“First, avenge the sons of Israel from the Midianites, and then you shall be gathered to your people.
And immediately Moses said: “Arm the men among you for a battle, so that they may be able to fulfill the retribution of the Lord on the Midianites
Let one thousand men be chosen from each tribe of Israel, who shall be sent to war.
And they gave one thousand from each tribe, that is, twelve thousand foot soldiers for battle
And Moses sent them with Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest; also, he delivered to him the holy vessels, and the trumpets to sound
And when they had fought against the Midianites and had prevailed, they killed all the men
And they put to death by the sword their kings: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five leaders of the nation, and also Balaam the son of Beor
And they seized their women and little ones, and all their cattle, and all their goods; whatever they were able to have, they despoiled
Both their cities and their villages, as well as their fortresses, they burned
And they carried away prey from everything that they had seized, both of men and of beasts
And they led these to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to all the multitude of the sons of Israel. But the remainder of the articles they carried to the camp on the plains of Moab, next to the Jordan, opposite Jericho
Then Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the assembly went out to meet them beyond the camp
And Moses, being angry with the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions, who had arrived from the battle
said: “Why have you spared the females
Are not these the ones who deceived the sons of Israel at the suggestion of Balaam, and who caused you betray the Lord by the sin of Peor, because of which the people also were struck down
Therefore, put to death all of them: whatever is of the male sex, even among the little ones, and cut the throats of those women who have known men by sexual relations
But the young girls, and all female virgins, reserve for yourselves
And remain beyond the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed a man, or who has touched one that was killed, shall be purified on the third day and on the seventh day
And all of the spoils, whether it is a garment, or a vessel, or another useful thing, made from the pelts or hair of goats, or from wood, shall be expiated.
Likewise, Eleazar the priest spoke in this manner to the men of the army who had fought: “This is the precept of the law, which the Lord has commanded Moses
Gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin
and all that may be able to pass through fire, shall be purified by fire. But whatever is not able to sustain fire shall be sanctified with the waters of expiation
And you shall wash your garments on the seventh day, and, after having been purified, you shall enter the camp.
And the Lord also said to Moses
“Take the sum of those things which were captured, from man even to beast, you and Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the common people
And you shall divide the prey equally, among those who went out to war and fought, and among the remainder of the multitude
And you shall separate a portion for the Lord from the portion of those who fought and were in the battle: one soul out of five hundred, as much from humans, as from oxen and donkeys and sheep
And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, because these are the first-fruits of the Lord
Likewise, from the half of the portion belonging to the sons of Israel, you shall receive the fiftieth head of humans, and of oxen, and donkeys, and sheep, and of all living things, and you shall give these to the Levites who stand watch over the care of the tabernacle of the Lord.
And Moses and Eleazar did just as the Lord had instructed
Now the prey which the army had seized was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep
seventy-two thousand oxen
sixty-one thousand donkeys
and thirty-two thousand human lives, of the female sex, who had not known men
And one half of the portion was given to those who had been in the battle: three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep
From these, for the portion of the Lord, there were accounted: six hundred seventy-five sheep
and from the thirty-six thousand oxen, seventy-two oxen
from the thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, sixty-one donkeys
From the sixteen thousand human souls, there fell to the portion of the Lord thirty-two souls
And Moses delivered the number of the first-fruits of the Lord to Eleazar the priest, just as had been commanded of him
from the one half portion belonging to the sons of Israel, which he had separated from the portion of those who had been in the battle
Yet truly, from the one half portion which fell to the remainder of the multitude, that is, from the three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep
and from the thirty-six thousand oxen
and from the thirty thousand five hundred donkeys
and from the sixteen thousand persons
Moses took the fiftieth head, and gave it to the Levites who stand watch at the tabernacle of the Lord, just as the Lord had instructed
And when the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions had approached Moses, they said
“We, your servants, have taken a census of the number of the fighting men, whom we had under our hand, and indeed not one was lacking
For this reason, we offer as gifts to the Lord whatever gold each one was able to find amid the spoils, in anklets and arm bands, rings and bracelets, and little chains, so that you may intercede for us to the Lord.
And Moses and Eleazar the priest received all the gold in its various kinds
weighing sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels, from the tribunes and the centurions
For whatever each one had taken away in the spoils was his own
And having been accepted, they took it into the tabernacle of the testimony, as a memorial of the sons of Israel before the Lord