Numbers 31

1The LORD spoke to Moses. He said, 2“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that you will be gathered to your people.” 3So Moses said to the people, “Arm some of your men for war, and let them go against Midian to carry out the LORD’s vengeance on Midian. 4Send a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel to the war.” 5So a thousand from each tribe were provided from the clans of Israel, 12,000 men armed for war. 6Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who had in his care the holy articles and the trumpets for sounding the alarm. 7They made war on Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and killed every man. 8Along with the others who were killed, they killed the kings of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. 9The Israelites took the women of Midian and their children captive, and they carried off all their cattle, all their flocks and all their goods as plunder. 10They burned all the towns where the Midianites lived, and all their camps. 11They took all the spoil and all the plunder, both people and animals. 12They brought the captives, the plunder and the spoil to Moses, to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the Israelites, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.

13Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp. 14Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who were coming back from the battle. 15Moses said to them, “You have let all the women live? 16These are the very women who, on Balaam’s advice, led the Israelites to be unfaithful to the LORD in the affair of Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD. 17So now kill every boy among the children, and kill every woman who has slept with a man. 18But keep alive for yourselves all the girls who have not slept with a man. 19As for you, camp outside the camp for seven days. All of you who have killed anyone or touched anyone killed must purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. 20Purify also every garment, everything made of leather or of goat hair, and every object of wood.”

21Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is the statute of the law that the LORD commanded Moses: 22Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin and the lead, 23everything that can stand fire, you are to put through fire, and it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water for impurity. Whatever cannot stand fire you are to put through the water. 24On the seventh day wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may come into the camp.”

25The LORD said to Moses, 26“You and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the families of the congregation are to count the plunder that was captured, both people and animals. 27Divide the plunder into two halves, one for the men who fought in the battle and went out to war, and one for the whole congregation. 28From the men who fought and went out to war, set apart a tribute for the LORD: one out of every 500, whether people, cattle, donkeys or sheep. 29Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution for the LORD. 30And from the half that belongs to the Israelites take one out of every fifty, whether people, cattle, donkeys or sheep, from all the animals, and give them to the Levites who carry out the duties of the LORD’s tabernacle.” 31So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD had commanded Moses. 32The plunder, what was left of the spoil the soldiers had taken, came to 675,000 sheep, 3372,000 cattle, 3461,000 donkeys, 35and 32,000 people in all, girls who had not slept with a man. 36The half that was the share of those who had gone out to war came to 337,500 sheep, 37and the tribute for the LORD from the sheep was 675. 38There were 36,000 cattle, and the tribute from them for the LORD was seventy-two. 39There were 30,500 donkeys, and the tribute from them for the LORD was sixty-one. 40There were 16,000 people, and the tribute from them for the LORD was thirty-two people. 41Moses gave the tribute, the LORD’s contribution, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 42Then there was the half that belonged to the Israelites, which Moses had separated from that of the men who fought. 43The congregation’s half came to 337,500 sheep, 4436,000 cattle, 4530,500 donkeys, 46and 16,000 people. 47From this half that belonged to the Israelites Moses took one out of every fifty, of people and of animals, and gave them to the Levites who carry out the duties of the LORD’s tabernacle, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 48Then the officers over the units of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came to Moses 49and said to him, “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one man of us is missing. 50So we have brought as an offering to the LORD what each man found, articles of gold: armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.” 51Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, all of it crafted jewelry. 52All the gold that the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds presented as a contribution to the LORD weighed about 420 pounds. 53Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself. 54Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD.