| Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1While Israel was staying in the Acacia Grove, the people began to prostitute themselves with the women of Moab. | 1While the Israelites were camped at Acacia Grove, some of the men defiled themselves by having sexual relations with local Moabite women. |
| 2The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods. | 2These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, so the Israelites feasted with them and worshiped the gods of Moab. |
| 3So Israel aligned itself with Baal of Peor, and the LORD's anger burned against Israel. | 3In this way, Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the LORD’s anger to blaze against his people. |
| 4The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD so that his burning anger may turn away from Israel." | 4The LORD issued the following command to Moses: “Seize all the ringleaders and execute them before the LORD in broad daylight, so his fierce anger will turn away from the people of Israel.” |
| 5So Moses told Israel's judges, "Kill each of the men who aligned themselves with Baal of Peor." | 5So Moses ordered Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death the men under your authority who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.” |
| 6An Israelite man came bringing a Midianite woman to his relatives in the sight of Moses and the whole Israelite community while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. | 6Just then one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman into his tent, right before the eyes of Moses and all the people, as everyone was weeping at the entrance of the Tabernacle. |
| 7When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand, | 7When Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest saw this, he jumped up and left the assembly. He took a spear |
| 8followed the Israelite man into the tent, and drove it through both the Israelite man and the woman--through her belly. Then the plague on the Israelites was stopped, | 8and rushed after the man into his tent. Phinehas thrust the spear all the way through the man’s body and into the woman’s stomach. So the plague against the Israelites was stopped, |
| 9but those who died in the plague numbered twenty-four thousand. | 9but not before 24,000 people had died. |
| 10The LORD spoke to Moses, | 10Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 11"Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites because he was zealous among them with my zeal, so that I did not destroy the Israelites in my zeal. | 11“Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest has turned my anger away from the Israelites by being as zealous among them as I was. So I stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended to do in my zealous anger. |
| 12Therefore declare: I grant him my covenant of peace. | 12Now tell him that I am making my special covenant of peace with him. |
| 13It will be a covenant of perpetual priesthood for him and his future descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites." | 13In this covenant, I give him and his descendants a permanent right to the priesthood, for in his zeal for me, his God, he purified the people of Israel, making them right with me. ” |
| 14The name of the slain Israelite man, who was struck dead with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. | 14The Israelite man killed with the Midianite woman was named Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a family from the tribe of Simeon. |
| 15The name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal head of a family in Midian. | 15The woman’s name was Cozbi; she was the daughter of Zur, the leader of a Midianite clan. |
| 16The LORD told Moses: | 16Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 17"Attack the Midianites and strike them dead. | 17“Attack the Midianites and destroy them, |
| 18For they attacked you with the treachery that they used against you in the Peor incident. They did the same in the case involving their sister Cozbi, daughter of the Midianite leader who was killed the day the plague came at Peor." | 18because they assaulted you with deceit and tricked you into worshiping Baal of Peor, and because of Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, who was killed at the time of the plague because of what happened at Peor.” |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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