Numbers 31:25-54 - Division Of The War-Booty

²⁵ The Lord told Moses, ²⁶ “You, Eleazar the priest, and the family leaders of the community are to take a count of what was captured, man and beast. ²⁷ Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to war and the entire community. ²⁸ Set aside a tribute for the Lord from what belongs to the fighting men who went out to war: one out of every 500 humans, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. ²⁹ Take the tribute from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the Lord. ³⁰ From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every 50 from the people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats, all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who perform the duties of the Lord’s tabernacle.”

³¹ So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. ³² The captives remaining from the plunder the army had taken totaled:

675,000 sheep and goats,
³³ 72,000 cattle,
³⁴ 61,000 donkeys,
³⁵ and 32,000 people, all the females who had not had sexual relations with a man.

³⁶ The half portion for those who went out to war numbered:

337,500 sheep and goats,
³⁷ and the tribute to the Lord was 675
from the sheep and goats;
³⁸ from the 36,000 cattle,
the tribute to the Lord was 72;
³⁹ from the 30,500 donkeys,
the tribute to the Lord was 61;
⁴⁰ and from the 16,000 people,
the tribute to the Lord was 32 people.

⁴¹ Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as a contribution for the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁴² From the Israelites’ half, which Moses separated from the men who fought, ⁴³ the community’s half was:

337,500 sheep and goats,
⁴⁴ 36,000 cattle,
⁴⁵ 30,500 donkeys,
⁴⁶ and 16,000 people.

⁴⁷ Moses took one out of every 50, selected from the people and the livestock of the Israelites’ half. He gave them to the Levites who perform the duties of the Lord’s tabernacle, as the Lord had commanded him.

⁴⁸ The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, approached Moses ⁴⁹ and told him, “Your servants have taken a census of the fighting men under our command, and not one of us is missing. ⁵⁰ So we have presented to the Lord an offering of the gold articles each man found—armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.”

⁵¹ Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them all the articles made out of gold. ⁵² All the gold of the contribution they offered to the Lord, from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, was 420 pounds. ⁵³ Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself. ⁵⁴ Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord.