Numbers 31

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,	1 The LORD said to Moses,
2 'Exact the ful vengeance for the Israelites on the Midianites. Afterwards you will be gathered to yourpeople.'	2 "Avenge the Israelites on the Midianites, and then you shall be taken to your people."
3 Moses said to the people, 'Some of you are to take up arms for Yahweh's campaign against Midian,to carry out the vengeance of Yahweh on Midian.	3 So Moses told the people, "Select men from your midst and arm them for war, to attack the Midianites and execute the LORD'S vengeance on them.
4 You will put a thousand men in the field from each of the tribes of Israel.'	4 From each of the tribes of Israel you shall send a band of one thousand men to war."
5 In this way Israel's thousands provided twelve thousand men equipped for war, one thousand fromeach tribe:	5 From the clans of Israel, therefore, a thousand men of each tribe were levied, so that there were twelve thousand men armed for war.
6 Moses put them in the field, one thousand from each tribe, with Phinehas, son of the priest Eleazar,to go with them carrying the sacred objects and the trumpets for the battle cry.	6 Moses sent them out on the campaign, a thousand from each tribe, with Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest for the campaign, who had with him the sacred vessels and the trumpets for sounding the alarm.
7 They made war on Midian, as Yahweh had ordered Moses, and put every male to death.	7 They waged war against the Midianites, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and killed every male among them.
8 What is more, they kil ed the kings of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba, the five Midianite kings;they also put Balaam son of Beor to the sword.	8 Besides those slain in battle, they killed the five Midianite kings: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba; and they also executed Balaam, son of Beor, with the sword.
9 The Israelites took the Midianite women and their little ones captive and carried off al their cattle, altheir flocks and al their goods as booty.	9 But the Israelites kept the women of the Midianites with their little ones as captives, and all their herds and flocks and wealth as spoil,
10 They set fire to the towns where they lived and to al their encampments.	10 while they set on fire all the towns where they had settled and all their encampments.
11 Then, taking al their booty, everything they had captured, human and animal,	11 Then they took all the booty, with the people and beasts they had captured, and brought the captives, together with the spoils and booty,
12 they brought the captives, spoil and booty to Moses, the priest Eleazar and the whole community ofIsraelites at the camp on the Plains of Moab, near the Jordan by Jericho.	12 to Moses and the priest Eleazar and to the Israelite community at their camp on the plains of Moab, along the Jericho stretch of the Jordan.
13 Moses, the priest Eleazar and al the leaders of the community went out of the camp to meet them.	13 When Moses and the priest Eleazar, with all the princes of the community, went outside the camp to meet them,
14 Moses was enraged with the officers of the army, the commanders of the thousands andcommanders of the hundreds, who had come back from this military expedition.	14 Moses became angry with the officers of the army, the clan and company commanders, who were returning from combat.
15 He said, 'Why have you spared the life of al the women?	15 "So you have spared all the women!" he exclaimed.
16 They were the very ones who, on Balaam's advice, caused the Israelites to be unfaithful to Yahwehin the affair at Peor: hence the plague which struck Yahweh's community.	16 "Why, they are the very ones who on Balaam's advice prompted the unfaithfulness of the Israelites toward the LORD in the Peor affair, which began the slaughter of the LORD'S community.
17 So kil al the male children and kil al the women who have ever slept with a man;	17 Slay, therefore, every male child and every woman who has had intercourse with a man.
18 but spare the lives of the young girls who have never slept with a man, and keep them foryourselves.	18 But you may spare and keep for yourselves all girls who had no intercourse with a man.
19 As for you, bivouac outside the camp for seven days, everyone who has kil ed anyone or touched acorpse. Purify yourselves and your prisoners on the third and seventh days,	19 "Moreover, you shall stay outside the camp for seven days, and those of you who have slain anyone or touched anyone slain in battle shall purify yourselves on the third and on the seventh day. This applies both to you and to your captives.
20 and purify al clothing, everything made of skin, everything woven of goat's hair and everythingmade of wood.'	20 You shall also purify every article of cloth, leather, goats' hair, or wood."
21 The priest Eleazar said to the soldiers who had come back from the campaign, 'This is an article ofthe Law which Yahweh prescribed to Moses:	21 Eleazar the priest told the soldiers who had returned from combat: "This is what the law, as prescribed by the LORD to Moses, ordains:
22 although gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin and lead,	22 Whatever can stand fire, such as gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin and lead,
23 everything that can withstand fire can be cleaned by being passed through fire, it must stil bepurified with water for purification. Whatever cannot resist fire you must pass through water.	23 you shall put into the fire, that it may become clean; however, it must also be purified with lustral water. But whatever cannot stand fire you shall put into the water.
24 'Wash your clothes on the seventh day and you wil then be clean. You may then re-enter the camp.'	24 On the seventh day you shall wash your clothes, and then you will again be clean. After that you may enter the camp."
25 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said:	25 The LORD said to Moses:
26 'With the priest Eleazar and the heads of families in the community, take a count of the spoils andcaptives, human and animal.	26 "With the help of the priest Eleazar and of the heads of the ancestral houses, count up all the human captives and the beasts that have been taken;
27 You wil then share out the spoil, half and half, between those who fought the campaign and the restof the community.	27 then divide them evenly, giving half to those who took active part in the war by going out to combat, and half to the rest of the community.
28 From the share of the combatants who took part in the campaign, you wil set aside one out of everyfive hundred persons, oxen, donkeys and sheep as Yahweh's portion.	28 You shall levy a tax for the LORD on the warriors who went out to combat: one out of every five hundred persons, oxen, asses and sheep
29 You wil take this from the half share coming to them and give it to the priest Eleazar as the portionset aside for Yahweh.	29 in their half of the spoil you shall turn over to the priest Eleazar as a contribution to the LORD.
30 From the half coming to the Israelites, you will take one out of every fifty persons, oxen, donkeys,sheep, and al other animals, and give them to the Levites who are responsible for Yahweh's Dwel ing.'	30 From the Israelites' half you shall take one out of every fifty persons, and the same from the different beasts, oxen, asses and sheep, and give them to the Levites, who have charge of the LORD'S Dwelling."
31 Moses and the priest Eleazar did as Yahweh had ordered Moses.	31 So Moses and the priest Eleazar did this, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
32 The spoils, the remainder of the booty captured by the soldiers, came to six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep and goats,	32 This booty, what was left of the loot which the soldiers had taken, amounted to six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep,
33 seventy-two thousand head of cattle,	33 seventy-two thousand oxen,
34 sixty-one thousand donkeys,	34 sixty-one thousand asses,
35 and in persons, women who had never slept with a man, thirty-two thousand in al .	35 and thirty-two thousand girls who were still virgins.
36 Half was assigned to those who had taken part in the war, namely three hundred and thirty-seventhousand five hundred sheep and goats,	36 The half that fell to those who had gone out to combat was: three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
37 of which Yahweh's portion was six hundred and seventy-five,	37 of which six hundred and seventy-five fell as tax to the LORD;
38 thirty-six thousand head of cattle, of which Yahweh's portion was seventy-two,	38 thirty-six thousand oxen, of which seventy-two fell as tax to the LORD;
39 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, of which Yahweh's portion was sixty-one,	39 thirty thousand five hundred asses, of which sixty-one fell as tax to the LORD;
40 and sixteen thousand persons, of which Yahweh's portion was thirty-two.	40 and sixteen thousand persons, of whom thirty-two fell as tax to the LORD.
41 Moses gave the priest Eleazar the portion set aside for Yahweh, as Yahweh had ordered Moses.	41 The taxes contributed to the LORD, Moses gave to the priest Eleazar, as the LORD had commanded him.
42 As for the half coming to the Israelites which Moses had separated from that of the combatants,	42 The half for the other Israelites, which fell to the community when Moses had taken it from the soldiers, was:
43 this half, the community's share, came to three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundredsheep and goats,	43 three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
44 thirty-six thousand head of cattle,	44 thirty-six thousand oxen,
45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys	45 thirty thousand five hundred asses,
46 and sixteen thousand persons.	46 and sixteen thousand persons.
47 From this half, the Israelites' share, Moses took one out of every fifty, human and animal, and gavethem to the Levites who were responsible for Yahweh's Dwel ing, as Yahweh had ordered Moses.	47 From this, the Israelites' share, Moses, as the LORD had ordered, took one out of every fifty, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites, who had charge of the LORD'S Dwelling.
48 The officers of the thousands who had fought the campaign, the commanders of the thousands andcommanders of the hundreds, came to Moses	48 Then the officers who had been clan and company commanders of the army came up to Moses
49 and said, 'Your servants have numbered the soldiers under their command: none of our men ismissing.	49 and said to him, "Your servants have counted up the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing.
50 So, as an offering for Yahweh, we have brought what each of us has found in the way of goldornaments, armlets and bracelets, rings, earrings and breastplates, to make expiation for ourselves beforeYahweh.'	50 So, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD, each of us will bring as an offering to the LORD some gold article he has picked up, such as an anklet, a bracelet, a ring, an earring, or a necklace."
51 Moses and the priest Eleazar accepted this gold from them, al this jewel ery.	51 Moses and the priest Eleazar accepted this gold from them, all of it in well-wrought articles.
52 This portion of gold given to Yahweh by the commanders of the thousands and commanders of thehundreds amounted to sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.	52 The gold that they gave as a contribution to the LORD amounted in all to sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. This was from the clan and company commanders;
53 Each of the soldiers took his own booty.	53 what the common soldiers had looted each one kept for himself.
54 But Moses and the priest Eleazar, having accepted the gold from the commanders of the thousandsand commanders of the hundreds, brought it into the Tent of Meeting, to be a reminder of the Israelites beforeYahweh.	54 Moses, then, and the priest Eleazar accepted the gold from the clan and company commanders, and put it in the meeting tent as a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD.