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25 Israel stayed in Shittim; and the people began to play the prostitute with the daughters of Moab; for they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods. The people ate and bowed down to their gods. Israel joined himself to Baal Peor, and Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel. Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up to Yahweh before the sun, that the fierce anger of Yahweh may turn away from Israel.”

Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Everyone kill his men who have joined themselves to Baal Peor.”

Behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought to his brothers a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of Meeting. When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the middle of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand. He went after the man of Israel into the pavilion, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

10 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 11 “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I didn’t consume the children of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace. 13 It shall be to him, and to his offspring after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’”

14 Now the name of the man of Israel that was slain, who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a fathers’ house among the Simeonites. 15 The name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur. He was head of the people of a fathers’ house in Midian.

16 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Harass the Midianites, and strike them; 18 for they harassed you with their wiles, wherein they have deceived you in the matter of Peor, and in the incident regarding Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.”

The Israelites worship false gods

25 The Israelites were staying in Shittim. The men began to have sex with the women from Moab. The women from Moab took Israelite men to watch them as they offered sacrifices to the gods of Moab. The Israelite men joined with the Moabite women to eat at their feasts. They also worshipped the gods of Moab. The Israelites joined the Moabite women to worship their god, Baal of Peor. So the Lord became very angry with them.

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take hold of all the leaders of these people. Hang them up during the day so that they die and people see them. Do what I tell you, so that I will no longer be angry against the Israelites.’

Moses told the officers of the Israelites, ‘Each of you, kill the men who have worshipped the god, Baal of Peor.’

Moses and all the people were at the door of the Tent of Meeting. They were weeping. While they were there, an Israelite man brought a Midianite woman into his tent. Moses and all the people could see them. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, saw what happened. So he stood up among all the people and he took a spear in his hand. He went into the man's tent. He pushed the spear through the body of the man and the Midianite woman. When he did that, the bad disease that was killing the Israelites stopped. But 24,000 people had already died as a result of the disease.

10 The Lord said to Moses, 11 ‘I am no longer angry with the Israelites. That is because of what Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, did. He did not want the people to worship any god except me. Because of him, I did not kill all the Israelites. 12 So you must tell him that I have promised that my peace will be with him. 13 That promise will be for him and for his descendants after him. They will always be priests. That is because he did not want the people to worship any god except me. He has removed the sin of the Israelites so that I could forgive them.’

14 The name of the man that Phinehas killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri. He was the son of Salu. Salu was the leader of a clan from the tribe of Simeon. 15 The name of the Midianite woman was Cozbi. She was the daughter of Zur. Zur was a leader of a Midianite clan.

16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 ‘Attack the Midianites and destroy them. 18 They have deceived you and they have become your enemies. They took some of you to worship their god Peor. They used Cozbi to make you do a wrong thing, and she was the daughter of a Midianite leader. Phinehas killed her on the day when the bad disease killed many Israelites at Peor mountain.’