Numbers 31

NEW JERUSALEM	Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
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 people of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered 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 And Moses said to the people, "Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the LORD's vengeance on Midian.
4 You will put a thousand men in the field from each of the tribes of Israel.'	4 You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war."
5 In this way Israel's thousands provided twelve thousand men equipped for war, one thousand fromeach tribe:	5 So there were provided, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand 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 And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.
7 They made war on Midian, as Yahweh had ordered Moses, and put every male to death.	7 They warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and slew every male.
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 They slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian; and they also slew Balaam the 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 And the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and they took as booty all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods.
10 They set fire to the towns where they lived and to al their encampments.	10 All their cities in the places where they dwelt, and all their encampments, they burned with fire,
11 Then, taking al their booty, everything they had captured, human and animal,	11 and took all the spoil and all the booty, both of man and of beast.
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 Then they brought the captives and the booty and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
13 Moses, the priest Eleazar and al the leaders of the community went out of the camp to meet them.	13 Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went forth to meet them outside the camp.
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 And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war.
15 He said, 'Why have you spared the life of al the women?	15 Moses said to them, "Have you let all the women live?
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 Behold, these caused the people of Israel, by the counsel of Balaam, to act treacherously against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.
17 So kil al the male children and kil al the women who have ever slept with a man;	17 Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.
18 but spare the lives of the young girls who have never slept with a man, and keep them foryourselves.	18 But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
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 Encamp outside the camp seven days; whoever of you has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day.
20 and purify al clothing, everything made of skin, everything woven of goat's hair and everythingmade of wood.'	20 You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats' hair, and every article of 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 And Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle: "This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses:
22 although gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin and lead,	22 only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the 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 everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless it shall also be purified with the water of impurity; and whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water.
24 'Wash your clothes on the seventh day and you wil then be clean. You may then re-enter the camp.'	24 You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean; and afterward you shall come into 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 "Take the count of the booty that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers' houses of the congregation;
27 You wil then share out the spoil, half and half, between those who fought the campaign and the restof the community.	27 and divide the booty into two parts, between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation.
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 And levy for the LORD a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the persons and of the oxen and of the asses and of the flocks;
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 take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering 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 And from the people of Israel's half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the oxen, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who have charge of the tabernacle of the LORD."
31 Moses and the priest Eleazar did as Yahweh had ordered Moses.	31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD 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 Now the booty remaining of the spoil that the men of war took was: six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep,
33 seventy-two thousand head of cattle,	33 seventy-two thousand cattle,
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 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him.
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 And the half, the portion of those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
37 of which Yahweh's portion was six hundred and seventy-five,	37 and the LORD's tribute of sheep was six hundred and seventy-five.
38 thirty-six thousand head of cattle, of which Yahweh's portion was seventy-two,	38 The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the LORD's tribute was seventy-two.
39 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, of which Yahweh's portion was sixty-one,	39 The asses were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the LORD's tribute was sixty-one.
40 and sixteen thousand persons, of which Yahweh's portion was thirty-two.	40 The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the LORD's tribute was thirty-two persons.
41 Moses gave the priest Eleazar the portion set aside for Yahweh, as Yahweh had ordered Moses.	41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the offering for the LORD, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
42 As for the half coming to the Israelites which Moses had separated from that of the combatants,	42 From the people of Israel's half, which Moses separated from that of the men who had gone to war--
43 this half, the community's share, came to three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundredsheep and goats,	43 now the congregation's half was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
44 thirty-six thousand head of cattle,	44 thirty-six thousand cattle,
45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys	45 and 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 the people of Israel's half Moses took one of every fifty, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites who had charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
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 were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses,
49 and said, 'Your servants have numbered the soldiers under their command: none of our men ismissing.	49 and said to Moses, "Your servants have counted the men of war who are under our command, and there is not a man missing from us.
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 And we have brought the LORD's offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and beads, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD."
51 Moses and the priest Eleazar accepted this gold from them, al this jewel ery.	51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold, all 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 And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the LORD, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.
53 Each of the soldiers took his own booty.	53 (The men of war had taken booty, every man 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 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the people of Israel before the LORD.