Numbers 31:25–54

Division of the Plunder

²⁵Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²⁶“Count up the plunder that was ²taken—of man and beast—you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation; ²⁷and ^udivide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation. ²⁸And levy a ³tribute for the Lord on the men of war who went out to battle: ^vone of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep; ²⁹take it from their half, and ^wgive it to Eleazar the priest as a heave offering to the Lord. ³⁰And from the children of Israel’s half you shall take ^xone of every fifty, drawn from the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep, from all the livestock, and give them to the Levites ^ywho ⁴keep charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.” ³¹So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

³²The booty remaining from the plunder, which the men of war had taken, was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, ³³seventy-two thousand cattle, ³⁴sixty-one thousand donkeys, ³⁵and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of women who had not known a man intimately. ³⁶And the half, the portion for those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep; ³⁷and the Lord’s ⁵tribute of the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five. ³⁸The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was seventy-two. ³⁹The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the Lord’s tribute was sixty-one. ⁴⁰The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was thirty-two persons. ⁴¹So Moses gave the tribute which was the Lord’s heave offering to Eleazar the priest, ^zas the Lord commanded Moses.

⁴²And from the children of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from the men who fought—⁴³now the half belonging to the congregation was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, ⁴⁴thirty-six thousand cattle, ⁴⁵thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, ⁴⁶and sixteen thousand persons—⁴⁷and ^afrom the children of Israel’s half Moses took one of every fifty, drawn from man and beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

⁴⁸Then the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses; ⁴⁹and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our command, and not a man of us is missing. ⁵⁰Therefore we have brought an offering for the Lord, what every man found of ornaments of gold: armlets and bracelets and signet rings and earrings and necklaces, ^bto make ⁶atonement for ourselves before the Lord.” ⁵¹So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, all the fashioned ornaments. ⁵²And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the Lord, from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. ^53c(The men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) ⁵⁴And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting ^das a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord.