Numbers 25

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

When the Israelites were staying at Shittim the men started to have sex with Moabite women

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

who invited them to the sacrifices made to their gods. The Israelites ate the pagan meals and bowed down before these gods.

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

In this way the Israelites devoted themselves in worship to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry with them.

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.

The Lord told Moses, “Arrest all the Israelite leaders and kill them before the Lord where everyone can see in order to turn the Lord's furious anger away from the people.”

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 instructed Israel's judges, “Each of you has to kill all of your men who have devoted themselves to worshiping 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.

Right then an Israelite man brought a Midianite woman to his family tent in full view of Moses and all the Israelites as they were crying at the entrance to 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;

When he saw this, Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, left the assembly, grabbed a spear

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 followed the man into his tent. There Phinehas drove the spear through both of them, through the Israelite and on into the woman's stomach. This action stopped the plague that had started to kill the Israelites,

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

but 24,000 had already died.

10 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses saying:

The Lord told 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.

“Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites, because out of all of them he was passionately dedicated to me, so I did not destroy the Israelites in my passionate anger.

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

So make an announcement that I am granting him my peace agreement.

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.

It will be an agreement that ensures a permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was passionately dedicated to his God and set the Israelites right.”

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;

The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri, son of Salu, a family leader of the tribe of Simeon.

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.

The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi, daughter of Zur, a family leader of a Midianite tribe.

16 And Yahweh spake unto Moses saying:

The Lord told Moses,

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

“Attack the Midianites and kill 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.

because they attacked you deceptively, leading you astray by using Peor and their woman Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite leader—the woman who was killed on the day the plague came because of their devotion to Peor.”