7 They waged war against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male. g 8 Along with the others slain by them, they killed the Midianite kings—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. h They also killed Balaam son of Beor i with the sword. 9 The Israelites took the Midianite women and their children captive, and they plundered all their cattle, flocks, and property. j 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 man and beast. 12 They brought the prisoners, animals, and 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.

13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, 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 k 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. l 17 So now, kill all the male children and kill every woman who has had sexual relations with a man, m 18 but keep alive for yourselves all the young females who have not had sexual relations. n