 1 The Lord spoke to Moses saying, 2 Avenge the children of Israel from the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people. 3 Moses spoke to the people saying, Arm yourselves for the war and let them go against the Midianites and avenge the Lord on Midian. 4 Send a thousand from every tribe throughout all the tribes of Israel. 5 So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from every tribe, 12,000 armed for war. 6 Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from every tribe. He sent them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest to the war with the holy instruments and the trumpets to blow in his hand. 7 They warred against the Midianites as the Lord commanded Moses and killed all the males. 8 They killed the kings of Midian, besides the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. 9 The children of Israel took all the women of Midian captive, and their little children, and the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. 10 They burned with fire all their cities, their homes, and all their towers. 11 They took all the spoil and all the prey of men and animals. 12 They brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, to Moses and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are beside Jordan, at Jericho. 13 Moses and Eleazar the priest, and all the rulers of the congregation, went forth to meet them outside the camp. 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who came from the battle. 15 Moses said to them, Have you saved all the women alive? 16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit sin against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and the plague was on the congregation of the Lord. 17 Now kill every male among the children and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. 18 But all the female children who have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. 19 Stay outside the camp seven days. Whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any dead one, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 Purify all clothing and all that is made of skin and all work of goats' hair and all things made of wood. 21 Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses. 22 Only the gold and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead. 23 Everything that can stand+ the fire you must make go through the fire and then it will be clean. Then it must be purified with the water of separation. But all that cannot stand+ the fire you must make go through the water. 24 You shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and you shall be clean and afterward you shall come into the camp. 25 The Lord spoke to Moses saying, 26 Count the prey that was taken of man and of animal, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers of the congregation. 27 Divide the prey into two parts: between those skilled in the battle who went to war and all the congregation. 28 Levy a tax for the Lord from the men of war who went to battle: one soul of 500, of the persons and of the cattle, and of the donkeys, and of the flock. 29 Take from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest, a heave offering to the Lord. 30 From the children of Israel's half you shall take one portion of 50, of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, of the flocks, of all kinds of animals, and give them to the Levites who keep the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord. 31 Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. 32 The prize, the rest of the spoil which the men of war had captured, was 675,000 sheep, 33 72 thousand beef cattle, 34 61 thousand donkeys, 35 and 32,000 persons in all, of women who had not known a man by lying with a him. 36 The half, the portion of those who went to war, the number of the flock was 337,500. 37 The Lord's tax of the sheep was 675. 38 The beef cattle were 36,000, of which the Lord's tax was 72. 39 The donkeys, 30,500, of which the Lord's tax was 61. 40 The persons were 16,000, of which the Lord's tax was 32 persons. 41 Moses gave the tax, the Lord's heave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses. 42 Of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men who warred. 43 Even the congregation's half was 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 beef cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 persons. 47 Even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion in 50, of man and of animal, and gave them to the Levites who kept the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, even as the Lord commanded Moses. 48 The officers who were over thousands of the army, over the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came near Moses. 49 They said to Moses, your servants have counted the men of war who are under our charge, and there is not one man of us lacking. 50 We bring an offering for the Lord, what every man has found, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the Lord. 51 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all crafted things. 52 All the gold of the offering that they offered up to the Lord, of the commanders of thousands, and of the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels. 53 For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself. 54 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord.
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