A Chosen People

7 “When the ^(A)Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, ^(B)the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations ^(C)more numerous and mightier than you, ^2 (D)and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must ^(E)devote them to complete destruction.^{[a] (F)}You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. ^3 (G)You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,

Baal Worship at Peor

25 While Israel lived in ^(A)Shittim, ^(B)the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. ^2 (C)These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³ So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. ⁴ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(D)“Take all the chiefs of the people and ^(E)hang^[a] them in the sun before the Lord, ^(F)that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” ⁵ And Moses said to ^(G)the judges of Israel, ^(H)“Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.”

⁶ And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were ^(I)weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. ^7 (J)When Phinehas ^(K)the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand