Numbers 31; Numbers 32

Numbers 31

1 The Lord said to Moses,

2 "Punish the Midianites for what they did to the people of Israel. After you have done that, you will die."

3 So Moses said to the people, "Get ready for war, so that you can attack Midian and punish them for what they did to the Lord.

4 From each tribe of Israel send a thousand men to war."

5 So a thousand men were chosen from each tribe, a total of twelve thousand men ready for battle.

6 Moses sent them to war under the command of Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took charge of the sacred objects and the trumpets for giving signals.

7 They attacked Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed all the men,

8 including the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed Balaam son of Beor.

9 The people of Israel captured the Midianite women and children, took their cattle and their flocks, plundered all their wealth,

10 and burned all their cities and camps.

11 They took all the loot that they had captured, including the prisoners and the animals,

12 and brought them to Moses and Eleazar and to the community of the people of Israel, who were at the camp on the plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho.

13 Moses, Eleazar, and all the other leaders of the community went out of the camp to meet the army.

14 Moses became angry with the officers, the commanders of battalions and companies, who had returned from the war.

15 He asked them, "Why have you kept all the women alive?

16 Remember that it was the women who followed Balaam's instructions and at Peor led the people to be unfaithful to the Lord. That was what brought the epidemic on the Lord's people.

17 So now kill every boy and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse,

18 but keep alive for yourselves all the girls and all the women who are virgins.

19 Now all of you who have killed anyone or have touched a corpse must stay outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and on the seventh day purify yourselves and the women you have captured.

20 You must also purify every piece of clothing and everything made of leather, goats' hair, or wood."

21 Eleazar the priest said to the men who had returned from battle, "These are the regulations that the Lord has given to Moses.

22 Everything that will not burn, such as gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead, is to be purified by passing it through fire. Everything else is to be purified by the water for purification.

24 On the seventh day you must wash your clothes; then you will be ritually clean and will be permitted to enter the camp."

25 The Lord said to Moses,

26 "You and Eleazar, together with the other leaders of the community, are to count everything that has been captured, including the prisoners and the animals.

27 Divide what was taken into two equal parts, one part for the soldiers and the other part for the rest of the community.

28 From the part that belongs to the soldiers, withhold as a tax for the Lord one out of every five hundred prisoners and the same proportion of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.

29 Give them to Eleazar the priest as a special contribution to the Lord.

30 From the part given to the rest of the people, take one out of every fifty prisoners and the same proportion of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. Give them to the Levites who are in charge of the Lord's Tent."

31 Moses and Eleazar did what the Lord commanded.

32 The following is a list of what was captured by the soldiers, in addition to what they kept for themselves: 675,000 sheep and goats, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 virgins.

36 The half share of the soldiers was 337,500 sheep and goats, of which 675 were the tax for the Lord; 36,000 cattle for the soldiers, of which 72 were the tax for the Lord; 30,500 donkeys for the soldiers, of which 61 were the tax for the Lord; and 16,000 virgins for the soldiers, of which 32 were the tax for the Lord.

41 So Moses gave Eleazar the tax as a special contribution to the Lord, as the Lord had commanded.

42 The share of the community was the same as that for the soldiers: 337,500 sheep and goats, 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 virgins.

47 From this share Moses took one out of every fifty prisoners and animals, and as the Lord had commanded, gave them to the Levites who were in charge of the Lord's Tent.

48 Then the officers who had commanded the army went to Moses

49 and reported, "Sir, we have counted the soldiers under our command and not one of them is missing.

50 So we are bringing the gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces that each of us has taken. We offer them to the Lord as a payment for our lives, so that he will protect us."

51 Moses and Eleazar received the gold, all of which was in the form of ornaments.

52 The total contribution of the officers weighed over four hundred pounds.

53 Those who were not officers kept the loot they had taken.

54 So Moses and Eleazar took the gold to the Tent, so that the Lord would protect the people of Israel.

Numbers 32

1 The tribes of Reuben and Gad had a lot of livestock. When they saw how suitable the land of Jazer and Gilead was for cattle,

2 they went to Moses, Eleazar, and the other leaders of the community and said,

3 "This region which the Lord has helped the Israelites occupy - the towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sibmah, Nebo, and Beon - is good land for livestock, and we have so much livestock.

5 Please give us this land as our property, and do not make us cross the Jordan River and settle there."

6 Moses replied, "Do you want to stay here while the other Israelites go to war?

7 How dare you try to discourage the people of Israel from crossing the Jordan into the land which the Lord has given them?

8 That is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land.

9 They went as far as Eshcol Valley and saw the land, but when they returned, they discouraged the people from entering the land which the Lord had given them.

10 The Lord became angry that day and made a promise:

11 "I swear that because they did not remain loyal to me, none of the men twenty years old or older who came out of Egypt will enter the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.'

12 This included everyone, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun; they remained loyal to the Lord.

13 The Lord became angry with the people and made them wander in the wilderness forty years until that whole generation that had displeased him was dead.

14 And now you have taken your ancestors' place, a new generation of sinful people ready to bring down the fierce anger of the Lord on Israel again.

15 If you people of Reuben and Gad refuse to follow him now, he will once again abandon all these people in the wilderness, and you will be responsible for their destruction."

16 They approached Moses and said, "First, allow us to build stone enclosures here for our sheep and fortified towns for our dependents.

17 Then we will be ready to go with the other Israelites into battle and lead the attack until we have settled them in the land that will be theirs. In the meantime, our dependents can live here in the fortified towns, safe from the people of this land.

18 We will not return to our homes until all the other Israelites have taken possession of the land assigned to them.

19 We will not take possession of any property among them on the other side of the Jordan, because we have received our share here east of the Jordan."

20 Moses answered, "If you really mean what you say, then here in the presence of the Lord get ready to go into battle.

21 All your fighting men are to cross the Jordan and under the command of the Lord they are to attack our enemies until the Lord defeats them

22 and takes possession of the land. After that, you may return, because you will have fulfilled your obligation to the Lord and to the other Israelites. Then the Lord will acknowledge that this land east of the Jordan is yours.

23 But if you do not keep your promise, I warn you that you will be sinning against the Lord. Make no mistake about it; you will be punished for your sin.

24 So build your towns and the enclosures for your sheep, but do what you have promised!"

25 The men of Gad and Reuben said, "Sir, we will do as you command.

26 Our wives and children and our cattle and sheep will remain here in the towns of Gilead.

27 But all of us are ready to go into battle under the Lord's command. We will cross the Jordan and fight, just as you have said."

28 So Moses gave these commands to Eleazar, Joshua, and the other leaders of Israel:

29 "If the men of Gad and Reuben cross the Jordan ready for battle at the Lord's command and if with their help you are able to conquer the land, then give them the land of Gilead as their property.

30 But if they do not cross the Jordan and go into battle with you, they are to receive their share of the property in the land of Canaan, as you do."

31 The men of Gad and Reuben answered, "Sir, we will do as the Lord has commanded.

32 Under his command we will cross into the land of Canaan and go into battle, so that we can retain our property here east of the Jordan."

33 So Moses assigned to the tribes of Gad and Reuben and to half the tribe of Manasseh all the territory of King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan, including the towns and the country around them.

34 The tribe of Gad rebuilt the fortified towns of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,

35 Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,

36 Beth Nimrah, and Beth Haran.

37 The tribe of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,

38 Nebo, Baal Meon (this name was changed), and Sibmah. They gave new names to the towns they rebuilt.

39 The clan of Machir son of Manasseh invaded the land of Gilead, occupied it, and drove out the Amorites who were there.

40 So Moses gave Gilead to the clan of Machir, and they lived there.

41 Jair, of the tribe of Manasseh, attacked and captured some villages and named them "Villages of Jair."

42 Nobah attacked and captured Kenath and its villages, and he renamed it Nobah, after himself.