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War against Midian

31 The Lord said to Moses, “Punish the Midianites for the people of Israel. After that you will be buried with your people.” Then Moses said to the people, “Take men from among you and make them ready for war against Midian. They will punish Midian for the Lord. Send to the war 1,000 men from each of all the family groups of Israel.” So 1,000 men came from each of the family groups of the thousands of Israel. There were 12,000 ready for war. Moses sent them, 1,000 from each family group, to the war. Phinehas the son of Eleazar the religious leader went to the war with them. In his hand were the holy objects and the horns for blowing the sound of coming danger. So the men made war against Midian, just as the Lord had told Moses, and they killed every male. They killed the five kings of Midian with the sword also, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. The people of Israel took the women of Midian and their little ones, and all their cattle, all their flocks, and all the good things that belonged to them. 10 Then they burned all their cities where they lived and all their tents. 11 They took all that was left of both man and animal. 12 And they brought the people they had taken and the animals and whatever belonged to them to Moses, and to Eleazar the religious leader, and to the people of Israel. Their tents were on the plains of Moab by the Jordan near Jericho.

13 Moses and Eleazar the religious leader and all the leaders of the people went out from the tents to meet them. 14 Moses was angry with the leaders of the army, the heads of thousands and the heads of hundreds, who had fought in the war. 15 He said to them, “Have you allowed all the women to live? 16 See, these women listened to Balaam and caused the people of Israel to sin against the Lord in what happened at Peor. So the very bad disease came to the people of the Lord. 17 Now kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has had a man. 18 But keep alive for yourselves all the girls who have not had a man. 19 Stay away from the tents for seven days. If you have killed any person or have touched any dead body, you must make yourself and those you have taken clean, on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 You must clean every piece of clothing, everything made of leather, everything made of goats’ hair, and everything made of wood.”

21 Then Eleazar the religious leader said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the Law which the Lord has told Moses. 22 Take the gold, silver, brass, iron, tin and lead, 23 everything that can last through fire. Pass it through the fire, and it will be clean. But it must be made pure with the water for cleaning. Whatever cannot last through fire you must pass through the water. 24 You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you will be clean. Then you may come among the tents.”

25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “You and Eleazar the religious leader and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the people should number all that was taken from the battle, both of man and animal. 27 Divide what was taken between the men of war who went to battle and all the people. 28 Then take a tax for the Lord from the men of war who went out to battle. Take one out of 500 of the persons and the cattle and the donkeys and the sheep. 29 Take this from their half and give it to Eleazar the religious leader, as a gift to the Lord. 30 From the half belonging to the people of Israel, take one out of every fifty of the persons and cattle and donkeys and sheep and all the animals. Give them to the Levites who take care of the meeting tent of the Lord.” 31 Moses and Eleazar the religious leader did just as the Lord had told Moses.

32 What was left from that which the men of war had taken was 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys, 35 and 32,000 persons in all, of women who had never had a man. 36 The half taken by those who went out to war was 337,500 sheep. 37 The Lord’s tax was 675 sheep. 38 There were 36,000 cattle, from which the Lord’s tax was seventy-two. 39 There were 30,500 donkeys, from which the Lord’s tax was sixty-one. 40 And there were 16,000 persons, from whom the Lord’s tax was thirty-two. 41 Moses gave the tax, which was the Lord’s gift, to Eleazar the religious leader, just as the Lord had told Moses.

42 Moses divided the people of Israel’s half from the men who had gone to war. 43 The people’s half was 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 persons. 47 Moses took one out of every fifty of both man and animal from the people of Israel’s half. He gave them to the Levites, who took care of the meeting tent of the Lord, just as the Lord had told Moses.

48 Then the leaders of the thousands of the army, the heads of thousands and the heads of hundreds, came to Moses. 49 They said to him, “Your servants have numbered the men of war whom we lead. Not one man is missing from us. 50 We have brought as a gift to the Lord what each man found, objects of gold, things to be worn on the arms and fingers and ears and necks. They are to pay for our sins before the Lord.” 51 Moses and Eleazar the religious leader took the gold from them, all the objects made of beaten gold. 52 All the gold of the gift they gave to the Lord from the heads of thousands and the heads of hundreds was worth 16,750 gold pieces. 53 For the men of war had taken things from the battle, every man for himself. 54 So Moses and Eleazar the religious leader took the gold from the heads of thousands and of hundreds. They brought it to the meeting tent so that the people of Israel would be remembered before the Lord.

The Family Groups East of the Jordan

32 Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had very many cattle. And they saw that the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead was a good place for cattle. So the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and said to Moses and Eleazar the religious leader and the leaders of the people, “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon, the land which the Lord won in battle in front of the people of Israel, is a land for cattle and your servants have cattle.” And they said, “If we have found favor in your eyes, let this land be given to your servants as our own. Do not take us to the other side of the Jordan.”

But Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, “Should your brothers go to war while you sit here? Why do you take from the people of Israel the desire to cross over into the land the Lord has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. They went up to the valley of Eshcol and saw the land. Then they took the desire away from the people of Israel so that they did not go into the land the Lord had given them. 10 So the Lord’s anger burned on that day, and He swore, saying 11 ‘None of the men who came up from Egypt, twenty years old and older, will see the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For they did not follow Me with all their heart. 12 Only Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun will see it. For they have followed the Lord with all their hearts.’ 13 So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. He made them travel in the desert forty years, until all the people of that day who had sinned in the eyes of the Lord were destroyed. 14 Now see, you have grown up in your fathers’ place, children of sinful men. You add still more to the burning anger of the Lord against Israel. 15 For if you turn away from following Him, He will leave them in the desert again and you will destroy all these people.”

16 Then they came near him and said, “We will build safe places for our flocks here, and cities for our little ones. 17 But we will be ready for battle and will go with the people of Israel until we have brought them to their place. Our little ones will live within the walls of the cities because of the people who live in the land. 18 We will not return to our homes until every one of the people of Israel has received his land. 19 For we will not have any land among them on the other side of the Jordan. Our land has come to us on this side of the Jordan toward the east.”

20 So Moses said to them, “Do as you say. Get ready for war before the Lord. 21 All of you men of war cross over the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven away those who fight against Him, 22 and has won the land in battle. Then after this you may return because you have done your duty to the Lord and to Israel. This land will be your land before the Lord. 23 But if you do not do as you say, you have sinned against the Lord. And for sure you will be punished for your sin. 24 Build cities for your little ones and places for your sheep. Then do what you have promised.” 25 The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do just as my lord says. 26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks and all our cattle will stay there in the cities of Gilead. 27 But your servants, everyone who is ready for war, will cross over before the Lord to battle, just as my lord says.”

28 So Moses gave news about them to Eleazar the religious leader, Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the families of the people of Israel. 29 Moses said to them, “The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, every man ready for battle, are to cross with you over the Jordan before the Lord, and the land will be won. After this, you must give them the land of Gilead for their own. 30 But if they will not cross over with you ready for battle, their land must be among you in the land of Canaan.” 31 The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, “We will do as the Lord has said to your servants. 32 We will cross over into the land of Canaan ready for battle before the Lord. And the land on this side of the Jordan will be ours.”

33 So Moses gave the nations of Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben and the half-family group of Joseph’s son Manasseh. He gave them the land, with its cities and the country around them. 34 Then the sons of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atrothshophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Bethnimrah and Beth-haran, cities with walls around them. And they made safe places for their sheep. 37 The sons of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo and Baal-meon (their names to be changed), and Sibmah. And they gave other names to the cities they built. 39 The sons of Manasseh’s son Machir went to Gilead and took it. They drove away the Amorites who were in it. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he lived in it. 41 Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its towns, and called them Havvoth-jair. 42 Nobah went and took Kenath and its towns, and called it Nobah after his own name.

From Egypt to Moab

33 These are the travels of the people of Israel, when Moses and Aaron led them out from the land of Egypt by their armies. Moses wrote down the starting places of their travels, as the Lord told him. These are their travels by their starting places. They traveled from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover the people of Israel started out strong in heart in front of all the Egyptians. The Egyptians were burying all their first-born whom the Lord had killed among them. The Lord had punished their gods also.

Then the people of Israel traveled from Rameses and stayed in Succoth. They traveled from Succoth and stayed in Etham, beside the desert. They went from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, east of Baal-zephon, and stayed at Migdol. Then they traveled from Hahiroth and passed through the sea into the desert. They traveled for three days in the desert of Etham, and stayed at Marah. They left Marah and came to Elim. There were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees in Elim, and they stayed there. 10 Then they traveled from Elim and stayed by the Red Sea. 11 They left the Red Sea and stayed in the Desert of Sin. 12 They traveled from the Desert of Sin, and stayed at Dophkah. 13 Then they left Dophkah and stayed at Alush. 14 They traveled from Alush and stayed at Rephidim. It was there that the people had no water to drink. 15 They went from Rephidim and stayed in the Desert of Sinai. 16 They traveled from the Desert of Sinai, and stayed at Kibroth-hattaavah.

17 They went from Kibroth-hattaavah and stayed at Hazeroth. 18 They left Hazeroth and stayed at Rithmah. 19 Then they went from Rithmah and stayed at Rimmon-perez. 20 They traveled from Rimmon-perez, and stayed at Libnah. 21 They left Libnah, and stayed at Rissah. 22 Then they went from Rissah and stayed at Kehelathah. 23 They went from Kehelathah and stayed at Mount Shepher. 24 They traveled from Mount Shepher and stayed at Haradah. 25 They left Haradah and stayed at Makheloth. 26 Then they traveled from Makheloth, and stayed at Tahath. 27 They traveled from Tahath, and stayed at Terah. 28 They went from Terah and stayed at Mithkah. 29 They left Mithkah and stayed at Hashmonah. 30 Then they left Hashmonah and stayed at Moseroth. 31 They went from Moseroth and stayed at Benejaakan. 32 They traveled from Benejaakan, and stayed at Hor-haggidgad. 33 They went from Hor-haggidgad and stayed at Jotbathah. 34 Then they left Jotbathah and stayed at Abronah. 35 They went from Abronah and stayed at Ezion-geber. 36 They went from Ezion-geber and stayed in the Desert of Zin, that is, Kadesh. 37 And they traveled from Kadesh, and stayed at Mount Hor, beside the land of Edom.

38 Then Aaron the religious leader went up to Mount Hor, as the Lord told him. He died there, in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had left the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. 39 Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

40 The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the people of Israel.

41 Then the people traveled from Mount Hor, and stayed at Zalmonah. 42 They left Zalmonah, and stayed at Punon. 43 They went from Punon and stayed at Oboth. 44 Then they left Oboth and stayed at Iye-abarim, beside Moab. 45 They traveled from Iyim, and stayed at Dibon-gad. 46 They went from Dibon-gad and stayed at Almon-diblathaim. 47 They left Almon-diblathaim and stayed in the mountains of Abarim, near Nebo. 48 They traveled from the mountains of Abarim, and stayed in the plains of Moab by the Jordan near Jericho. 49 And they stayed by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abelshittim in the plains of Moab.

50 Then the Lord said to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan near Jericho, 51 “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You will cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan. 52 Then drive out all the people living in the land in front of you. Destroy all their cut stones, and all their man-made gods, and all their high places. 53 Take the land for your own and live in it. For I have given the land to you. 54 Your families will receive land by drawing names. The larger families should be given more land. The smaller families should be given less land. When a man’s name is drawn, that land will be his. You will receive land by the family groups of your fathers. 55 Drive out the people who live in the land in front of you. If you do not, then those who are allowed to stay will be like sharp pieces in your eyes and like thorns in your sides. They will trouble you in the land where you live. 56 And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.’”