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Numbers 31
American Standard Version
Numbers 31
American Standard Version
31 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people. 3 And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm ye men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute Jehovah’s vengeance on Midian. 4 Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war. 5 So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 And Moses sent them, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7 And they warred against Midian, as Jehovah commanded Moses; and they slew every male. 8 And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword. 9 And the children of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took for a prey. 10 And all their cities in the places wherein they dwelt, and all their encampments, they burnt with fire. 11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of man and of beast. 12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and unto Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho.
13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. 14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war. 15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? 16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against Jehovah in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of Jehovah. 17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. 18 But all the women-children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. 19 And encamp ye without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, ye and your captives. 20 And as to every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood, ye shall purify yourselves.
21 And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war that went to the battle, This is the statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded Moses: 22 howbeit the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 everything that may abide the fire, ye shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water for impurity: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make to go through the water. 24 And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean; and afterward ye shall come into the camp.
25 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 26 Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation; 27 and divide the prey into two parts: between the men skilled in war, that went out to battle, and all the congregation. 28 And levy a tribute unto Jehovah of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the oxen, and of the asses, and of the flocks: 29 take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for Jehovah’s heave-offering. 30 And of the children of Israel’s half, thou shalt take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the oxen, of the asses, and of the flocks, even of all the cattle, and give them unto the Levites, that keep the charge of the tabernacle of Jehovah. 31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as Jehovah commanded Moses.
32 Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep, 33 and threescore and twelve thousand oxen, 34 and threescore and one thousand asses, 35 and thirty and two thousand persons in all, of the women that had not known man by lying with him. 36 And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep: 37 and Jehovah’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen. 38 And the oxen were thirty and six thousand; of which Jehovah’s tribute was threescore and twelve. 39 And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which Jehovah’s tribute was threescore and one. 40 And the persons were sixteen thousand; of whom Jehovah’s tribute was thirty and two persons. 41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was Jehovah’s heave-offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as Jehovah commanded Moses.
42 And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided off from the men that warred 43 (now the congregation’s half was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand, seven thousand and five hundred sheep, 44 and thirty and six thousand oxen, 45 and thirty thousand and five hundred asses, 46 and sixteen thousand persons), 47 even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, that kept the charge of the tabernacle of Jehovah; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
48 And the officers that were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses; 49 and they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war that are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us. 50 And we have brought Jehovah’s oblation, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, ankle-chains, and bracelets, signet-rings, ear-rings, and [a]armlets, to make atonement for our souls before Jehovah. 51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels. 52 And all the gold of the heave-offering that they offered up to Jehovah, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. 53 (For the men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.) 54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, for a memorial for the children of Israel before Jehovah.
Footnotes
- Numbers 31:50 Or, necklaces
Numeri 31
Conferenza Episcopale Italiana
Numeri 31
Conferenza Episcopale Italiana
IX. BOTTINO E DIVISIONI
Guerra santa contro Madian
31 Il Signore disse a Mosè: 2 «Compi la vendetta degli Israeliti contro i Madianiti, poi sarai riunito ai tuoi antenati». 3 Mosè disse al popolo: «Mobilitate fra di voi uomini per la guerra e marcino contro Madian per eseguire la vendetta del Signore su Madian. 4 Manderete in guerra mille uomini per tribù di tutte le tribù d'Israele». 5 Così furono forniti, dalle migliaia d'Israele, mille uomini per tribù, cioè dodicimila uomini armati per la guerra. 6 Mosè mandò in guerra quei mille uomini per tribù e con loro Pincas, figlio del sacerdote Eleazaro, il quale portava gli oggetti sacri e aveva in mano le trombe dell'acclamazione. 7 Marciarono dunque contro Madian come il Signore aveva ordinato a Mosè, e uccisero tutti i maschi. 8 Uccisero anche, oltre i loro caduti, i re di Madian Evi, Rekem, Sur, Ur e Reba cioè cinque re di Madian; uccisero anche di spada Balaam figlio di Beor. 9 Gli Israeliti fecero prigioniere le donne di Madian e i loro fanciulli e depredarono tutto il loro bestiame, tutti i loro greggi e ogni loro bene; 10 appiccarono il fuoco a tutte le città che quelli abitavano e a tutti i loro attendamenti 11 e presero tutto il bottino e tutta la preda, gente e bestiame. 12 Poi condussero i prigionieri, la preda e il bottino a Mosè, al sacerdote Eleazaro e alla comunità degli Israeliti, accampati nelle steppe di Moab, presso il Giordano di fronte a Gerico.
Massacro delle donne e purificazione del bottino
13 Mosè, il sacerdote Eleazaro e tutti i principi della comunità uscirono loro incontro fuori dell'accampamento. 14 Mosè si adirò contro i comandanti dell'esercito, capi di migliaia e capi di centinaia, che tornavano da quella spedizione di guerra. 15 Mosè disse loro: «Avete lasciato in vita tutte le femmine? 16 Proprio loro, per suggerimento di Balaam, hanno insegnato agli Israeliti l'infedeltà verso il Signore, nella faccenda di Peor, per cui venne il flagello nella comunità del Signore. 17 Ora uccidete ogni maschio tra i fanciulli e uccidete ogni donna che si è unita con un uomo; 18 ma tutte le fanciulle che non si sono unite con uomini, conservatele in vita per voi. 19 Voi poi accampatevi per sette giorni fuori del campo; chiunque ha ucciso qualcuno e chiunque ha toccato un cadavere si purifichi il terzo e il settimo giorno; questo per voi e per i vostri prigionieri. 20 Purificherete anche ogni veste, ogni oggetto di pelle, ogni lavoro di pelo di capra e ogni oggetto di legno».
21 Il sacerdote Eleazaro disse ai soldati che erano andati in guerra: «Questo è l'ordine della legge che il Signore ha prescritto a Mosè: 22 L'oro, l'argento, il rame, il ferro, lo stagno e il piombo, 23 quanto può sopportare il fuoco, lo farete passare per il fuoco e sarà reso puro; ma sarà purificato anche con l'acqua della purificazione; quanto non può sopportare il fuoco, lo farete passare per l'acqua. 24 Vi laverete le vesti il settimo giorno e sarete puri; poi potrete entrare nell'accampamento».
Divisione del bottino
25 Il Signore disse a Mosè: 26 «Tu, con il sacerdote Eleazaro e con i capi dei casati della comunità, fà il censimento di tutta la preda che è stata fatta: della gente e del bestiame; 27 dividi la preda fra i combattenti che sono andati in guerra e tutta la comunità. 28 Dalla parte spettante ai soldati che sono andati in guerra preleverai un contributo per il Signore: cioè l'uno per cinquecento delle persone e del grosso bestiame, degli asini e del bestiame minuto. 29 Lo prenderete sulla metà di loro spettanza e lo darai al sacerdote Eleazaro come offerta da fare con il rito di elevazione in onore del Signore. 30 Della metà che spetta agli Israeliti prenderai l'uno per cinquanta delle persone del grosso bestiame, degli asini e del bestiame minuto; lo darai ai leviti, che hanno la custodia della Dimora del Signore».
31 Mosè e il sacerdote Eleazaro fecero come il Signore aveva ordinato a Mosè. 32 Ora il bottino, cioè tutto ciò che rimaneva della preda fatta da coloro che erano stati in guerra, consisteva in seicentosettantacinquemila capi di bestiame minuto, 33 settantaduemila capi di grosso bestiame, 34 sessantunmila asini 35 e trentaduemila persone, ossia donne che non si erano unite con uomini. 36 La metà, cioè la parte di quelli che erano andati in guerra, fu di trecentotrentasettemilacinquecento capi di bestiame minuto, 37 dei quali seicentosettantacinque per il tributo al Signore; 38 trentaseimila capi di grosso bestiame, dei quali settantadue per l'offerta al Signore; 39 trentamilacinquecento asini, dei quali sessantuno per l'offerta al Signore, 40 e sedicimila persone, delle quali trentadue per l'offerta al Signore. 41 Mosè diede al sacerdote Eleazaro il contributo dell'offerta prelevata per il Signore, come il Signore gli aveva ordinato. 42 La metà che spettava agli Israeliti, dopo che Mosè ebbe fatto la spartizione con gli uomini andati in guerra, 43 la metà spettante alla comunità fu di trecentotrentasettemilacinquecento capi di bestiame minuto, 44 trentaseimila capi di grosso bestiame, 45 trentamilacinquecento asini 46 e sedicimila persone. 47 Da questa metà che spettava agli Israeliti, Mosè prese l'uno per cinquanta degli uomini e degli animali e li diede ai leviti che hanno la custodia della Dimora del Signore, come il Signore aveva ordinato a Mosè.
Le offerte
48 I comandanti delle migliaia dell'esercito, capi di migliaia e capi di centinaia, si avvicinarono a Mosè e gli dissero: 49 «I tuoi servi hanno fatto il computo dei soldati che erano sotto i nostri ordini e non ne manca neppure uno. 50 Per questo portiamo, in offerta al Signore, ognuno quello che ha trovato di oggetti d'oro: bracciali, braccialetti, anelli, pendenti, collane, per il rito espiatorio per le nostre persone davanti al Signore». 51 Mosè e il sacerdote Eleazaro presero dalle loro mani quell'oro, tutti gli oggetti lavorati.
52 Tutto l'oro dell'offerta, che essi consacrarono al Signore con il rito dell'elevazione, da parte dei capi di migliaia e dei capi di centinaia, pesava sedicimilasettecentocinquanta sicli. 53 Gli uomini dell'esercito si tennero il bottino che ognuno aveva fatto per conto suo. 54 Mosè e il sacerdote Eleazaro presero l'oro dei capi di migliaia e di centinaia e lo portarono nella tenda del convegno come memoriale per gli Israeliti davanti al Signore.
Numbers 31
New International Version
Numbers 31
New International Version
Vengeance on the Midianites
31 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Take vengeance on the Midianites(A) for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.(B)”
3 So Moses said to the people, “Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites so that they may carry out the Lord’s vengeance(C) on them. 4 Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel.” 5 So twelve thousand men armed for battle,(D) a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel. 6 Moses sent them into battle,(E) a thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas(F) son of Eleazar, the priest, who took with him articles from the sanctuary(G) and the trumpets(H) for signaling.
7 They fought against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses,(I) and killed every man.(J) 8 Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba(K)—the five kings of Midian.(L) They also killed Balaam son of Beor(M) with the sword.(N) 9 The Israelites captured the Midianite women(O) and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder.(P) 10 They burned(Q) all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps.(R) 11 They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals,(S) 12 and brought the captives, spoils(T) and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly(U) at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho.(V)
13 Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army(W)—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who returned from the battle.
15 “Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. 16 “They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice(X) and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the Peor incident,(Y) so that a plague(Z) struck the Lord’s people. 17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man,(AA) 18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.
19 “Anyone who has killed someone or touched someone who was killed(AB) must stay outside the camp seven days.(AC) On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves(AD) and your captives. 20 Purify every garment(AE) as well as everything made of leather, goat hair or wood.(AF)”
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle,(AG) “This is what is required by the law that the Lord gave Moses: 22 Gold, silver, bronze, iron,(AH) tin, lead 23 and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire,(AI) and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing.(AJ) And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water. 24 On the seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean.(AK) Then you may come into the camp.(AL)”
Dividing the Spoils
25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads(AM) of the community are to count all the people(AN) and animals that were captured.(AO) 27 Divide(AP) the spoils equally between the soldiers who took part in the battle and the rest of the community. 28 From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the Lord(AQ) one out of every five hundred, whether people, cattle, donkeys or sheep. 29 Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the priest as the Lord’s part. 30 From the Israelites’ half, select one out of every fifty, whether people, cattle, donkeys, sheep or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.(AR)” 31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.
32 The plunder remaining from the spoils(AS) that the soldiers took was 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys 35 and 32,000 women who had never slept with a man.
36 The half share of those who fought in the battle was:
337,500 sheep, 37 of which the tribute for the Lord(AT) was 675;
38 36,000 cattle, of which the tribute for the Lord was 72;
39 30,500 donkeys, of which the tribute for the Lord was 61;
40 16,000 people, of whom the tribute for the Lord was 32.
41 Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as the Lord’s part,(AU) as the Lord commanded Moses.(AV)
42 The half belonging to the Israelites, which Moses set apart from that of the fighting men— 43 the community’s half—was 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys 46 and 16,000 people. 47 From the Israelites’ half, Moses selected one out of every fifty people and animals, as the Lord commanded him, and gave them to the Levites, who were responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.
48 Then the officers(AW) who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—went to Moses 49 and said to him, “Your servants have counted(AX) the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing.(AY) 50 So we have brought as an offering to the Lord the gold articles each of us acquired—armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves(AZ) before the Lord.”
51 Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted from them the gold—all the crafted articles. 52 All the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds that Moses and Eleazar presented as a gift to the Lord weighed 16,750 shekels.[a] 53 Each soldier had taken plunder(BA) for himself. 54 Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting(BB) as a memorial(BC) for the Israelites before the Lord.
Footnotes
- Numbers 31:52 That is, about 420 pounds or about 190 kilograms
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