Numbers 25

1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moab.

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

2 And they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods: and the people ate, and bowed down to 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 And Israel joined himself to Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.

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

4 And the LORD said to Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD before the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned 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 to the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined to Baalpeor.

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, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought to his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

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 when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation, and took a javelin 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 he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children 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 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.

but 24,000 had already died.

10 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children 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 Therefore say, Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace:

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

13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children 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 Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among 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 Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.

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

16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

17 Distress the Midianites, and smite them:

“Attack the Midianites and kill them,

18 For they distress you with their wiles, by which they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain in the day of the plague for Peor’s sake.

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.”