Numbers 31
Common English Bible
War against the Midianites
31 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 Take just reparations for the Israelites from the Midianites. Afterward you will join your ancestors.
3 Moses spoke to the people: “Equip some of your men for battle so that they may go against Midian and execute the Lord’s just punishment against Midian. 4 You will send out for battle one thousand from each of the tribes of Israel.”
5 From the thousands of Israel, one thousand from each tribe were selected. Twelve thousand were equipped for battle. 6 Moses sent them to battle, one thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas, Eleazar the priest’s son, who carried the sanctuary equipment and the trumpets for sounding the alarm in his hand. 7 They battled against Midian as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian, along with others slain. They also killed Balaam, Beor’s son, with the sword. 9 The Israelites took captive the Midianite women, their little ones, all their cattle, their herds, and their possessions. 10 They burned all the cities where they lived and their encampments. 11 They took all the spoils of war and the valuable property, both human and animal, 12 and they brought the captives, the valuable property, and the spoils of war to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the Israelite community, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.
Purification from war
13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the chiefs of the community went to meet them outside the camp. 14 Moses became angry with the commanders of the army, the officers of thousands and the officers of hundreds, who came back from the battle. 15 Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? 16 These very women, on Balaam’s advice, made the Israelites break faith with the Lord in the affair at Peor, so there was a plague among the Lord’s community. 17 Now kill every male child and every female who has known a man intimately by sleeping with him. 18 But all the young girls who have not known a man intimately by sleeping with him, spare for yourselves. 19 You will remain outside the camp for seven days. Everyone among you or your captives who has killed a person or touched a corpse must purify themselves on the third and seventh days. 20 You must also purify every garment, and everything made of leather, goats’ hair, or wood.”
Instructions about the spoils of war
21 Eleazar the priest said to the men of battle who had gone out to war, “This is the regulation in the Instruction that the Lord commanded Moses: 22 Gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, and lead— 23 anything that can withstand fire—you will put through the fire and it will be clean. It will also be purified with the water of purification. Anything that isn’t able to withstand fire, you will immerse in water. 24 You must wash your clothes on the seventh day and you will be clean. Afterward you may enter the camp.”
25 The Lord said to Moses: 26 You, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community’s households must take an inventory of the valuable property and the captives, both human and animals, 27 and divide the valuable property between the warriors who went into battle and the entire community. 28 You will offer as tribute to the Lord from each warrior who went into battle one living being in five hundred, whether human, oxen, donkeys, or flocks. 29 Take it from the warriors’ half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a gift offering to the Lord. 30 But from the Israelites’ half you will take one out of every fifty, whether from human, oxen, donkeys, or flock—all the animals. You will give them to the Levites who carry out the duties of the Lord’s dwelling.
31 Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. 32 The valuable property remaining from the spoils of war that the people of the army had taken was 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 oxen, 34 61,000 donkeys, 35 and 32,000 women who hadn’t known a man intimately by sleeping with him. 36 The half-share of those who had gone out to battle numbered 337,500 sheep, 37 of which the Lord’s tribute was 675. 38 The oxen were 36,000, of which the Lord’s tribute was 72. 39 The donkeys were 30,500, of which the Lord’s tribute was 61. 40 Humans were 16,000, of which the Lord’s tribute was 32 persons. 41 Moses gave the tribute, a gift offering for the Lord, to Eleazar the priest as the Lord had commanded Moses.
42 As for the half-share of the Israelites that Moses divided from those who had gone out to battle: 43 the community’s half-share was 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 oxen, 45 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 humans. 47 Moses took from the Israelites’ half one out of every fifty, from humans and animals. He gave them to the Levites who carry out the duties of the Lord’s dwelling, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
48 The commanders over the thousands of the army, officers over thousands and officers over hundreds, approached Moses 49 and said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the warriors in our charge and not one of us is missing. 50 We have brought the Lord’s offering that each found, gold articles—anklets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces—to seek reconciliation for ourselves before the Lord.” 51 Moses and Eleazar the priest took all the gold articles from them. 52 All the gold for the gift offering that was presented to the Lord from the officers of thousands and the officers of hundreds was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels. 53 Each of the men of battle took spoils of war for himself. 54 Yet Moses and Eleazar the priest also received the gold from the officers of thousands and of hundreds, and they brought it to the meeting tent as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord.
Numbers 31
Young's Literal Translation
31 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
2 `Execute the vengeance of the sons of Israel against the Midianites -- afterwards thou art gathered unto thy people.'
3 And Moses speaketh unto the people, saying, `Be ye armed some of you for the host, and they are against Midian, to put the vengeance of Jehovah on Midian;
4 a thousand for a tribe -- a thousand for a tribe, to all the tribes of Israel -- ye do send to the host.'
5 And there are given out of the thousands of Israel a thousand for a tribe, twelve thousand armed ones of the host;
6 and Moses sendeth them, a thousand for a tribe, to the host, them and Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, to the host; and the holy vessels, and the trumpets of the shouting, in his hand.
7 And they war against Midian, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses, and slay every male;
8 and the kings of Midian they have slain, besides their pierced ones, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian; and Balaam son of Beor, they have slain with the sword.
9 And the sons of Israel take captive the women of Midian, and their infants; and all their cattle, and all their substance, and all their wealth they have plundered;
10 and all their cities, with their habitations, and all their towers, they have burnt with fire.
11 And they take all the spoil, and all the prey, among man and among beast;
12 and they bring in, unto Moses, and unto Eleazar the priest, and unto the company of the sons of Israel, the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto the camp, unto the plains of Moab, which [are] by Jordan, [near] Jericho.
13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the company, go out to meet them, unto the outside of the camp,
14 and Moses is wroth against the inspectors of the force, chiefs of the thousands, and chiefs of the hundreds, who are coming in from the host of the battle.
15 And Moses saith unto them, `Have ye kept alive every female?
16 lo, they -- they have been to the sons of Israel, through the word of Balaam, to cause a trespass against Jehovah in the matter of Peor, and the plague is in the company of Jehovah.
17 `And now, slay ye every male among the infants, yea, every woman known of man by the lying of a male ye have slain;
18 and all the infants among the women, who have not known the lying of a male, ye have kept alive for yourselves.
19 `And ye, encamp ye at the outside of the camp seven days -- any who hath slain a person, and any who hath come against a pierced one, ye cleanse yourselves on the third day, and on the seventh day -- ye and your captives;
20 and every garment, and every skin vessel, and every work of goats' [hair], and every wooden vessel, ye yourselves cleanse.'
21 And Eleazar the priest saith unto the men of the host who go in to battle, `This [is] the statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded Moses:
22 only, the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23 every thing which may go into fire, ye cause to pass over through fire, and it hath been clean; only, with the water of separation it is cleansed, and all that may not go into fire, ye cause to pass over through water;
24 and ye have washed your garments on the seventh day, and have been clean, and afterwards ye come in unto the camp.'
25 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
26 `Take up the sum of the prey of the captives, among man and among beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers of the company;
27 and thou hast halved the prey between those handling the battle who go out to the host and all the company;
28 and thou hast raised a tribute to Jehovah from the men of war, who go out to the host, one body out of five hundred, of man, and of the herd, and of the asses, and of the flock;
29 from their half ye do take, and thou hast given to Eleazar the priest -- the heave-offering of Jehovah.
30 `And from the sons of Israel's half thou dost take one possession out of fifty, of man, of the herd, of the asses, and of the flock, of all the cattle, and thou hast given them to the Levites keeping the charge of the tabernacle of Jehovah.'
31 And Moses doth -- Eleazar the priest also -- as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
32 And the prey, the residue of the spoil which the people of the host have spoiled, is of the flock six hundred thousand, and seventy thousand, and five thousand;
33 and of the herd two and seventy thousand;
34 and of asses one and sixty thousand;
35 and of human beings -- of the women who have not known the lying of a male -- all the persons [are] two and thirty thousand.
36 And the half -- the portion of those who go out into the host -- the number of the flock is three hundred thousand, and thirty thousand, and seven thousand and five hundred.
37 And the tribute to Jehovah of the sheep is six hundred five and seventy;
38 and the herd [is] six and thirty thousand, and their tribute to Jehovah [is] two and seventy;
39 and the asses [are] thirty thousand and five hundred, and their tribute to Jehovah [is] one and sixty;
40 and the human beings [are] sixteen thousand, and their tribute to Jehovah [is] two and thirty persons.
41 And Moses giveth the tribute -- Jehovah's heave-offering -- to Eleazar the priest, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
42 And of the sons of Israel's half, which Moses halved from the men who war --
43 and the company's half is, of the flock three hundred thousand, and thirty thousand, seven thousand and five hundred;
44 and of the herd six and thirty thousand;
45 and of asses thirty thousand and five hundred;
46 and of human beings sixteen thousand --
47 Moses taketh from the sons of Israel's half the one possession from the fifty, of man and of beast, and giveth them to the Levites keeping the charge of the tabernacle of Jehovah, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
48 And the inspectors whom the thousands of the host hath, (heads of the thousands and heads of the hundreds), draw near unto Moses,
49 and they say unto Moses, `Thy servants have taken up the sum of the men of war who [are] with us, and not a man of us hath been missed;
50 and we bring near Jehovah's offering, each that which he hath found, vessels of gold -- chain, and bracelet, seal-ring, [ear]-ring, and bead -- to make atonement for ourselves before Jehovah.'
51 And Moses receiveth -- Eleazar the priest also -- the gold from them, every made vessel,
52 and all the gold of the heave-offering which they have lifted up to Jehovah is sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from heads of the thousands, and from heads of the hundreds;
53 (the men of the host have spoiled each for himself);
54 and Moses taketh -- Eleazar the priest also -- the gold from the heads of the thousands and of the hundreds, and they bring it in unto the tent of meeting -- a memorial for the sons of Israel before Jehovah.
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