War against Midian

31 Later, the Lord told Moses, ² “Be sure to exact vengeance on behalf of the Israelis from the Midianites, after which you’ll be taken home^[a] to your people.”

³ So Moses instructed the people, “Muster your men of war to attack the Midianites and deliver the Lord’s vengeance against Midian. ⁴ Send 1,000 men to war from every tribe throughout all of Israel.” ⁵ So 1,000 men from every tribe—12,000 from the thousands of Israel—were mustered and equipped for war.

⁶ Moses sent 1,000 men from every tribe to fight against them, along with Eleazar’s son Phinehas, in whose hands were the articles of the sanctuary and trumpets to sound battle alarms. ⁷ They fought against the Midianites^[b] just as the Lord had commanded Moses, killing every man. ⁸ They executed the five kings of Midian, including Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also executed Beor’s son Balaam with a sword. ⁹ After this, the Israelis took captive the Midianite women and children^[c] and confiscated as spoils of war all their cattle, livestock, and their goods. ¹⁰ They burned every town where they had lived and incinerated all of their encampments. ¹¹ They took all the booty and plunder, including both humans and animals. ¹² Then they brought the captives, booty, and plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the entire community of Israel at the camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan River in Jericho. ¹³ Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went out to meet them outside the camp.

Commands Concerning War Captives

¹⁴ But Moses became livid with anger at the officers of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds who had returned from servicing in the battle. ¹⁵ “Did you keep all the women alive?” Moses asked them. ¹⁶ “Look! These women were the same ones who were counseled by Balaam to cause the Israelis to commit a grievous sin against the Lord at Peor. As a result, that plague infected the Lord’s community. ¹⁷ You are to kill every male child^[d] and every woman who has had sexual relations with a man.^{[e] 18} You are to allow the young women who haven’t yet had sexual relations with a man^[f] to live for yourselves.”

Purification after the Battle

¹⁹ “Now you are to stay outside the camp for seven days, after which any of you who has killed a person^[g] or touched someone who was killed may purify yourselves on the third day. You and your captives will be pure on the seventh day. ²⁰ Furthermore, you are to purify every garment—that is, everything made of leather, goat’s hair, or containing wood.”

²¹ Eleazar the priest told the soldiers who had gone to battle, “This is the ordinance of the law that the Lord commanded Moses ²² concerning anything containing gold, silver, brass, iron, tin, lead, ²³ or anything else that can survive a refiner’s fire: You are to pass it through fire, after which it will be clean. Then it is to be purified with the water of impurity. Everything that cannot survive a refiner’s fire is to be washed in water. ²⁴ Wash your clothes on the seventh day, after which you will be clean. Then you may enter the camp.”

Offerings from War Booty

²⁵ Then the Lord told Moses, ²⁶ “Take an inventory of the booty that was taken in the battle,^[h] both of humans and of animals. Then you, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the fathers of the community ²⁷ are to divide the booty between the warriors who went to war and the rest of the community.

²⁸ “After this, you are to exact a tribute for the Lord from the soldiers who went to war, consisting of the tribute earned by one person out of every 500, whether from people, cattle, donkeys, or flocks. ²⁹ You are to take half their share and give it to Eleazar the priest as a raised offering to the Lord. ³⁰ Then take half the share of the Israelis, one drawn out of every 50 people, cattle, donkeys, flocks, and from every animal, then give to the descendants of Levi who maintain the service of the Lord’s tent.”

³¹ So Moses and Eleazar the priest did what the Lord had commanded Moses. ³² The goods confiscated in excess of the war implements^[i] that the warriors had gathered included 675,000 sheep, ³³ 72,000 cattle, ³⁴ 61,000 donkeys, and ³⁵ 32,000 women who had not had sexual relations with a man.

God’s Portion of the War Booty

³⁶ Now half of the share of those who went to war numbered 337,500 sheep, ³⁷ so the Lord’s tribute from the sheep totaled 675. ³⁸ The cattle numbered 36,000, so the Lord’s tribute totaled 72. ³⁹ The donkeys numbered 30,500, so the Lord’s tribute totaled 61. ⁴⁰ The people^[j] numbered 16,000, so the Lord’s tribute totaled 32 people. ⁴¹ Then Moses gave the tribute, a raised offering to the Lord, to Eleazar the priest, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴² From half of the share of the Israelis that Moses had set aside from the soldiers, ⁴³ there were 337,500 sheep for the community, ⁴⁴ 36,000 cattle, ⁴⁵ 30,500 donkeys, ⁴⁶ and 16,000 people.

⁴⁷ Moses took a portion drawn from every 50 Israelis, including from both human and animals, and gave them to the descendants of Levi who maintained the Lord’s tent, just as the Lord had commanded him.^{[k] 48} Then the officers in charge of thousands of soldiers, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds approached Moses ⁴⁹ and told him,^[l] “Your servants took a count of the soldiers who were under our authority. We didn’t miss a single man. ⁵⁰ We’ve brought offerings to the Lord from whatever each man found—jewel-encrusted gold, anklets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves^[m] in the Lord’s presence.”

⁵¹ Then Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them and everything that was fashioned into jewels. ⁵² The gold for the raised offering that they brought to the Lord totaled 16,750 shekels, ⁵³ because every soldier had confiscated war booty for his own use. ⁵⁴ Moses and Eleazar took the gold from the captains of thousands and hundreds and brought it to the Tent of Meeting, to serve as a memorial to the Israelis in the Lord’s presence.

Reuben and Gad Present a Proposal^(A)

32 Now, the descendants of Reuben and descendants of Gad happened to be joint owners of a very large herd of cattle. When they observed that Jazer and Gilead were good grazing lands^[n] for cattle, ² the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben approached Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community and said, ³ “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon— ⁴ the land that the Lord defeated in the sight of the community of Israel—is perfect for cattle and your servants have cattle. ⁵ If we’ve found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as our possession instead of us crossing the Jordan River.”^[o]

⁶ “Will your relatives have to go to war while you remain here?” Moses asked the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben in response. ⁷ “Why would you discourage^[p] the Israelis from crossing over to the land that the Lord has given them? ⁸ That’s what^[q] your ancestors did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to explore^[r] the land. ⁹ When they arrived in the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they discouraged^[s] the Israelis from entering the land that the Lord had given them. ¹⁰ That’s why the Lord’s anger flared up that day and he promised by an oath that ¹¹ ‘Not one of the men who went up from Egypt, from 20 years old and above, will see the land that I promised to give to their ancestors, that is, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because none of them followed me wholeheartedly,^{[t] 12} except Jephunneh’s son Caleb, the Kenizzite, and Nun’s son Joshua. They’ve wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’

¹³ “The Lord’s anger had flared up against Israel so that he made them wander in the wilderness for 40 years until that whole generation, who committed evil in the eyes of the Lord, had died. ¹⁴ And now, look! You’re acting just like^[u] your ancestors, like a brood^[v] of sinful men, who are provoking the fierce anger of the Lord against the Israelis one step at a time. ¹⁵ If you stop following him, he will once again abandon them in the wilderness. You’ll end up destroying this entire people.”

A Compromise is Offered

¹⁶ Then they approached him and said, “Here’s where we’re going to build corrals for our cattle and cities for our families,^{[w] 17} but we will keep ourselves armed and stay ready to go with the Israelis until we’ve brought them to their own places. Our families intend to live in fortified cities in the presence of the inhabitants of the land, ¹⁸ but we won’t return to our homes until every Israeli has taken possession of each of their inheritances, ¹⁹ since our inheritance will not be with them across the Jordan River and beyond. Instead, our inheritance is on this side of the Jordan River, facing eastward.”

The Offer is Accepted

²⁰ “If you do this,” Moses replied to them, “that is, if you equip yourselves for war in the Lord’s presence ²¹ and every one of your armed soldiers crosses over the Jordan River in the presence of the Lord until he has dispossessed his enemies ahead of him ²² and subjugated the land before him,^[x] then afterwards when you return, you’ll be able to stand blameless before the Lord and before Israel. This land will then be your possession before the Lord. ²³ “But if you won’t do so, look out! You will be sinning against the Lord. Be certain of this, that your sin will catch up to you! ²⁴ So after you’ve built cities for your families and corrals for your cattle, be sure to keep your promises.”

Moses Assigns the Territory

²⁵ Then the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben spoke up. “Your servants will do exactly what our master has commanded.” They said. ²⁶ “Our children, wives, flocks, and all our cattle will be settled in the cities of Gilead, ²⁷ but every soldier that we’ve equipped for battle will cross the Jordan River^[y] in the presence of the Lord, as our master has spoken.”

²⁸ So Moses instructed Eleazar the priest and Nun’s son Joshua, and the officers of the ancestral tribes of the Israelis, ²⁹ telling them, “If the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben cross over the Jordan River with you, that is, all of their soldiers who’ve been equipped for battle in the Lord’s presence, so that the land is subjugated right before your eyes, then you are to give them the land of Gilead as their possession. ³⁰ But if the armed men don’t cross over with you, then they won’t have any possession in the land of Canaan.”

³¹ “We’ll do just what the Lord told your servants,” the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben responded. ³² “We are to cross over in battle array^[z] in the Lord’s presence into the land of Canaan, and afterwards the possession of our inheritance will be on this side of the Jordan River.”

³³ So Moses gave to the descendants of Gad, to the descendants of Reuben, and to the half-tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the whole land with its cities, and even the territories surrounding it.

Gad and Reuben Rebuild Their Cities

³⁴ The descendants of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, ³⁵ Atrothshophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, ³⁶ Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified cities with corrals for sheep. ³⁷ The descendants of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, ³⁸ Nebo, Baal-meon (after having changed their names), and Sibmah. The cities that they rebuilt were renamed. ³⁹ The descendants of Manasseh’s son Machir attacked Gilead and then captured and dispossessed the Amorites who were there. ⁴⁰ That’s why Moses gave Gilead to Manasseh’s son Machir, who lived there at the time. ⁴¹ Manasseh’s son Jair captured^[aa] their towns and renamed them Havvoth-jair. ⁴² Nobah captured Kenath and its towns and renamed it Nobah after himself.

Stages of Israel’s Journey from Egypt

33 Here’s the travel itinerary^[ab] for the Israelis after they left the land of Egypt in groups under the authority of Moses and Aaron. ² Moses recorded their departures in their travels after being commanded^[ac] to do so by the Lord. Here’s a list of their travels based on^[ad] their departures:

³ They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of that first month. The day^[ae] after the Passover, the Israelis came out confidently,^[af] and all the Egyptians watched them leave, ⁴ while they were burying their firstborn, whom the Lord had killed among them. The Lord also executed justice against their gods.

⁵ Then the Israelis traveled from Rameses and rested^[ag] in Succoth.

⁶ They traveled from Succoth, then rested in Etham, which is at the outskirts of the wilderness.

⁷ They traveled from Etham but turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which is outside of^[ah] Baal-zephon.

They rested outside of Migdol. ⁸ They traveled from Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea to the wilderness. They were on the road three days in the wilderness of Etham, then rested in Marah.

⁹ They traveled from Marah and arrived at Elim. In Elim there were twelve wells^[ai] of water and 70 palm trees, so they rested there.

¹⁰ They traveled from Elim, then rested by the Reed^[aj] Sea.

¹¹ They traveled from the Reed^[ak] Sea, then rested in the Wilderness of Zin.

¹² They traveled from the Wilderness of Zin, then rested in Dophkah.

¹³ They traveled from Dophkah, then rested in Alush.

¹⁴ They traveled from Alush, then rested in Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink.

¹⁵ They traveled from Rephidim, then rested in the Wilderness of Sinai.

¹⁶ They traveled from the Wilderness of Sinai, then rested in Kibroth-hattaavah.

¹⁷ They traveled from Kibroth-hattaavah, then rested in Hazeroth.

¹⁸ They traveled from Hazeroth, then rested in Rithmah.

¹⁹ They traveled from Rithmah, then rested in Rimmon-perez.

²⁰ They traveled from Rimmon-perez, then rested in Libnah.

²¹ They traveled from Libnah, then rested in Rissah.

²² They traveled from Rissah, then rested in Kehelathah.

²³ They traveled from Kehelathah, then rested at Mount Shepher.

²⁴ They traveled from Mount Shepher, then rested in Haradah.

²⁵ They traveled from Haradah, then rested in Makheloth.

²⁶ They traveled from Makheloth, then rested in Tahath.

²⁷ They traveled from Tahath, then rested in Terah.

²⁸ They traveled from Terah, then rested in Mithkah.

²⁹ They traveled from Mithkah, then rested in Hashmonah.

³⁰ They traveled from Hashmonah, then rested in Moseroth.

³¹ They traveled from Moseroth, then rested in Bene-jaakan.

³² They traveled from Bene-jaakan, then rested in Hor-haggidgad.

³³ They traveled from Hor-haggidgad, then rested in Jotbathah.

³⁴ They traveled from Jotbathah, then rested in Abronah.

³⁵ They traveled from Abronah, then rested in Ezion-geber.

³⁶ They traveled from Ezion-geber, then rested in the Wilderness of Zin, which is also known as Kadesh.

³⁷ They traveled from Kadesh, then rested in Mount Hor at the outskirts of the land of Edom.

³⁸ Then Aaron the priest ascended Mount Hor in obedience to the Lord’s command and died there, in the fortieth year after the Israelis had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. ³⁹ Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰ Meanwhile, the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev^[al] in the land of Canaan, heard of the approach of the Israelis, ⁴¹ who had traveled from Mount Hor and then rested in Zalmonah.

⁴² They traveled from Zalmonah, then rested in Punon.

⁴³ They traveled from Punon, then rested in Oboth.

⁴⁴ They traveled from Oboth, then rested in Iye-abarim at the outskirts of Moab.

⁴⁵ They traveled from Iyim, then rested in Dibon-gad.

⁴⁶ They traveled from Dibon-gad, then rested in Almon-diblathaim.

⁴⁷ They traveled from Almon-diblathaim, then rested in the mountains of Abarim, facing Nebo.

⁴⁸ They traveled from the mountains of Abarim, then rested in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River, across from Jericho.

⁴⁹ They rested by the Jordan River in the area from Beth-jeshimoth to Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

⁵⁰ Then the Lord told Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River, across from Jericho, ⁵¹ “Tell the Israelis that when they have crossed the Jordan River to the land of Canaan, ⁵² they are to drive out all the inhabitants of the land and destroy all their idols and their molten images. You are to demolish all their high places, ⁵³ take possession of the land, and live in it, because I’ve given you the land to inherit. ⁵⁴ You are to divide the land among yourselves by lot according to your families. The larger the families are in number,^[am] the larger their inheritance is to be. The fewer the families are in number,^[an] the lesser their inheritance is to be. To whomever the lot falls, that inheritance goes to him. Divide it according to your ancestral tribes. ⁵⁵ But if you fail to drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, their survivors will become irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, to prick your sides and afflict you in the very land in which you’ll be living. ⁵⁶ Then, what I had planned to do to them, I’ll start to do to you.”

9 Then he told them, “I tell all of you^[a] with certainty, some people standing here will not experience^[b] death until they see the kingdom of God arrive with power.”

Jesus’ Appearance is Changed^(A)

² Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain to be alone with him. His appearance was changed in front of them, ³ and his clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone^[c] on earth could bleach them. ⁴ Then Elijah appeared to them, accompanied by Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

⁵ Then Peter told Jesus, “Rabbi,^[d] it’s good that we’re here! Let’s set up three shelters^[e]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ (Peter^[f] didn’t know how to respond, because they were terrified.)

⁷ Then a cloud appeared and overshadowed them. A voice came out of the cloud and said,^[g] “This is my Son, whom I love. Keep on listening to him!” ⁸ Suddenly, as they looked around, they saw no one with them but Jesus alone.

⁹ On their way down the mountain, Jesus^[h] ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ They kept the matter to themselves but argued about what “rising from the dead” meant. ¹¹ So they asked him, “Don’t the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹² He told them, “Elijah is indeed coming first and will restore all things. Why, then, is it written that the Son of Man must suffer a great deal and be treated shamefully? ¹³ But I tell you that Elijah has come, yet people^[i] treated him just as they pleased, as it is written about him.”

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon^(B)

¹⁴ As they approached the other^[j] disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and some scribes arguing with them. ¹⁵ The whole crowd was very surprised to see Jesus^[k] and ran to welcome him.

¹⁶ He asked the scribes,^[l] “What are you arguing about with them?”

¹⁷ A man in the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has a spirit that won’t let him talk. ¹⁸ Whenever it brings on a seizure, it throws him to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes stiff. So I asked your disciples to drive the spirit^[m] out, but they didn’t have the power.”

¹⁹ Jesus^[n] told them, “You unbelieving generation! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me!”

²⁰ So they brought the boy^[o] to him. When the spirit saw Jesus,^[p] it immediately threw the boy^[q] into convulsions. He fell on the ground and kept rolling around and foaming at the mouth. ²¹ Then Jesus^[r] asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He said, “Since he was a child. ²² The spirit^[s] has often thrown him into fire and into water to destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us!”

²³ Jesus told him, “‘If you are able?’ Everything is possible for the person who believes!”

²⁴ With tears flowing,^[t] the child’s father at once cried out, “I do believe! Help my unbelief!”

²⁵ When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You spirit that won’t let him talk or hear—I command you to come out of him and never enter him again!” ²⁶ The spirit^[u] screamed, shook the child^[v] violently, and came out. The boy was like a corpse, and many said that he was dead. ²⁷ But Jesus took his hand and helped him up, and he stood up.

²⁸ When Jesus^[w] came home, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive the spirit^[x] out?”

²⁹ He told them, “This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting.”^[y]

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