Numbers 31-36
Christian Standard Bible
War with Midian
31 The Lord spoke to Moses, 2 “Execute vengeance for the Israelites against the Midianites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”(A)
3 So Moses spoke to the people, “Equip some of your men for war. They will go against Midian to inflict the Lord’s vengeance(B) on them. 4 Send one thousand men to war from each Israelite tribe.” 5 So one thousand were recruited from each Israelite tribe out of the thousands[a] in Israel—twelve thousand equipped for war. 6 Moses sent one thousand from each tribe to war. They went with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, in whose care were the holy objects and signal trumpets.
7 They waged war against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male.(C) 8 Along with the others slain by them, they killed the Midianite kings—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian.(D) They also killed Balaam son of Beor(E) with the sword. 9 The Israelites took the Midianite women and their dependents captive, and they plundered all their cattle, flocks, and property.(F) 10 Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites lived, as well as all their encampments, 11 and took away all the spoils of war and the captives, both people and animals. 12 They brought the prisoners, animals, and spoils of war to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the Israelite community at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.
13 Moses, the priest Eleazar, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. 14 But Moses became furious with the officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, who were returning from the military campaign. 15 “Have you let every female live?” he asked them. 16 “Yet they are the ones who, at Balaam’s advice, incited the Israelites to unfaithfulness against the Lord in the Peor incident, so that the plague came against the Lord’s community.(G) 17 So now, kill every male among the dependents and kill every woman who has gone to bed with a man,(H) 18 but keep alive for yourselves all the young females who have not gone to bed with a man.(I)
19 “You are to remain outside the camp for seven days. All of you and your prisoners who have killed a person or touched the dead are to purify yourselves on the third day and the seventh day.(J) 20 Also purify everything: garments, leather goods, things made of goat hair, and every article of wood.”(K)
21 Then the priest Eleazar said to the soldiers who had gone to battle, “This is the legal statute the Lord commanded Moses: 22 The gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead— 23 everything that can withstand fire—you are to pass through fire, and it will be clean. It must still be purified with the purification water.(L) Anything that cannot withstand fire, pass through the water. 24 On the seventh day wash your clothes, and you will be clean.(M) After that you may enter the camp.”
25 The Lord told Moses, 26 “You, the priest Eleazar, and the family heads of the community are to take a count of what was captured, people and animals. 27 Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to war and the entire community.(N) 28 Set aside a tribute for the Lord from what belongs to the fighting men who went out to war: one out of every five hundred people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. 29 Take the tribute from their half and give it to the priest Eleazar as a contribution to the Lord. 30 From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every fifty from the people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats, all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who perform the duties of[b] the Lord’s tabernacle.”
31 So Moses and the priest Eleazar did as the Lord commanded Moses. 32 The captives remaining from the plunder the army had taken totaled:
675,000 sheep and goats,
33 72,000 cattle,
34 61,000 donkeys,
35 and 32,000 people, all the females who had not gone to bed with a man.
36 The half portion for those who went out to war numbered:
337,500 sheep and goats,
37 and the tribute to the Lord was 675
from the sheep and goats;
38 from the 36,000 cattle,
the tribute to the Lord was 72;
39 from the 30,500 donkeys,
the tribute to the Lord was 61;
40 and from the 16,000 people,
the tribute to the Lord was 32 people.
41 Moses gave the tribute to the priest Eleazar as a contribution for the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
42 From the Israelites’ half, which Moses separated from the men who fought, 43 the community’s half was:
337,500 sheep and goats,
44 36,000 cattle,
45 30,500 donkeys,
46 and 16,000 people.
47 Moses took one out of every fifty, selected from the people and the livestock of the Israelites’ half. He gave them to the Levites who perform the duties of the Lord’s tabernacle, as the Lord had commanded him.
48 The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, approached Moses 49 and told him, “Your servants have taken a census of the fighting men under our command, and not one of us is missing. 50 So we have presented to the Lord an offering of the gold articles each man found—armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.”(O)
51 Moses and the priest Eleazar received from them all the articles made out of gold. 52 All the gold of the contribution they offered to the Lord, from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, was 420 pounds.[c] 53 Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself.(P) 54 Moses and the priest Eleazar 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.
Transjordan Settlements
32 The Reubenites and Gadites had a very large number of livestock. When they surveyed the lands of Jazer(Q) and Gilead, they saw that the region was a good one for livestock. 2 So the Gadites and Reubenites came to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the leaders of the community and said, 3 “The territory of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam,[d] Nebo, and Beon,(R) 4 which the Lord struck down(S) before the community of Israel,(T) is good land for livestock, and your servants own livestock.” 5 They said, “If we have found favor with you, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Don’t make us cross the Jordan.”
6 But Moses asked the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your brothers go to war while you stay here? 7 Why are you discouraging the Israelites from crossing into the land the Lord has given them? 8 That’s what your ancestors did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.(U) 9 After they went up as far as Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them. 10 So the Lord’s anger burned that day, and he swore an oath:(V) 11 ‘Because they did not remain loyal to me,(W) none of the men twenty years old or more who came up from Egypt will see the land I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob(X)— 12 none except Caleb(Y) son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua(Z) son of Nun, because they did remain loyal to the Lord.’ 13 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years until the whole generation that had done what was evil in the Lord’s sight was gone.(AA) 14 And here you, a brood of sinners, stand in your ancestors’ place adding even more to the Lord’s burning anger against Israel. 15 If you turn back from following him,(AB) he will once again leave this people in the wilderness, and you will destroy all of them.”
16 Then they approached him and said, “We want to build sheep pens here for our livestock and cities for our dependents. 17 But we will arm ourselves and be ready to go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them into their place.(AC) Meanwhile, our dependents will remain in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our homes until each of the Israelites has taken possession of his inheritance.(AD) 19 Yet we will not have an inheritance with them across the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance will be across the Jordan to the east.”(AE)
20 Moses replied to them, “If you do this—if you arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, 21 and every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before the Lord until he has driven his enemies from his presence, 22 and the land is subdued before the Lord—afterward you may return and be free from obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the Lord. 23 But if you don’t do this, you will certainly sin against the Lord; be sure your sin will catch up with you. 24 Build cities for your dependents and pens for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”(AF)
25 The Gadites and Reubenites answered Moses, “Your servants will do just as my lord commands. 26 Our dependents, wives, livestock, and all our animals will remain here in the cities of Gilead, 27 but your servants are equipped for war before the Lord and will go across to the battle as my lord orders.”
28 So Moses gave orders about them to the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes. 29 Moses told them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, every man in battle formation before the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, you are to give them the land of Gilead as a possession.(AG) 30 But if they don’t go across with you in battle formation, they must accept land in Canaan with you.”
31 The Gadites and Reubenites replied, “What the Lord has spoken to your servants is what we will do. 32 We will cross over in battle formation before the Lord into the land of Canaan, but we will keep our hereditary possession across the Jordan.”
33 So Moses gave them—the Gadites, Reubenites, and half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph—the kingdom of King Sihon of the Amorites and the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, the land including its cities with the territories surrounding them.(AH) 34 The Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran(AI) as fortified cities, and built sheep pens. 37 The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.
39 The descendants of Machir(AJ) son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to the clan of Machir son of Manasseh, and they settled in it.(AK) 41 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages, which he renamed Jair’s Villages.[e](AL) 42 Nobah went and captured Kenath with its surrounding villages and called it Nobah after his own name.
Wilderness Travels Reviewed
33 These were the stages of the Israelites’ journey when they went out of the land of Egypt by their military divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. 2 At the Lord’s command, Moses wrote down the starting points for the stages of their journey; these are the stages listed by their starting points:
3 They traveled from Rameses(AM) in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month. On the day after the Passover(AN) the Israelites went out defiantly[f](AO) in the sight of all the Egyptians. 4 Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying every firstborn male the Lord had struck down among them, for the Lord had executed judgment against their gods.(AP) 5 The Israelites traveled from Rameses and camped at Succoth.(AQ)
6 They traveled from Succoth and camped at Etham,(AR) which is on the edge of the wilderness.
7 They traveled from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol.(AS)
8 They traveled from Pi-hahiroth[g] and crossed through the middle of the sea(AT) into the wilderness. They took a three-day journey into the Wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah.(AU)
9 They traveled from Marah and came to Elim.(AV) There were twelve springs and seventy date palms at Elim, so they camped there.
10 They traveled from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.
11 They traveled from the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin.(AW)
12 They traveled from the Wilderness of Sin and camped in Dophkah.
13 They traveled from Dophkah and camped at Alush.
14 They traveled from Alush and camped at Rephidim,(AX) where there was no water for the people to drink.(AY)
15 They traveled from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai.(AZ)
16 They traveled from the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.(BA)
17 They traveled from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.(BB)
18 They traveled from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.
19 They traveled from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.
20 They traveled from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.
21 They traveled from Libnah and camped at Rissah.
22 They traveled from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.
23 They traveled from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.
24 They traveled from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.
25 They traveled from Haradah and camped at Makheloth.
26 They traveled from Makheloth and camped at Tahath.
27 They traveled from Tahath and camped at Terah.
28 They traveled from Terah and camped at Mithkah.
29 They traveled from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.
30 They traveled from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.
31 They traveled from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.(BC)
32 They traveled from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.
33 They traveled from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.
34 They traveled from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.
35 They traveled from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.(BD)
36 They traveled from Ezion-geber and camped in the Wilderness of Zin(BE) (that is, Kadesh).
37 They traveled from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor(BF) on the edge of the land of Edom. 38 At the Lord’s command, the priest Aaron climbed Mount Hor and died there on the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year after the Israelites went out of the land of Egypt.(BG) 39 Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor. 40 At that time the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan,(BH) heard the Israelites were coming.
41 They traveled from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.
42 They traveled from Zalmonah and camped at Punon.
43 They traveled from Punon and camped at Oboth.(BI)
44 They traveled from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim on the border of Moab.(BJ)
45 They traveled from Iyim[h] and camped at Dibon-gad.(BK)
46 They traveled from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim.(BL)
47 They traveled from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the Abarim(BM) range facing Nebo.(BN)
48 They traveled from the Abarim range and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.(BO) 49 They camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth(BP) to the Acacia Meadow[i](BQ) on the plains of Moab.
Instructions for Occupying Canaan
50 The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, 51 “Tell the Israelites: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you, destroy all their stone images(BR) and cast images,(BS) and demolish all their high places. 53 You are to take possession of the land and settle in it because I have given you the land(BT) to possess. 54 You are to receive the land as an inheritance by lot according to your clans. Increase the inheritance for a large clan and decrease it for a small one. Whatever place the lot indicates for someone will be his. You will receive an inheritance according to your ancestral tribes. 55 But if you don’t drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs for your eyes and thorns for your sides; they will harass you in the land where you will live. 56 And what I had planned to do to them, I will do to you.”(BU)
Boundaries of the Promised Land
34 The Lord spoke to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan, it will be allotted to you as an inheritance[j] with these borders:
3 Your southern side will be from the Wilderness of Zin along the boundary of Edom. Your southern border on the east will begin at the east end of the Dead Sea. 4 Your border will turn south of the Scorpions’ Ascent,[k] proceed to Zin, and end south of Kadesh-barnea. It will go to Hazar-addar and proceed to Azmon.(BV) 5 The border will turn from Azmon(BW) to the Brook of Egypt,(BX) where it will end at the Mediterranean Sea.
6 Your western border will be the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea; this will be your western border.
7 This will be your northern border: From the Mediterranean Sea draw a line to Mount Hor;(BY) 8 from Mount Hor draw a line to the entrance of Hamath,[l](BZ) and the border will reach Zedad.(CA) 9 Then the border will go to Ziphron and end at Hazar-enan.(CB) This will be your northern border.
10 For your eastern border, draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham. 11 The border will go down from Shepham to Riblah east of Ain.(CC) It will continue down and reach the eastern slope of the Sea of Chinnereth.[m](CD) 12 Then the border will go down to the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea. This will be your land defined by its borders on all sides.”
13 So Moses commanded the Israelites, “This is the land you are to receive by lot as an inheritance, which the Lord commanded to be given to the nine and a half tribes. 14 For the tribe of Reuben’s descendants and the tribe of Gad’s descendants have received their inheritance according to their ancestral families,[n] and half the tribe of Manasseh has received its inheritance. 15 The two and a half tribes have received their inheritance(CE) across the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”
Leaders for Distributing the Land
16 The Lord spoke to Moses, 17 “These are the names of the men who are to distribute the land as an inheritance for you: the priest Eleazar and Joshua son of Nun. 18 Take one leader from each tribe to distribute the land. 19 These are the names of the men:
Caleb(CF) son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;
20 Shemuel son of Ammihud from the tribe of Simeon’s descendants;
21 Elidad son of Chislon from the tribe of Benjamin;
22 Bukki son of Jogli, a leader from the tribe of Dan’s descendants;
23 from the sons of Joseph:
Hanniel son of Ephod, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh’s descendants,
24 Kemuel son of Shiphtan, a leader from the tribe of Ephraim’s descendants;
25 Eli-zaphan son of Parnach, a leader from the tribe of Zebulun’s descendants;
26 Paltiel son of Azzan, a leader from the tribe of Issachar’s descendants;
27 Ahihud son of Shelomi, a leader from the tribe of Asher’s descendants;
28 Pedahel son of Ammihud, a leader from the tribe of Naphtali’s descendants.”
29 These are the ones the Lord commanded to distribute the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.
Cities for the Levites
35 The Lord again spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho:(CG) 2 “Command the Israelites to give cities out of their hereditary property for the Levites to live in and pastureland around the cities.(CH) 3 The cities will be for them to live in, and their pasturelands will be for their herds, flocks, and all their other animals. 4 The pasturelands of the cities you are to give the Levites will extend from the city wall five hundred yards[o] on every side. 5 Measure a thousand yards[p] outside the city for the east side, a thousand yards for the south side, a thousand yards for the west side, and a thousand yards for the north side, with the city in the center. This will belong to them as pasturelands for the cities.
6 “The cities you give the Levites will include six cities of refuge,(CI) which you will provide so that the one who kills someone may flee there; in addition to these, give forty-two other cities.(CJ) 7 The total number of cities you give the Levites will be forty-eight, along with their pasturelands.(CK) 8 Of the cities that you give from the Israelites’ territory, you should take more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one.(CL) Each tribe is to give some of its cities to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance it receives.”
Cities of Refuge
9 The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 designate cities to serve as cities of refuge for you, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.(CM) 12 You will have the cities as a refuge from the avenger,(CN) so that the one who kills someone will not die until he stands trial before the assembly. 13 The cities you select will be your six cities of refuge. 14 Select three cities across the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan to be cities of refuge.(CO) 15 These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the alien or temporary resident among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.
16 “If anyone strikes a person with an iron object and death results, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death.(CP) 17 If anyone has in his hand a stone capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the murderer must be put to death. 18 If anyone has in his hand a wooden object capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the murderer must be put to death. 19 The avenger of blood himself is to kill the murderer; when he finds him, he is to kill him.(CQ) 20 Likewise, if anyone in hatred pushes a person or throws an object at him with malicious intent and he dies, 21 or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood is to kill the murderer when he finds him.
22 “But if anyone suddenly pushes a person without hostility or throws any object at him without malicious intent 23 or without looking drops a stone that could kill a person and he dies, but he was not his enemy and didn’t intend to harm him, 24 the assembly is to judge between the person who kills someone and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. 25 The assembly is to protect the one who kills someone from the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge he fled to, and he must live there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.(CR)
26 “If the one who kills someone ever goes outside the border of the city of refuge he fled to, 27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside the border of his city of refuge and kills him, the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed, 28 for the one who killed a person was supposed to live in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may the one who has killed a person return to the land he possesses. 29 These instructions will be a statutory ordinance for you throughout your generations wherever you live.
30 “If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death based on the word of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of one witness.(CS) 31 You are not to accept a ransom for the life of someone who is guilty of murder; he must be put to death. 32 Neither should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to his city of refuge, allowing him to return and live in the land before the death of the high priest.
33 “Do not defile the land where you live, for bloodshed defiles the land,(CT) and there can be no atonement for the land because of the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the person who shed it. 34 Do not make the land unclean where you live and where I dwell; for I, the Lord, reside among the Israelites.”
The Inheritance of Zelophehad’s Daughters
36 The family heads from the clan of the descendants of Gilead—the son of Machir, son of Manasseh(CU)—who were from the clans of the sons of Joseph, approached and addressed Moses and the leaders who were heads of the Israelite families. 2 They said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites. My lord was further commanded by the Lord to give our brother Zelophehad’s inheritance to his daughters.(CV) 3 If they marry any of the men from the other Israelite tribes, their inheritance will be taken away from our fathers’ inheritance and added to that of the tribe into which they marry. Therefore, part of our allotted inheritance would be taken away. 4 When the Jubilee(CW) comes for the Israelites, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.”
5 So Moses commanded the Israelites at the word of the Lord, “What the tribe of Joseph’s descendants says is right. 6 This is what the Lord has commanded concerning Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they like provided they marry within a clan of their ancestral tribe. 7 No inheritance belonging to the Israelites is to transfer from tribe to tribe, because each of the Israelites is to retain the inheritance of his ancestral tribe.(CX) 8 Any daughter who possesses an inheritance from an Israelite tribe must marry someone from the clan of her ancestral tribe, so that each of the Israelites will possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9 No inheritance is to transfer from one tribe to another, because each of the Israelite tribes is to retain its inheritance.”
10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses. 11 Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, married cousins on their father’s side. 12 They married men from the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained within the tribe of their father’s clan.
13 These are the commands and ordinances the Lord commanded the Israelites through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.
Footnotes
- 31:5 Or clans
- 31:30 Or who protect
- 31:52 Lit 16,750 shekels
- 32:3 Sam, LXX read Sibmah (v. 38); Syr reads Sebah
- 32:41 Or renamed Havvoth-jair
- 33:3 Lit with a raised hand; Ex 14:8
- 33:8 Some Hb mss, Sam, Syr, Vg; other Hb mss read from before Hahiroth
- 33:45 A shortened form of Iye-abarim
- 33:49 Or to Abel-shittim
- 34:2 Lit inheritance—the land of Canaan
- 34:4 Lit of Scorpions; Jos 15:3; Jdg 1:36
- 34:8 Or to Lebo-hamath
- 34:11 = the Sea of Galilee; Jos 12:3; 13:27; Lk 5:1
- 34:14 Lit the house of their fathers
- 35:4 Lit 1,000 cubits
- 35:5 Lit 2,000 cubits
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