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v1
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
v2
“Seek vengeance for the Israelites ^[Literally “sons/children of Israel”] on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people.”
v3
Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm yourself from among your men for the battle, so that they will go ^[Literally “be”] against Midian to mete out the vengeance of Yahweh on Midian.
v4
A thousand from each tribe of every tribe of Israel you will send to battle.”
v5
So theywere assigned from the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand equipped for battle.
v6
Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the battle, and Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to the battle with them, and the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets of the blast were in his hand.
v7
And they fought against Midian just as Yahweh commanded Moses, and they killed every male.
v8
They killed the kings of Midian in addition to the ones they had slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam son of Beor by the sword.
v9
The Israelites ^[Literally “sons/children of Israel”] took captive the women of Midian and their children, and they plundered all their domestic animals and all their livestock and all their wealth.
v10
They burned all their cities where they dwelled and all their camps with fire.
v11
They took all the plunder and all the war-booty with the humans ^[Hebrew “human”] and domestic animals. ^[Hebrew “animal”]
v12
They brought the captives, the war-booty, and the plunder to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the community of the Israelites, ^[Literally “sons/children of Israel”] to the camp to the desert-plateau of Moab, which was on the Jordan across Jericho.
v13
And Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went out to meet them outside the camp.
v14
But Moses was angry toward the leaders of the troops, the commanders of the thousands and the commanders of the hundreds, who came from the battle of the war.
v15
And Moses said to them, “You have kept alive every female?
v16
Behold, these women caused ^[Literally “were to”] the Israelites, ^[Literally “sons/children of Israel”] by the word of Balaam, to be in apostasy against Yahweh in the matter of Peor, so that the plague was among the community of Yahweh.
v17
Now kill every male among the little children, and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse with a man. ^[Literally “who has known the bed of a male”]
v18
But all the females who have not had sexual intercourse with a man, ^[Literally “who has known the bed of a male”] keep alive for yourselves.
v19
And you, camp outside the camp seven days; all who killed a person and all who touched the slain purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, you and your captives.
v20
You will purify yourselves and every garment and every object of hide and all the work of goats’ hair, and every object of wood.”
v21
Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of the battle who came from the war, “This is the decree of the law that Yahweh commanded Moses.
v22
Only the gold and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead—
v23
everything that will go through the fire—you will pass through the fire, and it will be clean, and only in waters of impurity will it be purified. Whatever does not go into the fire you will pass through the waters.
v24
And you will wash your garments on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you will come into the camp.”
v25
Yahweh said to Moses, saying,
v26
“You and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the families ^[Literally “fathers”] of the community, take count ^[Literally “lift up the head”] of the war-booty that was captured, both humans ^[Hebrew “human”] and the domestic animals; ^[Hebrew “animal”]
v27
divide the war-booty between those who engaged in the war, who went out to the battle, and all the community.
v28
Exact a tribute for Yahweh from the men of the war, those who went out to the battle, one from five hundred persons, and from the cattle and from the male donkeys and from the flock;
v29
take from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to Yahweh.
v30
From half of the Israelites, ^[Literally “sons/children of Israel”] take one share drawn by lot from the fifty from the humans, ^[Hebrew “human”] from the cattle, from the male donkeys, from the flock, from all the domestic animals, ^[Hebrew “animal”] and give them to the Levities who keep the responsibilities of the tabernacle of Yahweh.”
v31
Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as Yahweh commanded Moses.
v32
Thus the war-booty that remained of the plunder that the people of the battle plundered was six hundred and seventy-five thousand flocks of sheep,
v33
seventy-two thousand cattle,
v34
sixty-one thousand male donkeys,
v35
and the life of humankind, from the women who did not have sexual intercourse with a man, ^[Literally “who has known the bed of a male”] all the persons ^[Hebrew “person”] were thirty-two thousand.
v36
The half of the share that was going out to the battle: the number of the flock of sheep was thee hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred;
v37
the tribute to Yahweh from the flock was six hundred and seventy-five;
v38
and the cattle were thirty-six thousand; and the tribute to Yahweh was seventy-two.
v39
Of the male donkeys there were thirty thousand five hundred, and the tribute to Yahweh was sixty-one;
v40
the humans ^[Hebrew “human”] were sixteen thousand, and the tribute to Yahweh was thirty-two persons.
v41
And Moses gave away the tribute of the contribution of Yahweh to Eleazar the priest, just as Yahweh commanded Moses.
v42
From the half of the Israelites, ^[Literally “sons/children of Israel”] which Moses divided from the men who were fighting,
v43
the half that belonged to the community was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred from the flock,
v44
and thirty-six thousand cattle,
v45
and thirty thousand five hundred male donkeys,
v46
and sixteen thousand humans. ^[Hebrew “human”]
v47
From the half that belonged to the Israelites, ^[Literally “sons/children of Israel”] Moses took one share drawn by lot out of every fifty humans ^[Hebrew “human”] and domestic animals, and he gave them to the Levites, who keep the responsibility of the tabernacle of Yahweh, just as Yahweh commanded Moses.
v48
Then the leaders of the thousands of the army, the commanders of the thousands and the commanders of the hundreds, approached Moses,
v49
and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken count ^[Literally “lifted up the head”] of the men of war who were in our charge, ^[Literally “in our hand”] and no man is missing from us.
v50
So we brought the offering of Yahweh, what each man found, objects of gold, bangles, ^[Hebrew “bangle”] bracelets, ^[Hebrew “bracelet”] rings, ^[Hebrew “ring”] earrings, ^[Hebrew “earring”] and female ornaments, ^[Hebrew “ornament”] to make atonement for ourselves before ^[Literally “in the presence of”] Yahweh.”
v51
Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all objects of work.
v52
All the gold of the contribution that they raised up to Yahweh, from the commanders of the thousands and the commanders of the hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.
v53
The men of battle plundered each for himself.
v54
So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the commanders of the thousands and hundreds, and they brought it to the tent of the assembly as a memorial for the Israelites ^[Literally “sons/children of Israel”] before Yahweh.