Numbers 31:1–16
31 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 a“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall bbe gathered to your people.”
3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm some of yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the Lord on cMidian. 4 A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.”
5 So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Then Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from each tribe; he sent them to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and dthe signal trumpets in his hand. 7 And they warred against the Midianites, just as the Lord commanded Moses, and ethey killed all the fmales. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were killed—gEvi, Rekem, hZur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. iBalaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword.
9 And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, with their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods. 10 They also burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt, and all their forts. 11 And jthey took all the spoil and all the booty—of man and beast.
12 Then they brought the captives, the booty, and the spoil to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 13 And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp. 14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle.
15 And Moses said to them: “Have you kept kall the women alive? 16 Look, lthese women caused the children of Israel, through the mcounsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and nthere was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.