The Fourth Book of Moses: Numbers

⭑ Geneva Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 31 -

And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

Reuenge the children of Israel of the Midianites, and afterwarde shalt thou be gathered vnto thy people.

And Moses spake to the people, saying, Harnesse some of you vnto warre, and let them goe against Midian, to execute the vengeance of the Lord against Midian.

A thousande of euery tribe throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye sende to the warre.

So there were taken out of the thousands of Israel, twelue thousande prepared vnto warre, of euery tribe a thousand.

And Moses sent them to the warre, euen a thousand of euery tribe, and sent them with Phinehas the sonne of Eleazar the Priest to the warre: and the holy instruments, that is, the trumpets to blow were in his hand.

And they warred against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and slue all the males.

They slue also the Kings of Midian among them that were slaine: Eui and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur and Reba fiue kings of Midian, and they slue Balaam the sonne of Beor with the sworde:

But the children of Israel tooke the women of Midian prisoners, and their children, and spoyled all their cattell, and all their flockes, and all their goods.

And they burnt all their cities, wherein they dwelt, and all their villages with fire.

And they tooke all the spoyle and all the pray both of men and beastes.

And they brought the captiues and that which they had taken, and the spoyle vnto Moses and to Eleazar the Priest, and vnto the Congregation of the children of Israel, into ye campe in the playne of Moab, which was by Iorden toward Iericho.

Then Moses and Eleazar the Priest, and all the princes of the Congregation went out of the campe to meete them.

And Moses was angry with the captaines of the hoste, with the captaines ouer thousands, and captaines ouer hundreds, which came from the warre and battel.

And Moses sayde vnto them, What? haue ye saued all the women?

Behold, these caused the children of Israel through the counsell of Balaam to commit a trespasse against the Lord, as concerning Peor, and there came a plague among the Congregation of the Lord.

Now therefore, slay all the males among the children, and kill all the women that haue knowen man by carnall copulation.

But all the women children that haue not knowen carnall copulation, keepe aliue for your selues.

And ye shall remaine without the host seuen dayes, all that haue killed any person, and all that haue touched any dead, and purifie both your selues and your prisoners the third day and the seuenth.

Also ye shall purifie euery garment and all that is made of skins and al worke of goates heare, and all things made of wood.

And Eleazar ye Priest sayd vnto the men of warre, which went to the battel, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses,

As for gold, and siluer, brasse, yron, tynne, and lead:

Euen all that may abide the fire, yee shall make it goe through the fire, and it shalbe cleane: yet, it shalbe purified with the water of purification: and all that suffereth not the fire, yee shall cause to passe by the water.

Ye shall wash also your clothes the seuenth day, and ye shalbe cleane: and afterward ye shall come into the Hoste.

Division of the Spoils

And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

Take the summe of the praie that was taken, both of persons and of cattell, thou and Eleazar the Priest, and the chiefe fathers of the Congregation.

And deuide the praye betweene the souldiers that went to the warre, and all the Congregation.

And thou shalt take a tribute vnto ye Lord of the men of warre, which went out to battel: one person of fiue hundreth, both of the persons, and of the beeues, and of the asses, and of the sheepe.

Yee shall take it of their halfe and giue it vnto Eleazar the Priest, as an heaue offring of the Lord.

But of the halfe of the children of Israel thou shalt take one, taken out of fiftie, both of the persons, of the beeues, of the asses, and of the sheepe, euen of all the cattel: and thou shalt giue them vnto the Leuites, which haue the charge of the Tabernacle of the Lord.

And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

And the bootie, to wit, the rest of the praie which the men of warre had spoyled, was sixe hundreth seuentie and fiue thousand sheepe,

And seuentie and two thousand beeues,

And three score and one thousand asses,

And two and thirtie thousande persons in all, of women that had lyen by no man.

And the halfe, to wit, the part of them that went out to warre touching the nomber of sheepe, was three hundreth seuen and thirtie thousand, and fiue hundreth.

And the Lordes tribute of the sheepe was sixe hundreth and seuentie and fiue:

And the beeues were six and thirty thousad, whereof the Lordes tribute was seuentie and two.

And the asses were thirtie thousande and fiue hundreth, whereof the Lordes tribute was three score and one:

And of persons sixtene thousand, whereof the Lordes tribute was two and thirtie persons.

And Moses gaue the tribute of the Lordes offring vnto Eleazar the Priest, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

And of the halfe of the children of Israel, which Moses deuided from the men of warre,

(For the halfe that perteined vnto the Congregation, was three hundreth thirtie and seuen thousand sheepe and fiue hundreth,

And sixe and thirtie thousand beeues,

And thirtie thousand asses, and fiue hudreth,

And sixteene thousande persons)

Moses, I say, tooke of the halfe that perteined vnto the children of Israel, one taken out of fiftie, both of the persons, and of the cattell, and gaue them vnto the Leuites, which haue the charge of the Tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Voluntary Offering

Then the captaines which were ouer thousandes of the hoste, the captaines ouer the thousandes, and the captaines ouer the hundreds came vnto Moses:

And saide to Moses, Thy seruants haue taken the summe of the men of warre which are vnder our authoritie, and there lacketh not one man of vs.

We haue therefore brought a present vnto the Lord, what euery man found of iewels of golde, bracelets, and cheines, rings, eare ringes, and ornaments of the legges, to make an atonement for our soules before the Lord.

And Moses and Eleazar the Priest tooke the golde of them, and all wrought iewels,

And all the golde of the offring that they offered vp to the Lord (of the captaines ouer thousands and hundreds) was sixteene thousande seuen hundreth and fiftie shekels,

(For the men of warre had spoyled, euery man for him selfe)

And Moses and Eleazar the Priest tooke the golde of the captaines ouer the thousandes, and ouer the hundreds, and brought it into the Tabernacle of the Congregation, for a memoriall of the children of Israel before the Lord.

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”

Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the LORD’s vengeance on Midian.

You shall send one thousand out of every tribe, throughout all the tribes of Israel, to the war.”

So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

Moses sent them, one thousand of every tribe, to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.

They fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses. They killed every male.

They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.

The children of Israel took the women of Midian captive with their little ones; and all their livestock, all their flocks, and all their goods, they took as plunder.

All their cities in the places in which they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire.

They took all the captives, and all the plunder, both of man and of animal.

They brought the captives with the prey and the plunder, 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 by the Jordan at Jericho.

Moses and Eleazar the priest, with all the princes of the congregation, went out to meet them outside of the camp.

Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war.

Moses said to them, “Have you saved all the women alive?

Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD.

Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

But all the girls, who have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

“Encamp outside of the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, you and your captives.

You shall purify every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.”

Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses.

However the gold, and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

everything that may withstand the fire, you shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water for impurity. All that doesn’t withstand the fire you shall make to go through the water.

You shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. Afterward you shall come into the camp.”

Division of the Spoils

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Count the plunder that was taken, both of man and of animal, you, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the congregation;

and divide the plunder into two parts: between the men skilled in war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation.

Levy a tribute to the LORD of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred; of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks.

Take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for the LORD’s wave offering.

Of the children of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the livestock, and give them to the Levites, who perform the duty of the LORD’s tabernacle.”

Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Now the plunder, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,

seventy-two thousand head of cattle,

sixty-one thousand donkeys,

and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of the women who had not known man by lying with him.

The half, which was the portion of those who went out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep;

and the LORD’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred seventy-five.

The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was seventy-two.

The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the LORD’s tribute was sixty-one.

The persons were sixteen thousand, of whom the LORD’s tribute was thirty-two persons.

Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD’s wave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided off from the men who fought

(now the congregation’s half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,

thirty-six thousand head of cattle,

thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,

and sixteen thousand persons),

even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of animal, and gave them to the Levites, who performed the duty of the LORD’s tabernacle, as the LORD commanded Moses.

The Voluntary Offering

The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses.

They said to Moses, “Your servants have taken the sum of the men of war who are under our command, and there lacks not one man of us.

We have brought the LORD’s offering, what every man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before the LORD.”

Moses and Eleazar the priest took their gold, even all worked jewels.

All the gold of the wave offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels.(a)

The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.

Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Meeting for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.

Footnotes

(a)31:52 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces, so 16,750 shekels is about 167.5 kilograms or about 368.5 pounds.