Numbers 31 - Introduction

1 The Midianites are spoyled, and Balaam slaine.

13 Moses is wroth with the officers, for sauing the women aliue.

19 How the souldiers with their captiues and spoile, are to be purified.

25 The proportion whereby the pray is to be diuided.

48 The voluntary oblation vnto the Treasury of the Lord.

1 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

2 [Note: Numbers 25:17.] Auenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou [Note: Numbers 27:13.] be gathered vnto thy people.

3 And Moses spake vnto the people, saying, Arme some of your selues vnto the warre, and let them goe against the Midianites, and auenge the Lord of Midian.

4 [Note: Hebrew: a thousand of a tribe, a thousand of a tribe.] Of euery tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the warre.

5 So there were deliuered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of euery tribe, twelue thousand armed for warre.

[Balaam slaine.]

6 And Moses sent them to the warre, a thousand of euery tribe, them and Phinehas the sonne of Eleazar the Priest, to the warre, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow, in his hand.

7 And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses, and they slew all the males.

8 And they slew the Kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slaine; namely [Note: Joshua 13:21.] Eui, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, fiue Kings of Midian; Balaam also the sonne of Beor they slew with the sword.

9 And the children of Israel tooke all the women of Midian captiues, and their little ones, and tooke the spoile of all their cattell, and all their flocks, and all their goods.

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

11 And they tooke all the spoile, and all the pray, both of men and of beasts.

12 And they brought the captiues, and the pray, and the spoile vnto Moses and Eleazar the Priest, and vnto the Congregation of the children of Israel, vnto the campe at the plaines of Moab, which are by Iordan neere Iericho.

13 And Moses and Eleazar the Priest, and all the Princes of the Congregation went foorth to meete them without the campe.

14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the hoste, with the captaines ouer thousands, and captaines ouer hundreds, which came from the [Note: Hebrew: hoste of warre.] battel.

15 And Moses said vnto them, Haue ye saued all the women aliue?

16 Behold, [Note: Numbers 25:2.] these caused the children of Israel, through the [Note: 2 Peter 2:15.] counsell of Balaam, to commit trespasse against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the Congregation of the Lord.

17 Now therefore [Note: Judges 21:11.] kill euery male among the little ones, and kill euery woman that hath knowen man, by lying with [Note: Hebrew: a male.] him.

18 But all the women children that haue not knowen a man by lying with him, keepe aliue for your selues.

19 And doe yee abide without the campe seuen dayes: whosoeuer hath killed any person, and [Note: Numbers 19:11, etc.] whosoeuer hath touched any slaine, purifie both your selues, and your captiues, on the

[The diuiding of the pray.]

third day, and on the seuenth day.

20 And purifie all your raiment, and all that is [Note: Hebrew: instrument or vessell of skinnes.] made of skinnes, and all worke of goates haire, and all things made of wood.

21 And Eleazar the Priest said vnto the men of warre which went to the battell, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commaunded Moses.

22 Onely the gold, and the siluer, the brasse, the yron, the tinne, and the lead,

23 Euery thing that may abide the fire, yee shall make it goe through the fire, and it shall be cleane: neuerthelesse, it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire, yee shall make goe through the water.

24 And ye shall wash your clothes on the seuenth day, and ye shalbe cleane, and afterward yee shall come into the campe.

25 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

26 Take the summe of the pray, [Note: Hebrew: of the captiuity.] that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou and Eleazar the Priest, and the chiefe fathers of the Congregation:

27 And diuide the pray into two parts, betweene them that tooke the warre vpon them, who went out to battell, and betweene all the Congregation.

28 And leuie a tribute vnto the Lord of the men of warre which went out to battell: one soule of fiue hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeues, and of the asses, and of the sheepe.

29 Take it of their halfe, and giue it vnto Eleazar the Priest, for an heaue offering of the Lord.

30 And of the children of Israels halfe, thou shalt take one portion of fiftie, of the persons, of the beeues, of the asses, and of the [Note: Or, goats.] flockes, of all maner of beasts, and giue them vnto the Leuites, which keepe the charge of the Tabernacle of the Lord.

31 And Moses and Eleazar the Priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

32 And the bootie being the rest of the pray which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand, and seuenty thousand, and fiue thousand sheepe,

33 And threescore and twelue thousand beeues,

[The diuiding of the pray.]

34 And threescore and one thousand asses:

35 And thirtie and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not knowen man by lying with him.

36 And the halfe which was the portion of them that went out to warre, was in number three hundred thousand, and seuen and thirtie thousand, and fiue hundred sheepe.

37 And the Lords tribute of the sheepe was sixe hundred and threescore and fifteene.

38 And the beeues were thirtie and sixe thousand, of which the Lords tribute was threescore and twelue.

39 And the asses were thirtie thousand and fiue hundred, of which the Lords tribute was threescore and one.

40 And the persons were sixteene thousand, of which the Lords tribute was thirtie and two persons.

41 And Moses gaue the tribute which was the Lords heaue offering, vnto Eleazar the Priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.

42 And of the children of Israels halfe, which Moses diuided from the men that warred:

43 (Now the halfe that perteined vnto the Congregation, was three hundred thousand, and thirtie thousand, and seuen thousand, and fiue hundred sheepe:

44 And thirtie and sixe thousand beeues:

45 And thirtie thousand asses, and fiue hundred:

46 And sixteene thousand persons)

47 Euen of the children of Israels halfe, Moses tooke one portion of fiftie, both of man and of beast, and gaue them vnto the Leuites, which kept the charge of the Tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

48 And the officers which were ouer thousands of the hoste, the captaines of thousands, and captaines of hundreds came neere vnto Moses.

49 And they said vnto Moses, Thy seruants haue taken the summe of the men of warre which are vnder our [Note: Hebrew: hand.] charge, and there lacketh not one man of vs.

50 Wee haue therefore brought an oblation for the Lord, what euerie man hath [Note: Hebrew: found.] gotten, of iewels of

[The request of Reuben and Gad.]

golde chaines, and bracelets, rings, earerings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our soules before the Lord.

51 And Moses and Eleazar the Priest tooke the gold of them: euen all wrought iewels.

52 And all the gold of the [Note: Hebrew: heaue offering.] offring that they offered vp to the Lord, of the captaines of thousands, and of the captaines of hundreds, was sixteene thousand, seuen hundred and fiftie shekels.

53 (For the men of warre had taken spoile, euery man for himselfe.)

54 And Moses and Eleazar the Priest tooke the gold of the captaines, of thousands, and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tabernacle of the Congregation, for a memoriall for the children of Israel before the Lord.