Israel attacks and destroys Midian territory
1The LORD told Moses, 2“Attack the people of Midian [1] for what they did to the Israelites. [2] After that, you’ll be joining your ancestors in death.” 3Moses told the Israelites. “We’re going to war against Midian. We’re going to execute the LORD’s judgment on those people. Arm your men for battle. 4Select a thousand men from each tribe. They’re going to war.”5So, the Israelites selected 12,000 men and armed them for battle. 6Moses sent them off to war, a thousand from each tribe. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, went with them. They took with them some sacred objects [3] from the worship center. They took trumpets [4] to signal warriors during the battle. 7Israelites attacked the people of Midian, just as the LORD told Moses they should do. Israelites killed every man they caught. 8They killed all five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also took a sword to Balaam, [5] son of Beor. They killed him, too.
Israelites capture women and children
9Warriors took women and children captive. Then they took everything else they wanted—all the Midian property. That included the Midian livestock—herds of cattle along with the flocks. 10Israelites then burned the cities and camps. 11So, the spoils of war went to the Israelites: Midian’s women and children, property, and livestock. 12Israelite warriors took all of this to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the people of Israel. The Israelites were still camped in the plains of Moab, across the Jordan River from Jericho.Israelites kill mothers and boys
13Moses, Eleazar the priest, and other Israelite leaders left the camp to meet the returning army. 14Moses was furious with the commanders of each 1,000-man tribal corps and with their squad commanders of 100 men. 15Moses said, “What have you done? Why did you spare these women? 16They’re the ones who took Balaam’s advice. They lured our men away from the LORD at Peor. [6] Have you forgotten the plague that killed the LORD’s people? 17Kill every boy you captured. Kill every woman who has been with a man. 18You can keep the virgins.Getting ritually pure again
19I want all of you to stay outside our camp for seven days—those of you who have killed a person or touched a dead body. [7] You need to purify yourselves and your captives. Wash yourselves on the third day and the seventh. 20Wash every piece of fabric and everything made of leather, goat hair, or wood.”21Then Eleazar the priest addressed the men who fought in the battle. He said, “This is the law that the LORD gave Moses: 22Take everything you have that can withstand fire: gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead. 23Pass them through a fire. After that, wash them. Then they’ll be ritually purified. For anything else, which would get destroyed in a fire, use water alone to purify it. 24On the seventh day, wash your clothes. Then you’ll be ritually clean again and welcome back into the camp.
Dividing spoils of war
25The LORD told Moses:26“I want you, Eleazar the priest, and the tribal leaders to count every living thing the men brought back from the war. Count the people and the livestock. 27I want you to divide it two ways. Half will go to the men who fought the battle. The other half will go to the rest of the Israelites. 28Both groups need to share with the LORD. Tax the warriors at 1/500th. They should give the LORD one of every 500 captives or livestock: cattle, donkeys, sheep. 29Tell them to take their tax to Eleazar the priest. That will be their offering to the LORD. 30Tax the rest of the people at 1/50th. They should give the LORD one of every 50 captives or livestock: cattle, donkeys, sheep. Tell them to take their tax to the Levites who work for the LORD at the tent worship center.” 31Moses and Eleazar the priest did what the LORD told Moses to do.
32Israel’s warriors took from the Midianites 675,000 sheep and goats. 33They took 72,000 cattle. 34They seized 61,000 donkeys. 35And they captured 32,000 virgin women and girls. 36Men who went to war divided among themselves 337,500 sheep. 37The LORD’s share of the sheep was 675. 38Warriors got 36,000 head of cattle. The LORD got 72. 39Warriors got 30,500 donkeys. The LORD got 61. 40Warriors got 16,000 captive virgins. The LORD got 32 virgins. 41Moses presented the LORD’s share to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD told him to do. This was the taxed offering that the warriors gave to the LORD. 42Moses had separated the warriors’ half of the seized property from the half that went to the Israelite community. 43The people’s share of the sheep and goats was 337,500. 44They also got 36,000 head of cattle. 45They got 30,500 donkeys. 46And they got 16,000 captive virgins. 47Moses took one of every 50 of these—people and livestock—and gave them to the Levite tribe, just as the LORD told him to do. Levites helped operate and maintain the tent worship center.
Report: No casualties of war
48Commanders of the army reported to Moses. These were commanders of each 1,000-man tribal corps and their squad commanders of 100 men.49They told Moses, “We counted the men who came back from the war, and we want you to know that we didn’t lose anyone. No one is missing. 50So we wanted to bring to the LORD an offering from gold articles we seized: arm bands, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces. We’re bringing these to atone for our sins [8] and to get us on good terms with the LORD.”
51Moses and Eleazar the priest collected the gold—all kinds of articles crafted by artisans. 52Everything together weighed 420 pounds. [9] This donation from the warriors was presented by commanders of each 1,000-man tribal corps and their squad commanders of 100 men. 53Men who fought in the battle each took Midianite valuables for themselves and their families, as perks of war. 54Moses and Eleazar the priest took the donations from commanders of each 1,000-man tribal corps and from their squad commanders of 100 men. These gifts for the LORD went to the tent worship center, as a reminder for the Israelites of what happened. [10]
