Numbers 31:9-46
English Standard Version
Chapter 31
9And the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, and they took as plunder all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods. 10All their cities in the places where they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire, 11and took all the spoil and all the plunder, both of man and of beast. 12Then they brought the captives and the plunder and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
13Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the chiefs of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp.
14And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war.
15Moses said to them, "Have you let all the women live?
16Behold, these, on Balaam 's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord.
17Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.
18But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves.
19Encamp outside the camp seven days. Whoever of you has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day.
20You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats ' hair, and every article of wood."
21Then Eleazar the priest said to the men in the army who had gone to battle: "This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded Moses:
22only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for impurity. And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water.
24You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. And afterward you may come into the camp."
25The Lord said to Moses,
26"Take the count of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers ' houses of the congregation,
27and divide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation.
28And levy for the Lord a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks.
29Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the Lord.
30And from the people of Israel 's half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep guard over the tabernacle of the Lord."
31And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.
32Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 675,000 sheep,
3372,000 cattle,
3461,000 donkeys,
35and 32,000 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him.
36And the half, the portion of those who had gone out in the army, numbered 337,500 sheep,
37and the Lord 's tribute of sheep was 675.
38The cattle were 36,000, of which the Lord 's tribute was 72.
39The donkeys were 30,500, of which the Lord 's tribute was 61.
40The persons were 16,000, of which the Lord 's tribute was 32 persons.
41And Moses gave the tribute, which was the contribution for the Lord, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.
