Numbers 31:1-24 - War Against The Midianites

¹ And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, ² Avenge the sons of Israel upon the Midianites; afterward thou shalt be gathered unto thy peoples.

³ And Moses spoke unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war and let them go against the Midianites and carry out the vengeance of the LORD in Midian. ⁴ A thousand out of every tribe throughout all the tribes of Israel shall ye send to the war. ⁵ So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. ⁶ And Moses sent them to the war; he sent a thousand of every tribe; and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, went to the war with the holy instruments, with the trumpets to blow in his hand.

⁷ And they fought against the Midianites as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males. ⁸ And they also slew the kings of Midian among the rest of those that were slain: namely, Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, five kings of Midian; they also slew Balaam, the son of Beor, with the sword. ⁹ And the sons of Israel took all the women of Midian captives and their little ones and took the spoil of all their beasts and all their flocks and all their goods. ¹⁰ And they burnt all their cities in which they dwelt and all their palaces with fire. ¹¹ And they took all the spoil and all the prey, both of men and of beasts. ¹² And they brought the captives and the prey and the spoil unto Moses and Eleazar, the priest, and unto the congregation of the sons of Israel, unto the camp in the plains of Moab, which was by Jordan of Jericho.

¹³ And Moses and Eleazar, the priest, and all the princes of the congregation went forth to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴ And Moses was angry with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds who returned from the battle. ¹⁵ And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? ¹⁶ Behold, these caused the sons of Israel through the counsel of Balaam to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor for which there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD. ¹⁷ Now therefore kill every male among the little ones and kill every woman that has known a man by lying with him. ¹⁸ But all the female children that have not known a man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves.

¹⁹ And ye must abide outside the camp seven days; and whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any dead body ye shall remove the sin from them on the third and on the seventh day, both of yourselves and of your captives. ²⁰ Likewise remove all sin from all your clothing and all that is made of skins and all work of goats' hair and every vessel made of wood.

²¹ 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; ²² certainly the gold and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, ²³ every thing that may endure the fire, ye shall cause to pass through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless, ye shall remove the sin with the water of separation; and all that does not endure the fire ye shall cause to go through the water. ²⁴ Ye shall also wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterwards ye shall come into the camp.