- And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
Num 31:2 Avenge the wrongs of the children of Israel on the Madianites, and afterwards thou shalt be added to thy people.
Num 31:3 And Moses spoke to the people, saying, Arm some of you, and set yourselves in array before the Lord against Madian, to inflict vengeance on Madian from the Lord.
Num 31:4 Send a thousand of each tribe from all the tribes of the children of Israel to set themselves in array.
Num 31:5 And they numbered of the thousands of Israel a thousand of each tribe, twelve thousands; these were armed for war.
Num 31:6 And Moses sent them away a thousand of every tribe with their forces, and Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest: and the holy instruments, and the signal trumpets were in their hands.
Num 31:7 And they set themselves in array against Madian, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew every male.
Num 31:8 And they slew the kings of Madian together with their slain subjects; even Evi and Rocon, and Sur, and Ur, and Roboc, five kings of Madian; and they slew with the sword Balaam the son of Beor with their other slain.
Num 31:9 And they made a prey of the women of Madian, and their store, and their cattle, and all their possessions; and they spoiled their forces.
Num 31:10 And they burnt with fire all their cities in the places of their habitation, and they burnt their villages with fire.
Num 31:11 And they took all their plunder, and all their spoils, both man and beast.
Num 31:12 And they brought to Moses and to Eleazar the priest, and to all the children of Israel, the captives, and the spoils, and the plunder, to the camp to Araboth Moab, which is at Jordan by Jericho.
Num 31:13 And Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the rulers of the synagogue went forth out of the camp to meet them.
Num 31:14 And Moses was angry with the captains of the host, the heads of thousands and the heads of hundreds who came from the battle-array.
Num 31:15 And Moses said to them, Why have ye saved every female alive?
Num 31:16 For they were the occasion to the children of Israel by the word of Balaam of their revolting and despising the word of the Lord, because of Phogor; and there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord.
Num 31:17 Now then slay every male in all the spoil, slay every woman who has known the lying with man.
Num 31:18 And as for all the captivity of women, who have not known the lying with man, save ye them alive.
Num 31:19 And ye shall encamp outside the great camp seven days; every one who has slain and who touches a dead body, shall be purified on the third day, and ye and your captivity shall purify yourselves on the seventh day.
Num 31:20 And ye shall purify every garment and every leathern utensil, and all furniture of goat skin, and every wooden vessel.
Num 31:21 And Eleazar the priest said to the men of the host that came from the battle-array, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded Moses.
Num 31:22 Beside the gold, and the silver, and the brass, and the iron, and lead, and tin,
Num 31:23 every thing that shall pass through the fire shall so be clean, nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of sanctification; and whatsoever will not pass through the fire shall pass through water.
Num 31:24 And on the seventh day ye shall wash your garments, and be clean; and afterwards ye shall come into the camp.
Num 31:25 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
Num 31:26 Take the sum of the spoils of the captivity both of man and beast, thou and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the families of the congregation.
Num 31:27 And ye shall divide the spoils between the warriors that went out to battle, and the whole congregation.
Num 31:28 And ye shall take a tribute for the Lord from the warriors that went out to battle; one soul out of five hundred, from the men, and from the cattle, even from the oxen, and from the sheep, and from the asses; and ye shall take from their half.
Num 31:29 And thou shalt give them to Eleazar the priest as the first-fruits of the Lord.
Num 31:30 And from the half belonging to the children of Israel thou shalt take one in fifty from the men, and from the oxen, and from the sheep, and from the asses, and from all the cattle; and thou shalt give them to the Levites that keep the charges in the tabernacle of the Lord.
Num 31:31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.
Num 31:32 And that which remained of the spoil which the warriors took, was - of the sheep, six hundred and seventy-five thousand:
Num 31:33 and oxen, seventy-two thousand:
Num 31:34 and asses, sixty-one thousand.
Num 31:35 And persons of women who had not known lying with man, all the souls, thirty-two thousand.
Num 31:36 And the half, even the portion of them that went out to war, from the number of the sheep, was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand and five hundred.
Num 31:37 And the tribute to the Lord from the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five.
Num 31:38 And the oxen, six and thirty thousand, and the tribute to the Lord, seventy-two.
Num 31:39 And asses, thirty thousand and five hundred, and the tribute to the Lord, sixty-one:
Num 31:40 and the persons, sixteen thousand, and the tribute of them to the Lord, thirty-two souls.
Num 31:41 And Moses gave the tribute to the Lord, the heave-offering of God, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses;
Num 31:42 from the half belonging to the children of Israel, whom Moses separated from the men of war.
Num 31:43 And the half taken from the sheep, belonging to the congregation, was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand and five hundred.
Num 31:44 And the oxen, thirty-six thousand;
Num 31:45 asses, thirty thousand and five hundred;
Num 31:46 and persons, sixteen thousand.
Num 31:47 And Moses took of the half belonging to the children of Israel the fiftieth part, of men and of cattle, and he gave them to the Levites who keep the charges of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Num 31:48 And all those who were appointed to be officers of thousands of the host, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, approached Moses, and said to Moses,
Num 31:49 Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war with us, and not one is missing.
Num 31:50 And we have brought our gift to the Lord, every man who has found an article of gold, whether an armlet, or a chain, or a ring, or a bracelet, or a clasp for hair, to make atonement for us before the Lord.
Num 31:51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, even every wrought article.
Num 31:52 And all the wrought gold, even the offering that they offered to the Lord, was sixteen thousand and seven hundred and fifty shekels from the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds.
Num 31:53 For the men of war took plunder every one for himself.
Num 31:54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and brought the vessels into the tabernacle of witness, a memorial of the children of Israel before the Lord.
[English translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee
Brenton (1807-1862) originally published by Samuel Bagster & Sons,
Ltd., London, 1851]