Numbers 31–33

31And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, ²Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people. ³And 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. ⁴Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war. ⁵So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. ⁶And 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. ⁷And they warred against Midian, as Jehovah commanded Moses; and they slew every male. ⁸And 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. ⁹And 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. ¹⁰And all their cities in the places wherein they dwelt, and all their encampments, they burnt with fire. ¹¹And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of man and of beast. ¹²And 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.

¹³And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. ¹⁴And 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. ¹⁵And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? ¹⁶Behold, 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. ¹⁷Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. ¹⁸But all the women-children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. ¹⁹And 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. ²⁰And 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.

²¹And 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: ²²howbeit the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, ²³everything 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. ²⁴And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean; and afterward ye shall come into the camp.

²⁵And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, ²⁶Take 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; ²⁷and divide the prey into two parts: between the men skilled in war, that went out to battle, and all the congregation. ²⁸And 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: ²⁹take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for Jehovah’s heave-offering. ³⁰And 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. ³¹And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as Jehovah commanded Moses.

³²Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep, ³³and threescore and twelve thousand oxen, ³⁴and threescore and one thousand asses, ³⁵and thirty and two thousand persons in all, of the women that had not known man by lying with him. ³⁶And 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: ³⁷and Jehovah’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen. ³⁸And the oxen were thirty and six thousand; of which Jehovah’s tribute was threescore and twelve. ³⁹And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which Jehovah’s tribute was threescore and one. ⁴⁰And the persons were sixteen thousand; of whom Jehovah’s tribute was thirty and two persons. ⁴¹And Moses gave the tribute, which was Jehovah’s heave-offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

⁴²And 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, ⁴⁴and thirty and six thousand oxen, ⁴⁵and thirty thousand and five hundred asses, ⁴⁶and sixteen thousand persons), ⁴⁷even 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.

⁴⁸And the officers that were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses; ⁴⁹and 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. ⁵⁰And we have brought Jehovah’s oblation, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, ankle-chains, and bracelets, signet-rings, ear-rings, and armlets, to make atonement for our souls before Jehovah. ⁵¹And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels. ⁵²And 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.) ⁵⁴And 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.

32Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle; ²the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying, ³Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon, ⁴the land which Jehovah smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle; and thy servants have cattle. ⁵And they said, If we have found favor in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession; bring us not over the Jordan.

⁶And Moses said unto the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to the war, and shall ye sit here? ⁷And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which Jehovah hath given them? ⁸Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. ⁹For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which Jehovah had given them. ¹⁰And Jehovah’s anger was kindled in that day, and he sware, saying, ¹¹Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: ¹²save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; because they have wholly followed Jehovah. ¹³And Jehovah’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander to and fro in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of Jehovah, was consumed. ¹⁴And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of Jehovah toward Israel. ¹⁵For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye will destroy all this people.

¹⁶And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: ¹⁷but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁸We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. ¹⁹For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan, and forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side of the Jordan eastward.

²⁰And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will arm yourselves to go before Jehovah to the war, ²¹and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before Jehovah, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, ²²and the land is subdued before Jehovah; then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless towards Jehovah, and towards Israel; and this land shall be unto you for a possession before Jehovah. ²³But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against Jehovah; and be sure your sin will find you out. ²⁴Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath…