| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry 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. |
| 2They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down 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 was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel. | 3In this way, Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the LORD’s anger to blaze against his people. |
| 4Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the LORD, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD 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 said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you kill his men who were joined to 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.” |
| 6And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle 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. |
| 7Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin 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 |
| 8and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. | 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, |
| 9And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. | 9but not before 24,000 people had died. |
| 10Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: | 10Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 11“Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel 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 say, ‘Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; | 12Now tell him that I am making my special covenant of peace with him. |
| 13and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’ ” | 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. ” |
| 14Now the name of the Israelite who was killed, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house among the Simeonites. | 14The Israelite man killed with the Midianite woman was named Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a family from the tribe of Simeon. |
| 15And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur; he was head of the people of a father’s house in Midian. | 15The woman’s name was Cozbi; she was the daughter of Zur, the leader of a Midianite clan. |
| 16Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: | 16Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 17“Harass the Midianites, and attack them; | 17“Attack the Midianites and destroy them, |
| 18for they harassed you with their schemes by which they seduced you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister, who was killed in the day of the plague because of 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 Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | 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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