Numbers 25
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Israel Worships Baal
25 While Israel was staying in the Acacia Grove,[a](A) the people began to prostitute themselves with the women of Moab. 2 The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods.(B) 3 So Israel aligned itself with Baal of Peor,(C) and the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.(D) 4 The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take all the leaders of the people and execute[b] them in broad daylight before the Lord so that his burning anger may turn away from Israel.’
5 So Moses told Israel’s judges, ‘Kill each of the men who aligned themselves with Baal of Peor.’
Phinehas Intervenes
6 An Israelite man came bringing a Midianite woman to his relatives in the sight of Moses and the whole Israelite community while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand, 8 followed the Israelite man into the tent,[c] and drove it through both the Israelite man and the woman – through her belly. Then the plague on the Israelites was stopped, 9 but those who died in the plague numbered twenty-four thousand.(E)
10 The Lord spoke to Moses, 11 ‘Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites because he was zealous among them with my zeal,[d](F) so that I did not destroy the Israelites in my zeal. 12 Therefore declare: I grant him my covenant of peace.(G) 13 It will be a covenant of perpetual priesthood for him and his future descendants,(H) because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.’
14 The name of the slain Israelite man, who was struck dead with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.[e] 15 The name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal head of a family in Midian.
Vengeance against the Midianites
16 The Lord told Moses, 17 ‘Attack the Midianites and strike them dead. 18 For they attacked you with the treachery that they used against you in the Peor incident. They did the same in the case involving their sister Cozbi, daughter of the Midianite leader who was killed the day the plague came at Peor.’
Numbers 25
Good News Translation
The People of Israel at Peor
25 When the Israelites were camped at Acacia Valley, the men began to have sexual intercourse with the Moabite women who were there. 2 These women invited them to sacrificial feasts, where the god of Moab was worshiped. The Israelites ate the food and worshiped the god 3 Baal of Peor. So the Lord was angry with them 4 and said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of Israel and, in obedience to me, execute them in broad daylight,[a] and then I will no longer be angry with the people.” 5 Moses said to the officials, “Each of you is to kill every man in your tribe who has become a worshiper of Baal of Peor.”
6 One of the Israelites took a Midianite woman into his tent in the sight of Moses and the whole community, while they were mourning at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence. 7 When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up and left the assembly. He took a spear, 8 followed the man and the woman into the tent, and drove the spear through both of them. In this way the epidemic that was destroying Israel was stopped, 9 but it had already killed twenty-four thousand people.
10 The Lord said to Moses, 11 “Because of what Phinehas has done, I am no longer angry with the people of Israel. He refused to tolerate the worship of any god but me, and that is why I did not destroy them in my anger. 12 So tell him that I am making a covenant with him that is valid for all time to come. 13 He and his descendants are permanently established as priests, because he did not tolerate any rivals to me and brought about forgiveness for the people's sin.”
14 The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the head of a family in the tribe of Simeon. 15 The woman's name was Cozbi. Zur, her father, was chief of a group of Midianite clans.
16 The Lord commanded Moses, 17 “Attack the Midianites and destroy them, 18 because of the evil they did to you when they deceived you at Peor, and because of Cozbi, who was killed at the time of the epidemic at Peor.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 25:4 in broad daylight; or publicly.
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