Numbers 25–26

Chapter 25

The Sin of Peor

¹While Israel remained at ^aShittim, the people began ^bto play the harlot with the daughters of Moab.

²For ^athey invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.

³So ^aIsrael joined themselves to ¹Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel.

⁴The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them ¹in broad daylight before the Lord, ^aso that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.”

⁵So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you ^aslay his men who have joined themselves to ¹Baal of Peor.”

⁶Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his ¹relatives a ^aMidianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ^bwhile they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

^7aWhen Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand,

⁸and he went after the man of Israel into the ¹tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the ²body. ^aSo the plague on the sons of Israel was checked.

^9aThose who died by the plague were 24,000.

The Zeal of Phinehas

¹⁰Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

¹¹“^aPhinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel ^bin My jealousy.

¹²“Therefore say, ‘^aBehold, I give him My ^bcovenant of peace;

¹³and it shall be for him and his ¹descendants after him, a covenant of a ^aperpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and ^bmade atonement for the sons of Israel.’ ”

¹⁴Now the name of the ¹slain man of Israel who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites.

¹⁵The name of the Midianite woman who was ¹slain was ^aCozbi the daughter of ^bZur, ²who was head of the people of a father’s household in Midian.

¹⁶Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁷“^aBe hostile to the Midianites and strike them;

¹⁸for they have been hostile to you with their tricks, with which they have deceived you in the affair of Peor and in the affair of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister who was slain on the day of the plague because of Peor.”

Chapter 26

Census of a New Generation

¹¹Then it came about after the ^aplague, ²that the Lord spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying,

²“^aTake a ¹census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ households, whoever is able to go out to war in Israel.”

³So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them ^ain the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,

⁴“Take a census of the people from twenty years old and upward, as the Lord has commanded Moses.”

Now the sons of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:

⁵Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites;

⁶of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites.

⁷These are the families of the Reubenites, and those who were numbered of them were ^a43,730.

⁸The son of Pallu: Eliab.

⁹The sons of Eliab: Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were ^acalled by the congregation, who contended against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord,

¹⁰and ^athe earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah, when that company died, ^bwhen the fire devoured 250 men, so that they became a ¹warning.

^11aThe sons of Korah, however, did not die.

¹²The sons of Simeon according to their families: of ¹Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of ²Jachin, the family of the Jachinites;

¹³of ¹Zerah, the family of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites.

¹⁴These are the families of the Simeonites, ^a22,200.

¹⁵The sons of Gad according to their families: of ¹Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites;

¹⁶of ¹Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites;

¹⁷of ¹Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites.

¹⁸These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered of them, ^a40,500.

¹⁹The ^asons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.

²⁰The ^asons of Judah according to their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites.

²¹The sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites.

²²These are the families of Judah according to those who were numbered of them, ^a76,500.

²³The ^asons of Issachar according to their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of ¹Puvah, the family of the Punites;

²⁴of ¹Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites.

²⁵These are the families of Issachar according to those who were numbered of them, ^a64,300.

²⁶The ^asons of Zebulun according to their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites.

²⁷These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were numbered of them, ^a60,500.

²⁸The ^asons of Joseph according to their families: Manasseh and Ephraim.

²⁹The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and ^aMachir ¹became the father of Gilead: of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites.

³⁰These are the sons of Gilead: of ¹Iezer, the family of the ^aIezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites;

³¹and of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites;

³²and of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites.

³³Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but only daughters; and ^athe names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.

³⁴These are the families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were ^a52,700.

³⁵These are the sons of Ephraim according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of ¹Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites.

³⁶These are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites.

³⁷These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were numbered of them, ^a32,500. These are the sons of Joseph according to their families.

³⁸The sons of Benjamin according to their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of ¹Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites;

³⁹of ¹Shephupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of ²Hupham, the family of the Huphamites.

⁴⁰The sons of Bela were ¹Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites.

⁴¹These are the sons of Benjamin according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were ^a45,600.

⁴²These are the sons of Dan according to their families: of ¹Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan according to their families.

⁴³All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those who were numbered of them, were ^a64,400.

⁴⁴The ^asons of Asher according to their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the family of the Beriites.

⁴⁵Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites.

⁴⁶The name of the daughter of Asher was Serah.

⁴⁷These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those who were numbered of them, ^a53,400.

⁴⁸The ^asons of Naphtali according to their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites;

⁴⁹of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of ^aShillem, the family of the Shillemites.

⁵⁰These are the families of Naphtali according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were ^a45,400.

⁵¹These are those who were numbered of the sons of Israel, ^a601,730.

⁵²Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

⁵³“¹Among these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names.

⁵⁴“^aTo the larger group you shall increase their inheritance, and to the smaller group you shall diminish their inheritance; each shall be given their inheritance according to those who were numbered of them.

⁵⁵“But the land shall be ^adivided by lot. They shall ¹receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers.

⁵⁶“According to the selection by lot, their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller groups.”

^57aThese are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites.

⁵⁸These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. ^aKohath ¹became the father of Amram.

⁵⁹The name of Amram’s wife ^awas Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram: Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam.

^60aTo Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

^61aBut Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the Lord.

⁶²Those who were numbered of them were ^a23,000, every male from a month old and upward, for ^bthey were not numbered among the sons of Israel ^csince no inheritance was given to them among the sons of Israel.

⁶³These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

^64aBut among these there was not a man of…