Vengeance on Midian

1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2“First, avenge the sons of Israel from the Midianites, and then you shall be gathered to your people.” 3And immediately Moses said: “Arm the men among you for a battle, so that they may be able to fulfill the retribution of the Lord on the Midianites. 4Let one thousand men be chosen from each tribe of Israel, who shall be sent to war.” 5And they gave one thousand from each tribe, that is, twelve thousand foot soldiers for battle. 6And Moses sent them with Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest; also, he delivered to him the holy vessels, and the trumpets to sound. 7And when they had fought against the Midianites and had prevailed, they killed all the men. 8And they put to death by the sword their kings: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five leaders of the nation, and also Balaam the son of Beor. 9And they seized their women and little ones, and all their cattle, and all their goods; whatever they were able to have, they despoiled. 10Both their cities and their villages, as well as their fortresses, they burned. 11And they carried away prey from everything that they had seized, both of men and of beasts. 12And they led these to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to all the multitude of the sons of Israel. But the remainder of the articles they carried to the camp on the plains of Moab, next to the Jordan, opposite Jericho.

13Then Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the assembly went out to meet them beyond the camp. 14And Moses, being angry with the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions, who had arrived from the battle, 15said: “Why have you spared the females? 16Are not these the ones who deceived the sons of Israel at the suggestion of Balaam, and who caused you betray the Lord by the sin of Peor, because of which the people also were struck down? 17Therefore, put to death all of them: whatever is of the male sex, even among the little ones, and cut the throats of those women who have known men by sexual relations. 18But the young girls, and all female virgins, reserve for yourselves. 19And remain beyond the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed a man, or who has touched one that was killed, shall be purified on the third day and on the seventh day. 20And all of the spoils, whether it is a garment, or a vessel, or another useful thing, made from the pelts or hair of goats, or from wood, shall be expiated.”

21Likewise, Eleazar the priest spoke in this manner to the men of the army who had fought: “This is the precept of the law, which the Lord has commanded Moses: 22Gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, 23and all that may be able to pass through fire, shall be purified by fire. But whatever is not able to sustain fire shall be sanctified with the waters of expiation. 24And you shall wash your garments on the seventh day, and, after having been purified, you shall enter the camp.”

Division of the Spoils

25And the Lord also said to Moses: 26“Take the sum of those things which were captured, from man even to beast, you and Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the common people. 27And you shall divide the prey equally, among those who went out to war and fought, and among the remainder of the multitude. 28And you shall separate a portion for the Lord from the portion of those who fought and were in the battle: one soul out of five hundred, as much from humans, as from oxen and donkeys and sheep. 29And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, because these are the first-fruits of the Lord. 30Likewise, from the half of the portion belonging to the sons of Israel, you shall receive the fiftieth head of humans, and of oxen, and donkeys, and sheep, and of all living things, and you shall give these to the Levites who stand watch over the care of the tabernacle of the Lord.” 31And Moses and Eleazar did just as the Lord had instructed.

32Now the prey which the army had seized was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep, 33seventy-two thousand oxen, 34sixty-one thousand donkeys, 35and thirty-two thousand human lives, of the female sex, who had not known men.

36And one half of the portion was given to those who had been in the battle: three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep. 37From these, for the portion of the Lord, there were accounted: six hundred seventy-five sheep; 38and from the thirty-six thousand oxen, seventy-two oxen; 39from the thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, sixty-one donkeys. 40From the sixteen thousand human souls, there fell to the portion of the Lord thirty-two souls. 41And Moses delivered the number of the first-fruits of the Lord to Eleazar the priest, just as had been commanded of him,

42from the one half portion belonging to the sons of Israel, which he had separated from the portion of those who had been in the battle. 43Yet truly, from the one half portion which fell to the remainder of the multitude, that is, from the three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 44and from the thirty-six thousand oxen, 45and from the thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, 46and from the sixteen thousand persons, 47Moses took the fiftieth head, and gave it to the Levites who stand watch at the tabernacle of the Lord, just as the Lord had instructed.

The Voluntary Offering

48And when the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions had approached Moses, they said: 49“We, your servants, have taken a census of the number of the fighting men, whom we had under our hand, and indeed not one was lacking. 50For this reason, we offer as gifts to the Lord whatever gold each one was able to find amid the spoils, in anklets and arm bands, rings and bracelets, and little chains, so that you may intercede for us to the Lord.” 51And Moses and Eleazar the priest received all the gold in its various kinds, 52weighing sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels, from the tribunes and the centurions. 53For whatever each one had taken away in the spoils was his own. 54And having been accepted, they took it into the tabernacle of the testimony, as a memorial of the sons of Israel before the Lord.