Vengeance on Midian

1And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered to thy people. 3And Moses spoke to the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves for the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD on Midian. 4Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war. 5So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand. 7And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males. 8And they slew the kings of Midian, besides the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword. 9And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. 10And they burnt all their cities in which they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire. 11And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts. 12And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.

13And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. 14And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, who came from the battle. 15And Moses said to them, Have ye saved all the women alive? 16Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD, in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD. 17Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. 18But all the female children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. 19And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whoever hath killed any person, and whoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day. 20And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood.

21And Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses; 22Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water. 24And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.

Division of the Spoils

25And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 26Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation: 27And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation: 28And levy a tribute to the LORD of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep: 29Take it of their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for a heave-offering of the LORD. 30And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them to the Levites, who keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD. 31And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.

32And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had taken, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep, 33And seventy two thousand beeves, 34And sixty one thousand asses, 35And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.

36And the half which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep: 37And the LORD'S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and seventy five. 38And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the LORD'S tribute was seventy two. 39And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD'S tribute was sixty one. 40And the persons were sixteen thousand, of which the LORD'S tribute was thirty and two persons. 41And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD'S heave-offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.

42And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men that warred, 43(Now the half that pertained to the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep, 44And thirty and six thousand beeves, 45And thirty thousand asses and five hundred, 46And sixteen thousand persons;) 47Even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.

The Voluntary Offering

48And the officers who were over thousands of the hosts, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses: 49And they said to Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war who are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us. 50We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath obtained of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, ear-rings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD. 51And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels. 52And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. 53(For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) 54And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains 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.