Numbers 31
Names of God Bible
The Lord Commands Israel to Defeat Midian
31 Yahweh said to Moses, 2 “Get even with the Midianites for what they did to the Israelites. After that you will join your ancestors in death.”
3 Moses said to the people, “Some of your men must get ready to go to war against the Midianites. Yahweh will use them to get even with Midian. 4 Send 1,000 men from each of the tribes of Israel.”
5 So 1,000 men from each tribe were supplied from the divisions of Israel—12,000 men ready for war. 6 Then Moses sent them off to war, 1,000 men from each tribe along with Phinehas, son of the priest Eleazar. Phinehas took with him the holy articles and the trumpets for the fanfare.
7 They went to war against Midian, as Yahweh commanded Moses, and killed every man. 8 Among those killed were the five kings of Midian—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed Balaam, son of Beor, in battle. 9 The Israelites took the Midianite women and children as prisoners of war. They also took all their animals, their livestock, and their valuables as loot. 10 They burned all the cities where the Midianites lived and all their settlements. 11 Then they took everything as loot, including all the people and animals, 12 and brought the prisoners of war, the loot, and everything to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the community of Israel at the camp on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from Jericho.
13 Moses, the priest Eleazar, and all the leaders of the community went outside the camp to meet them. 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of the companies and battalions, who were returning from battle.
15 “Why did you let all the women live?” he asked them. 16 “Remember, they were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and caused[a] the Israelites to be unfaithful to Yahweh in the incident that took place at Peor. Yahweh’s community experienced a plague at that time. 17 So kill all the Midianite boys and every Midianite woman who has gone to bed with a man. 18 But save for yourselves every girl who has never gone to bed with a man.
19 “Everyone who killed a person or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp seven days. You and your prisoners of war must use the ritual water on the third and seventh days in order to take away your sin. 20 Do the same for all the clothes and everything made of leather, goats’ hair, or wood.”
21 Then the priest Eleazar said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is what Yahweh’s teachings told Moses to do: 22 Any gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead— 23 anything that won’t burn—must be put through fire in order to make it clean.[b] Then it must also be put through the ritual water in order to take away its sin. Whatever might burn must only be put through the ritual water. 24 On the seventh day wash your clothes, and you will be clean. Then you may come into the camp.”
25 Yahweh said to Moses, 26 “You, the priest Eleazar, and the heads of the families of the community need to count all the loot, including the people and animals you captured. 27 Divide the loot between the soldiers who served in the war and the rest of the community. 28 Collect a tax for Yahweh. From the soldiers who served in the war collect one out of every 500 things. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. 29 Collect all these things from the soldiers’ half of the loot, and give them to the priest Eleazar as a contribution to Yahweh. 30 From the Israelites’ half of the loot, collect one out of every 50 things. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and every other kind of animal. Give them to the Levites who are in charge of the work done at Yahweh’s tent.” 31 Moses and the priest Eleazar did as Yahweh commanded Moses.
32 This is the loot that was left from everything that the troops took: 675,000 sheep and goats, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys, and 35 32,000 women who had never gone to bed with a man.
36 Half of it went to the soldiers who served in the war. Of the 337,500 sheep and goats they received, 37 675 went to Yahweh as taxes. 38 Of the 36,000 cattle they received, 72 went to Yahweh as taxes. 39 Of the 30,500 donkeys they received, 61 went to Yahweh as taxes. 40 Of the 16,000 people they received, 32 went to Yahweh as taxes.
41 Moses gave Yahweh’s taxes to the priest Eleazar, as Yahweh had commanded him.
42 Moses took the Israelites’ half of the loot from the soldiers. 43 The community received 337,500 sheep and goats, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 people.
47 From the Israelites’ half Moses collected one out of every 50 things, including people and animals, as Yahweh commanded him. Then he gave all this to the Levites who were in charge of the work done at Yahweh’s tent.
48 Then the officers from the military divisions, the commanders of the companies and battalions of men, came to Moses. 49 They said to him, “Sir, we have counted all the soldiers under our command, and not one of them is missing. 50 So we have brought as gifts to Yahweh the gold jewelry that each of us found—arm bands, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and pendants. We offer them to make peace with the Lord.”
51 Moses and the priest Eleazar took all the hand-crafted gold articles from them. 52 All the gold contributed to Yahweh by the commanders weighed about 420 pounds. 53 Each soldier kept his own loot. 54 Moses and the priest Eleazar took the gold from the commanders and brought it into Yahweh’s presence at the tent of meeting as a reminder to the Israelites.
Footnotes
- Numbers 31:16 Targum; Hebrew meaning of “caused” uncertain.
- Numbers 31:23 “Clean” refers to anything that is presentable to God.
Numbers 31
Revised Standard Version
War against Midian
31 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Avenge the people of Israel on the Mid′ianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” 3 And Moses said to the people, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Mid′ian, to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Mid′ian. 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 armed for war. 6 And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phin′ehas the son of Elea′zar the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7 They warred against Mid′ian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and slew every male. 8 They slew the kings of Mid′ian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Mid′ian; and they also slew Balaam the son of Be′or with the sword. 9 And the people of Israel took captive the women of Mid′ian and their little ones; and they took as booty all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods. 10 All their cities in the places where they dwelt, and all their encampments, they burned with fire, 11 and took all the spoil and all the booty, both of man and of beast. 12 Then they brought the captives and the booty and the spoil to Moses, and to Elea′zar the priest, and to the congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
Return from the War
13 Moses, and Elea′zar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went forth to meet them outside the camp. 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. 15 Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? 16 Behold, these caused the people of Israel, by the counsel of Balaam, to act treacherously against the Lord in the matter of Pe′or, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord. 17 Now therefore, 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, keep alive for yourselves. 19 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. 20 You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats’ hair, and every article of wood.”
21 And Elea′zar 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, 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 with the water of impurity; and whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water. 24 You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean; and afterward you shall come into the camp.”
Disposition of Captives and Booty
25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “Take the count of the booty that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Elea′zar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation; 27 and divide the booty 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, one out of five hundred, of the persons and of the oxen and of the asses and of the flocks; 29 take it from their half, and give it to Elea′zar the priest as an offering to the Lord. 30 And from the people of Israel’s half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the oxen, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who have charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.” 31 And Moses and Elea′zar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.
32 Now the booty remaining of the spoil that the men of war took was: six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, 33 seventy-two thousand cattle, 34 sixty-one thousand asses, 35 and thirty-two thousand 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 to war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 37 and the Lord’s tribute of sheep was six hundred and seventy-five. 38 The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was seventy-two. 39 The asses were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the Lord’s tribute was sixty-one. 40 The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was thirty-two persons. 41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the offering for the Lord, to Elea′zar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.
42 From the people of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from that of the men who had gone to war— 43 now the congregation’s half was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 44 thirty-six thousand cattle, 45 and thirty thousand five hundred asses, 46 and sixteen thousand persons— 47 from the people of Israel’s half Moses took one of every fifty, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites who had charge of the tabernacle of the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses.
48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains 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, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.” 51 And Moses and Elea′zar the priest received from them the gold, all wrought articles. 52 And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the Lord, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. 53 (The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.) 54 And Moses and Elea′zar 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.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.