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Numbers 31
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 31

Campaign Against the Midianites. 1 The Lord said to Moses:[a] 2 Avenge the Israelites on the Midianites, and then you will be gathered to your people. 3 So Moses told the people, “Arm some men among you for the campaign, to attack Midian and to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. 4 From each of the tribes of Israel you will send a thousand men to the campaign.” 5 From the contingents of Israel, therefore, a thousand men of each tribe were levied, so that there were twelve thousand men armed for war. 6 Moses sent them out on the campaign, a thousand from each tribe, with Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest for the campaign, who had with him the sacred vessels and the trumpets for sounding the alarm. 7 They waged war against the Midianites, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male. 8 Besides those slain in battle, they killed the kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian;[b] and they also killed Balaam, son of Beor, with the sword. 9 But the Israelites took captive the women of the Midianites with their children, and all their herds and flocks and wealth as loot, 10 while they set on fire all the towns where they had settled and all their encampments. 11 Then they took all the plunder, with the people and animals they had captured, and brought the captives, together with the spoils and plunder, 12 to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the Israelite community at their camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho.

Treatment of the Captives. 13 When Moses and Eleazar the priest, with all the leaders of the community, went outside the camp to meet them, 14 Moses became angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who were returning from the military campaign. 15 “So you have spared all the women!” he exclaimed. 16 “These are the very ones who on Balaam’s advice were behind the Israelites’ unfaithfulness to the Lord in the affair at Peor,(A) so that plague struck the Lord’s community. 17 [c]Now kill, therefore, every male among the children and kill every woman who has had sexual relations with a man. 18 But you may spare for yourselves all the girls who have not had sexual relations.

Purification After Combat. 19 “Moreover, remain outside the camp for seven days; every one of you who has killed anyone or touched someone killed will purify yourselves on the third and on the seventh day—both you and your captives. 20 You will also purify every garment, every article of leather, everything made of goats’ hair, and every article of wood.”

21 Eleazar the priest told the soldiers who had taken part in the battle: “This is the prescribed ritual which the Lord has commanded Moses: 22 gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin and lead— 23 whatever can stand fire—you shall put into the fire, that it may become clean; however, it must also be purified with water of purification.[d] But whatever cannot stand fire you must put into the water. 24 On the seventh day you will wash your garments, and then you will again be clean. After that you may enter the camp.”

Division of the Spoils. 25 The Lord said to Moses: 26 With the help of Eleazar the priest and of the heads of the ancestral houses of the community, inventory all the spoils captured, human being and beast alike; 27 then divide the spoils[e] between the warriors who went on the campaign and the whole community. 28 You will levy a tax for the Lord on the soldiers who went on the campaign: one out of every five hundred persons, oxen, donkeys, and sheep. 29 From their half you will take it and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the Lord. 30 From the Israelites’ half you will take one captive from every fifty human beings, oxen, donkeys, and sheep—all the animals—and give them to the Levites, who perform the duties of the Lord’s tabernacle. 31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did this, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Amount of the Plunder. 32 This plunder, what was left of the loot which the troops had taken, amounted to six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, 33 seventy-two thousand oxen, 34 sixty-one thousand donkeys, 35 and thirty-two thousand women who had not had sexual relations.

36 The half-share that fell to those who had gone out on the campaign was in number: three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 37 of which six hundred and seventy-five fell as tax to the Lord; 38 thirty-six thousand oxen, of which seventy-two fell as tax to the Lord; 39 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, of which sixty-one fell as tax to the Lord; 40 and sixteen thousand persons, of whom thirty-two persons fell as tax to the Lord. 41 Moses gave the taxes contributed to the Lord to Eleazar the priest, exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses.

42 As for the Israelites’ half, which Moses had taken from the men who had fought— 43 the community’s half was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 44 thirty-six thousand oxen, 45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, 46 and sixteen thousand persons. 47 From the Israelites’ half, Moses took one captive from every fifty, from human being and beast alike, and gave them to the Levites, who performed the duties of the Lord’s tabernacle, exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Gifts of the Officers. 48 Then those who were officers over the contingents of the army, commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, came up to Moses 49 and said to him, “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one of us is missing. 50 [f]So, we have brought as an offering to the Lord articles of gold that each of us has picked up—anklets, bracelets, rings, earrings, or pendants—to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.” 51 Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from them, all fashioned pieces. 52 The gold that was given as a contribution to the Lord—from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds—amounted in all to sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. 53 What the common soldiers had looted each one kept for himself.[g] 54 So Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and put it in the tent of meeting as a reminder on behalf of the Israelites before the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 31:1–3 The narrative of Israel’s campaign against Midian, which was interrupted after 25:18, is now resumed.
  2. 31:8 The five kings of Midian: they are called Midianite princes, Sihon’s vassals, in Jos 13:21.
  3. 31:17 There are later references to Midian in Jgs 6–8; 1 Kgs 11:18; Is 60:6. The present raid was only against those Midianites who were dwelling at this time near the encampment of the Israelites.
  4. 31:23 Water of purification: water mixed with the ashes of the red heifer as prescribed in 19:9.
  5. 31:27 Divide the spoils: for a similar division of the plunder into two equal parts, between those who engaged in the battle and those who stayed with the baggage, cf. 1 Sm 30:24. But note that here the tax on the plunder of the noncombatants is ten times as much as that on the soldiers’ plunder.
  6. 31:50 The precise nature and use of some of these articles of gold is not certain.
  7. 31:53 Apparently because of the commanders’ generosity the common troops were under no sort of obligation to make their own offerings and could keep their loot.
Close LSB

Numbers 31
Legacy Standard Bible

Vengeance on Midian

31 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “(A)Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be (B)gathered to your people.” 3 And Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may [a]go against Midian to execute (C)Yahweh’s vengeance on Midian. 4 One thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.” 5 So there were [b]furnished from the thousands of Israel, one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 And Moses sent them, one thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war with them, (D)and the holy vessels and (E)the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7 So they made war against Midian, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses, and (F)they killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: (G)Evi and Rekem and (H)Zur and 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 captured the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods they plundered. 10 Then they burned all their cities where they lived and all their camps with fire. 11 (J)And they took all the spoil and all the loot, both of man and of beast. 12 And they brought the captives and the loot and the spoil to Moses and 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 and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went out 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 So Moses said to them, “Have you [c]spared (K)all the women? 16 (L)Behold, these [d]caused the sons of Israel, through the word of (M)Balaam, to [e]act unfaithfully against Yahweh in the matter of Peor, so the plague was among the congregation of Yahweh. 17 (N)So now, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man [f]intimately. 18 But all the [g]girls who have not known man [h]intimately, [i]spare for yourselves. 19 (O)And you, camp outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves, you and your captives, on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 And you shall purify for yourselves every garment and every article of [j]leather and all the work of goats’ hair and all articles 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 Yahweh has commanded Moses: 22 only the gold and 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, but it shall be purified with (P)water for impurity. But whatever cannot stand the fire you shall pass through the water. 24 And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may enter the camp.”

Division of the Loot

25 Then Yahweh 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 loot [k]that was captured, both of man and of animal; 27 and (Q)divide the loot between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. 28 (R)And you shall exact a levy for Yahweh from the men of war who went out to battle, one [l]in five hundred of the persons and of the cattle and of the donkeys and of the sheep; 29 take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest, as a [m]contribution to Yahweh. 30 And from the sons of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn out of 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)keep charge of the tabernacle of Yahweh.” 31 Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

32 Now the loot that remained from the plunder which the [n]men of war had plundered was 675,000 sheep, 33 and 72,000 cattle, 34 and 61,000 donkeys, 35 and of human beings, of the women who had not known man [o]intimately, all the persons were 32,000.

36 And the half, the portion of those who went out to war, was as follows: the number of sheep was 337,500; 37 and the levy of Yahweh from the sheep was 675; 38 and the cattle were 36,000, from which the levy of Yahweh was 72; 39 and the donkeys were 30,500, from which the levy of Yahweh was 61; 40 and the human beings were 16,000, from whom the levy of Yahweh was 32 persons. 41 And Moses gave the levy, which was the contribution to Yahweh, to Eleazar the priest, just (T)as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

42 As for the sons of Israel’s half, which Moses [p]separated from the men who had gone to war— 43 now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep, 44 and 36,000 cattle, 45 and 30,500 donkeys, 46 and the human beings were 16,000— 47 and from the sons of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of animals, and gave them to the Levites, who kept the responsibility of the tabernacle of Yahweh, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses, 49 and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a census of men of war who are in our charge, and no man of us is missing. 50 So we have brought near as an offering to Yahweh what each man found—articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces—(U)to make atonement for ourselves before Yahweh.” 51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all kinds of crafted articles. 52 And all the gold from the contribution offering which they raised up in offering to Yahweh, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 [q]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 they brought it to the tent of meeting as (W)a memorial for the sons of Israel before Yahweh.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 31:3 Lit be
  2. Numbers 31:5 Lit delivered
  3. Numbers 31:15 Lit let...live
  4. Numbers 31:16 Lit were to
  5. Numbers 31:16 Or possibly defect from Yahweh
  6. Numbers 31:17 Lit by lying with a man
  7. Numbers 31:18 Lit female children
  8. Numbers 31:18 Lit by lying with a man
  9. Numbers 31:18 Lit keep alive
  10. Numbers 31:20 Or skin
  11. Numbers 31:26 Lit of captives
  12. Numbers 31:28 Lit soul from
  13. Numbers 31:29 Lit heave offering, so in ch
  14. Numbers 31:32 Lit people
  15. Numbers 31:35 Lit by lying with a man
  16. Numbers 31:42 Or divided
  17. Numbers 31:52 A shekel was approx. 0.4 oz. or 11 gm
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New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

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