Numbers 31
Expanded Bible
Israel Attacks the Midianites
31 The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 2 “·Pay back [Avenge] the Midianites for what they did to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel; 25:6]; after that you will ·die [L be gathered to your people].”
3 So Moses said to the people, “·Get some men ready [Arm some men] for war. The Lord will use them to ·pay back [avenge himself against] the Midianites. 4 Send to war a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel.” 5 So twelve thousand men ·got ready for war [were armed], out of the thousands of Israel a thousand men from each tribe. 6 Moses sent ·those men [L a thousand from each tribe] to war; Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest was with them. He took with him the ·holy things [or vessels of the Holy Place] and the trumpets for giving the alarm. 7 They fought the Midianites as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed every Midianite man. 8 Among those they killed were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who were the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with a sword [Num. 22–24; Deut. 23:4–5; Josh. 13:22; 24:10; Neh. 13:2; 2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11; Rev. 2:14].
9 The ·Israelites [L sons of Israel] captured the Midianite women and children, and they took all their flocks, herds, and goods. 10 They burned all the Midianite towns where they had settled and all their camps, 11 but they took all the ·people and animals and goods [L plunder and all the spoil, both people and animals]. 12 Then they brought the captives, the ·animals, and the goods [L spoil and the plunder] back to Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the ·Israelites [L community/assembly/congregation of the sons/T children of Israel]. Their camp was on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River, across from Jericho.
13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the ·people [community; assembly; congregation] went outside the camp to meet them. 14 Moses was angry with the army officers, the commanders over a thousand men, and those over a hundred men, who returned from war.
15 He asked them, “Why did you let the women live? 16 They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice [Jude 11] and turned the ·Israelites [L community/assembly/congregation of Israel] from the Lord at Peor. Then a ·terrible sickness [plague] struck the Lord’s people [Num. 25]. 17 Kill all the Midianite boys, and kill all the Midianite women who have ·had sexual relations [L known a man by going to bed with him]. 18 But save for yourselves the girls who have not ·had sexual relations with a man [L known a man by going to bed with him].
19 “All you men who killed anyone or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp for seven days [19:11]. On the third and seventh days you and your captives must make yourselves clean [C in a ritual sense]. 20 You must clean all your clothes and anything made of leather, goat hair, or wood.”
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone to war, “These are the ·teachings [L statutes/ordinances/requirements of the law/instruction] that the Lord gave to Moses: 22 Put any gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead— 23 anything that will not burn—into the fire, and then it will be clean. But also purify those things with the cleansing water. Then they will be clean. If something cannot stand the fire, wash it with the water. 24 On the seventh day wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may come into the camp.”
Dividing the Goods
25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “You, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the ·family groups [clans of the community/assembly/congregation] should take a count of the ·goods [spoils], the men, and the animals that were taken. 27 Then divide ·those possessions [the spoil] between the soldiers who went to war and the ·rest of the people [community; assembly; congregation]. 28 From the soldiers who went to war, take a ·tax [tribute] for the Lord of one item out of every five hundred. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, or sheep. 29 Take it from the soldiers’ half, and give it to Eleazar the priest as the Lord’s ·share [offering]. 30 And from the ·people’s half [L half of the sons/T children of Israel], take one item out of every fifty. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, or other animals. Give that to the Levites, who take care of the Lord’s ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle].” 31 So Moses and Eleazar did as the Lord commanded Moses.
32 There remained from what the soldiers had taken 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys, 35 and 32,000 women who had not ·had sexual relations with a man [L known a man by going to bed with him]. 36 The soldiers who went to war got 337,500 sheep, 37 and they gave 675 of them to the Lord. 38 They got 36,000 cattle, and they gave 72 of them to the Lord. 39 They got 30,500 donkeys, and they gave 61 of them to the Lord. 40 They got 16,000 people, and they gave 32 of them to the Lord. 41 Moses gave the Lord’s ·share [tribute] to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord had commanded him.
42 Moses separated the ·people’s [L sons/T children of Israel’s] half from the soldiers’ half. 43 The people got 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 people. 47 From the ·people’s [L sons/T children of Israel’s] half Moses took one item out of every fifty for the Lord. This included the animals and the people. Then he gave them to the Levites, who took care of the Lord’s ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle]. This was what the Lord had commanded Moses.
48 Then the officers of the army, the commanders of a thousand men and commanders of a hundred men, came to Moses. 49 They told Moses, “We, your servants, have ·counted [taken a census of; L lifted the head of] our soldiers ·under our command [L in our hand], and not one of them is missing. 50 So we have brought the Lord a ·gift [offering] of the gold things that each of us found: arm bands, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces. These are to ·remove our sins so we will belong to [make atonement for ourselves before] the Lord.”
51 So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, which had been made into all kinds of objects. 52 The commanders of a thousand men and the commanders of a hundred men gave the Lord the gold, and all of it together weighed about ·420 pounds [L 16,750 shekels]; 53 each soldier had taken ·something [plunder] for himself. 54 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the commanders of a thousand men and the commanders of a hundred men. Then they put it in the Meeting Tent as a memorial before the Lord for the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel.
Numbers 31
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
War against Midian
31 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Avenge the Israelites on the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”(A) 3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm some of your number for the war, so that they may go against Midian, to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. 4 You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war.” 5 So out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe were conscripted, twelve thousand armed for battle. 6 Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest,[a] with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for sounding the alarm in his hand.(B) 7 They did battle against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian, in addition to others who were slain by them, and they also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.(C) 9 The Israelites took the women of Midian and their little ones captive, and they plundered all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods. 10 All their towns where they had settled, and all their encampments, they burned, 11 but they took all the spoil and all the plunder, both people and animals.(D) 12 Then they brought the captives and the plunder and the spoil to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the Israelites, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho.
Return from the War
13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp. 14 Moses became angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 15 Moses said to them, “Have you allowed all the women to live? 16 These women here, on Balaam’s advice, made the Israelites act treacherously against the Lord in the affair of Peor, so that the plague came among the congregation of the Lord.(E) 17 Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man by sleeping with him.(F) 18 But all the young girls who have not known a man by sleeping with him, keep alive for yourselves. 19 Camp outside the camp seven days, whoever of you has killed any person or touched a corpse; purify yourselves, you and your captives, on the third and on the seventh day. 20 You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, everything made of goats’ hair, and every article of wood.”
21 Eleazar the priest said to the troops who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded Moses: 22 gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead— 23 everything that can withstand fire, you shall pass through fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for purification, and whatever cannot withstand fire, you shall pass through the water.(G) 24 You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean; afterward you may come into the camp.”(H)
Disposition of Captives and Plunder
25 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “You and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the ancestral houses of the congregation make an inventory of the plunder captured, both human and animal. 27 Divide the plunder into two parts, between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. 28 From the share of the warriors who went out to battle, set aside as tribute for the Lord one item out of every five hundred, whether persons, oxen, donkeys, or sheep.(I) 29 Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the Lord. 30 But from the Israelites’ half you shall take one out of every fifty, whether persons, oxen, donkeys, or sheep—all the animals—and give them to the Levites, who perform the duties of the tabernacle of the Lord.”(J)
31 Then Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
32 The plunder remaining from the spoils that the troops had taken totaled six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,(K) 33 seventy-two thousand oxen, 34 sixty-one thousand donkeys, 35 and thirty-two thousand persons in all, women who had not known a man by sleeping with him.
36 The half-share, the portion of those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 37 and the Lord’s tribute of sheep was six hundred seventy-five.(L) 38 The oxen were thirty-six thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was seventy-two. 39 The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the Lord’s tribute was sixty-one. 40 The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was thirty-two persons. 41 Moses gave the tribute, the offering for the Lord, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord had commanded Moses.(M)
42 As for the Israelites’ half, which Moses separated from that of the troops, 43 the congregation’s half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 44 thirty-six thousand oxen, 45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, 46 and sixteen thousand persons. 47 From the Israelites’ half Moses took one of every fifty, both of persons and of animals, and gave them to the Levites, who perform the duties of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.(N)
48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, approached Moses 49 and said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the warriors who are under our command, and not one of us is missing. 50 And we have brought the Lord’s offering, what each of us found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and pendants, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.”(O) 51 Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, all in the form of crafted articles. 52 And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the Lord, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels. 53 (The troops had all taken plunder for themselves.)(P) 54 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord.(Q)
Footnotes
- 31.6 Gk: Heb adds to the war
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.