Numbers 31

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

The Lord passionately communicated with Moses, expressing,

Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.

Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel; then, you will join your ancestors.

And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of Midian.

Moses addressed the crowd, "Prepare for battle, some of you. Go against the Midianites and carry out the Lord's vengeance on them."

Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.

From each tribe, send a thousand brave hearts, united in the battle for Israel.

So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

From the vast multitude of Israel, a thousand warriors from each tribe, totaling twelve thousand, were chosen, ready and armed for battle.

And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand.

Moses dispatched a thousand warriors from each tribe, including Phinehas, Eleazar's son and a priest, to the battlefield. They carried sacred relics and trumpets, ready to sound the call to arms.

And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.

They bravely battled the Midianites, following God's directive given to Moses, and they killed every male.

And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

They killed the Midianite kings, in addition to others who fell. These were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba - five powerful rulers. They also killed Balaam, Beor's son, with the sword.

And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.

The people of Israel, in their victory, took the women and children of Midian as prisoners. They claimed all their livestock and possessions as their own, leaving nothing behind.

And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.

In their homes and majestic fortresses, they set everything ablaze, consumed by a fiery wrath.

And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.

They seized all the plunder and spoils, both people and animals.

And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.

The captives, loot, and spoils were brought to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the community of Israelites. They were all gathered at the camp on the Moab plains, near the Jordan by Jericho.

And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.

Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the community leaders went out of the camp to meet them.

And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.

Moses was deeply upset with the military leaders, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, returning from the battle.

And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?

Moses asked them angrily, "Have you let all the women live?"

Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.

Look, it was these people who, following Balaam's advice, led the children of Israel to betray God in the Peor incident. This betrayal brought a devastating disease upon God's community.

Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

Now, end the lives of all the young boys and any woman who has been intimate with a man.

But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not yet been intimate with a man.

And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.

Stay outside the camp for a week if you've killed or touched the dead. Cleanse yourselves and any prisoners on the third and seventh days.

And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.

Cleanse all your clothes, everything made of leather, all items crafted from goat's hair, and all wooden objects.

And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses;

Eleazar the priest turned to the warriors, his voice filled with solemn authority, "This is the sacred rule, given by God to Moses, that we must follow," he said.

Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

Only the gold and silver, the bronze and iron, the tin and lead—

Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.

Anything that can withstand fire, put it through the fire to cleanse it. But also purify it with special water. Anything that can't endure fire, you must purify with water.

And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.

On the seventh day, cleanse your garments, purifying yourself. Then, you may rejoin the community with a renewed spirit.

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

The LORD passionately communicated with Moses, expressing,

Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation:

Gather the count of all the spoils of war, both human and animal. You, along with Eleazar the priest and the leading elders, should do this.

And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:

Split the spoils of war equally; half for the brave warriors who fought, and half for the rest of the community.

And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:

From the share of the soldiers who went to battle, set aside a tribute for the Lord: one out of every five hundred, whether people, cattle, donkeys, or sheep.

Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the LORD.

Take this tribute from the soldiers' half and give it to Eleazar, the priest. It's a heartfelt offering to the Lord.

And of the children of Israel’s half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.

From Israel's share, take one out of every fifty people and animals, and give them to the Levites, who are responsible for maintaining the Lord's sanctuary.

And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.

With unwavering faith, Moses and Priest Eleazar dutifully followed God's instructions, as commanded to Moses.

And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,

The soldiers had captured an immense bounty from the battle - a staggering total of 675,000 sheep.

And threescore and twelve thousand beeves,

And a grand total of 72,000 cattle.

And threescore and one thousand asses,

And a staggering 61,000 donkeys.

And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.

In total, there were thirty-two thousand women who had never been intimate with a man.

And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep:

The soldiers who went to battle received their share - a staggering total of 337,500 sheep.

And the LORD’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.

The Lord's share from the flock was a generous 675 sheep.

And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the LORD’s tribute was threescore and twelve.

There were 36,000 cattle, and God's share was 72 of them.

And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD’s tribute was threescore and one.

There were 30,500 donkeys, and God's share was 61.

And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD’s tribute was thirty and two persons.

There were 16,000 individuals, and God's share was 32 souls.

And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD’s heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Moses, following God's instructions, emotionally handed over the sacred offerings to Eleazar, the priest.

And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided from the men that warred,

From the portion belonging to Israel's children, which Moses separated from the warriors,

(Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep,

The share belonging to the community was a massive 337,500 sheep.

And thirty and six thousand beeves,

And a massive herd of 36,000 strong, healthy cattle.

And thirty thousand asses and five hundred,

With deep emotion, they beheld a vast herd of thirty thousand and five hundred donkeys.

And sixteen thousand persons;)

And sixteen thousand souls, each with their own unique feelings and experiences.

Even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.

Moses, following God's command, took one out of every fifty people and animals from the Israelites. He gave them to the Levites, who were responsible for maintaining the Lord's sanctuary.

And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:

The leaders of the army, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, approached Moses with respect and anticipation.

And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.

They reported to Moses, "We've counted all our soldiers under our command, and not a single one is missing."

We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD.

We've gathered the gold and jewels each of us took, armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings and necklaces, to offer to the Lord. It's our heartfelt way of seeking forgiveness and peace for our souls.

And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.

Moses and Priest Eleazar, with awe and reverence, collected all the intricately crafted golden jewels.

And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.

Every single piece of gold given to the Lord by the leaders of thousands and hundreds amounted to a heartfelt offering of 16,750 shekels.

(For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)

Each warrior had seized loot, driven by their own desires.

And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.

Moses and Priest Eleazar, with reverence, collected the gold from the army leaders. They brought it to the sacred tent, a symbolic gesture to remind the people of Israel of God's presence.