² “On behalf of the people of Israel, take revenge on the Midianites for leading them into idolatry. After that, you will die and join your ancestors.”

¹³ After you have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron,

¹⁰ They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?”

³⁰ For we know the one who said,

He also said,

⁶ Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife,^[a] for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before.

⁴ The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong.

¹⁹ Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

³⁶ This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed.