Numbers 25

1 And Israel remained among the acacias, —and the people began to go away unchastely unto the daughters of Moab;

Now when Israel was living in Shittim the people became false to the Lord, doing evil with the daughters of Moab:

2 who invited the people unto the sacrifices of their gods, —so the people did eat, and did bow themselves down unto their gods.

For they sent for the people to be present at the offerings made to their gods; and the people took part in their feasts and gave honour to their gods.

3 Thus Israel let himself be bound unto Baal-peor, and the anger of Yahweh kindled upon Israel.

So Israel had relations with the women of Moab in honour of the Baal of Peor: and the Lord was moved to wrath against Israel.

4 And Yahweh said unto Moses—Take all the heads of the people, and crucify them unto Yahweh. in the face of the sun, —that the heat of the anger of Yahweh may turn away from Israel.

Then the Lord said to Moses, Take all the chiefs of the people, hanging them up in the sun before the Lord, so that the wrath of the Lord may be turned from Israel.

5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, —Slay ye each one his men, who have let themselves he bound unto Baal-peor.

So Moses said to the judges of Israel, Let everyone put to death those of his men who have had relations with the women of Moab in honour of the Baal of Peor.

6 And lo! a man of the sons of Israel coming in, who brought near unto his brethren a Midianite woman, before the eyes of Moses, and before the eyes of all the assembly of the sons of Israel, when they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Then one of the children of Israel came to his brothers, taking with him a woman of Midian, before the eyes of Moses and all the meeting of the people, while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of meeting.

7 And Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest saw it, so he rose up out of the midst of the assembly, and took a spear in his hand;

And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, seeing it, got up from among the people and took a spear in his hand,

8 and went in after the man of Israel into the pleasure-tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, in her parts of shame, —so the plague was restrained from against the sons of Israel.

And went after the man of Israel into the tent, driving the spear through the two of them, through the man of Israel and through the stomach of the woman. So the disease was stopped among the children of Israel.

9 Then was it found that they who had died by the plague were four and twenty thousand.

But twenty-four thousand of them had come to their death by the disease.

10 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses saying:

And the Lord said to Moses,

11 Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, hath turned back my wrath from against the sons of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy, in their midst, so that I made not an end of the sons of Israel. in my jealousy.

Through Phinehas, and because of his passion for my honour, my wrath has been turned away from the children of Israel, so that I have not sent destruction on them all in my wrath.

12 Wherefore say, —Behold me! giving unto him my covenant of peace;

So say to them that I will make with him an agreement of peace:

13 so shall it prove to be unto him and unto his seed after him, the covenant of our age-abiding priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and did put a propitiatory-covering over the sons of Israel.

And by this agreement, he and his sons after him have the right to be priests for ever; because, by his care for the honour of his God, he took away the sin of the children of Israel.

14 Now, the name of the man of Israel that was smitten, who was smitten with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri son of Salu, —prince of an ancestral house of the Simeonites;

Now the man of Israel who was put to death with the woman of Midian was Zimri, the son of Salu, a chief of one of the families of the Simeonites.

15 and, the name of the woman who was smitten, the Midianitess, was Cozbi, daughter of Zur, —the head of his kindred, of an ancestral house in Midian, was he.

And the woman of Midian who was put to death was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was the head of a family in Midian.

16 And Yahweh spake unto Moses saying:

Then the Lord said to Moses,

17 Besiege the Midianites, —and ye shall smite them:

Take up arms against the Midianites and overcome them;

18 for, besiegers, were they unto you, with their wiles wherewith they beguiled you, over the matter of Peor, —and over he matter of Cozbi, daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, who was smitten in the day of the plague, over the matter of Peor.

For they are a danger to you with their false ways, causing sin to come on you in the question of Peor, and because of Cozbi, their sister, the daughter of the chief of Midian, who was put to death at the time of the disease which came on you because of Peor.