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Numbers 25
International Standard Version
Numbers 25
International Standard Version
Worship of Baal of Peor
25 While Israel remained encamped in Shittim, the people began to commit sexual immorality with Moabite women, 2 who also invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods. So the people ate what they had sacrificed[a] and then worshipped their gods. 3 The people joined the Baal-peor cult.[b] As a result, the anger of the Lord flared up against Israel, 4 so the Lord told Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute[c] them in broad daylight for the Lord, so the Lord’s burning anger may be withdrawn from Israel.”
5 Then Moses ordered the judges of Israel, “Each one of you is to execute the men in his own tribe[d] who joined the Baal-peor cult.”
6 That very moment, one of the Israelis arrived, bringing to his brothers one of the Midianite women, right in front of Moses and the entire community of Israel, while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting! 7 When Eleazar’s son Phinehas, grandson of Aaron the priest saw this, he jumped up from the middle of the community, grabbed a javelin in his hand, 8 followed the Israeli man inside his tent,[e] and impaled the two of them—the Israeli man and the woman—right through both of them and into her abdomen. Then the plague infecting the Israelis was brought to a halt. Nevertheless, 9 24,000 people died because of the plague.
God Commends Phinehas
10 The Lord told Moses, 11 “Eleazar’s son Phinehas, grandson of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from Israel. Because his zealousness reflected my own zeal for them, I didn’t consume Israel in my jealousy. 12 Therefore, I’m certainly going to be giving him my covenant of peace, 13 for him and for his descendants after him, too, a covenant of perpetual priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelis.”
14 Now the name of the Israeli man who was slain, along with the Midianite woman, was Salu’s son Zimri, a leader from the tribe of Simeon. 15 The woman who was slain, that is, the Midianite woman, was named Cozbi. She was the daughter of Zur, a leader[f] of one of the ancestral houses of Midian.
God Orders the Destruction of Midian
16 Later, the Lord ordered Moses, 17 “Attack the Midianites and execute them, 18 because they’ve acted deceitfully, bringing trouble to you in this incident at Peor with Cozbi, daughter of a prince from Midian, who was killed during the plague that came about because of the incident at Peor.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 25:2 The Heb. lacks what they had sacrificed
- Numbers 25:3 Lit. joined themselves to Baal-Peor; and so throughout the chapter
- Numbers 25:4 Or hang
- Numbers 25:5 The Heb. lacks in his own tribe
- Numbers 25:8 Or inner part of the tent
- Numbers 25:15 Lit. head
Numbers 25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Numbers 25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 25
Worship of Baal of Peor. 1 While Israel was living at Shittim,[a] the people profaned themselves by prostituting themselves with the Moabite women.(A) 2 These then invited the people to the sacrifices of their god, and the people ate of the sacrifices(B) and bowed down to their god. 3 Israel thereby attached itself to the Baal of Peor,(C) and the Lord’s anger flared up against Israel. 4 (D)The Lord said to Moses: Gather all the leaders of the people, and publicly execute them[b] before the Lord, that the blazing wrath of the Lord may turn away from Israel. 5 So Moses told the Israelite judges, “Each of you kill those of his men who have attached themselves to the Baal of Peor.”[c]
Zeal of Phinehas. 6 At this a certain Israelite came and brought in a Midianite woman[d] to his kindred in the view of Moses and of the whole Israelite community, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 (E)When Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he rose up from the assembly, and taking a spear in his hand, 8 followed the Israelite into the tent where he pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman. Thus the plague upon the Israelites was checked; 9 but the dead from the plague were twenty-four thousand.
10 Then the Lord said to Moses: 11 Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger from the Israelites by his being as jealous among them as I am; that is why I did not put an end to the Israelites in my jealousy.[e] 12 (F)Announce, therefore, that I hereby give him my covenant of peace,[f] 13 which shall be for him and for his descendants after him the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous on behalf of his God and thus made expiation for the Israelites.
14 [g]The name of the slain Israelite, the one slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri, son of Salu, prince of a Simeonite ancestral house. 15 The name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, daughter of Zur, who was head of a clan, an ancestral house, in Midian.
Vengeance on the Midianites. 16 [h]The Lord then said to Moses: 17 (G)Treat the Midianites as enemies and strike them, 18 for they have been your enemies by the deceitful dealings they had with you regarding Peor and their kinswoman Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite prince, who was slain at the time of the plague because of Peor.
III. Second Census of a New Generation and Preparation to Enter the Promised Land
Chapter 26
The Second Census. 19 After the plague
Footnotes
- 25:1 Shittim: the full name was Abel-shittim, a locality at the foot of the mountains in the northeastern corner of the plains of Moab (33:49). Prostituting themselves: the application to men of such traditional language for apostasy clearly suggests apostasy was taken to be an inevitable consequence of intermarriage with the Midianite women.
- 25:4 Publicly execute them: the same phrase occurs in 2 Sm 21:6–14, where the context shows that at least a part of the penalty consisted in being denied honorable burial. In both passages, dismemberment or impalement (perhaps subsequent to the actual execution) as a punishment for the breaking of covenant pledges, is a possible interpretation of the Hebrew phrase.
- 25:5 Thereby Moses apparently alters the Lord’s command to execute all the leaders.
- 25:6 Midianite woman: according to 22:4, 7, the Midianites were allied with the Moabites in opposing Israel, while 31:16 claims that Balaam had induced the Midianite women to lure the Israelites away from the Lord. They were weeping: on account of the plague that had struck them; cf. v. 8.
- 25:11 My jealousy: God’s desire to maintain an exclusive hold on the allegiance of the Israelites.
- 25:12 Covenant of peace: by means of this covenant between God and Phinehas, Phinehas can expect God’s protection, especially from any threat of reprisal for his action; cf. Is 54:10; Ez 34:25; 37:26.
- 25:14–15 The noble lineage of the slain couple is mentioned in order to stress the courage of Phinehas in punishing them. The zeal of Phinehas became proverbial; cf. Ps 106:30; Sir 45:23; 1 Mc 2:26, 54.
- 25:16–18 The account of the execution of this command is given in 31:1–18.
Numbers 25
New International Version
Numbers 25
New International Version
Moab Seduces Israel
25 While Israel was staying in Shittim,(A) the men began to indulge in sexual immorality(B) with Moabite(C) women,(D) 2 who invited them to the sacrifices(E) to their gods.(F) The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. 3 So Israel yoked themselves to(G) the Baal of Peor.(H) And the Lord’s anger burned against them.
4 The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders(I) of these people, kill them and expose(J) them in broad daylight before the Lord,(K) so that the Lord’s fierce anger(L) may turn away from Israel.”
5 So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death(M) those of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.”(N)
6 Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite(O) woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping(P) at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas(Q) son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear(R) in his hand 8 and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman’s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped;(S) 9 but those who died in the plague(T) numbered 24,000.(U)
10 The Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites.(V) Since he was as zealous for my honor(W) among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal. 12 Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace(X) with him. 13 He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood,(Y) because he was zealous(Z) for the honor(AA) of his God and made atonement(AB) for the Israelites.”(AC)
14 The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman(AD) was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.(AE) 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Kozbi(AF) daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.(AG)
16 The Lord said to Moses,(AH) 17 “Treat the Midianites(AI) as enemies(AJ) and kill them.(AK) 18 They treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the Peor incident(AL) involving their sister Kozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of that incident.”
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