard them, then he shall bear the responsibility for her guilt.”

¹⁶ These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses concerning matters between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter while she is in her youth in her father’s house.

The Slaughter of Midian

31 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “^(FY)Take vengeance on the Midianites for the sons of Israel; afterward you will be ^(FZ)gathered to your people.” ³ So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, so that they may ^[cu]go against Midian to execute ^(GA)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, ^(GB)and the holy implements and ^(GC)the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. ⁷ So they made war against Midian, just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and ^(GD)they killed every male. ⁸ They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of those killed: ^(GE)Evi, Rekem, ^(GF)Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed ^(GG)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 ^[cv]burned all their cities where they lived and all their encampments. ¹¹ And ^(GH)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 ^[cw]spared ^(GI)all the women? ^16 (GJ)Behold, they caused the sons of Israel, through the ^[cx]counsel of ^(GK)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 (GL)Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man ^[cy]intimately. ¹⁸ However, all the ^[cz]girls who have not known a ^[da]man intimately, keep alive for yourselves. ^19 (GM)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 ^[db]withstand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it will be clean, only it shall be purified with ^(GN)water for impurity. But whatever cannot ^[dc]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 ^[dd]that were captured, both of people and of livestock; ²⁷ and ^(GO)divide the spoils between the warriors who went to battle and all the congregation. ²⁸ Also, ^(GP)collect a tribute tax for the Lord from the men of war who went to battle, one ^[de]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 ^[df]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 ^(GQ)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 ^[dg]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 ^[dh]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 ^(GR)as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁴² As for the sons of Israel’s half, which Moses ^[di]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 ^[dj]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, ^(GS)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 (GT)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 ^(GU)a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord.