Christian Standard Bible
Numbers 31:7-35
7They waged war against Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed every male.
8Along with the others slain by them, they killed the Midianite kings — Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
9The Israelites took the Midianite women and their dependents captive, and they plundered all their cattle, flocks, and property.
10Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites lived, as well as all their encampments,
11and took away all the spoils of war and the captives, both people and animals.
12They brought the prisoners, animals, and spoils of war to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the Israelite community at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.
13Moses, the priest Eleazar, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp.
14But Moses became furious with the officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, who were returning from the military campaign.
15“Have you let every female live?” he asked them.
16“Yet they are the ones who, at Balaam’s advice, incited the Israelites to unfaithfulness against the Lord in the Peor incident, so that the plague came against the Lord’s community.
17So now, kill every male among the dependents and kill every woman who has gone to bed with a man,
18but keep alive for yourselves all the young females who have not gone to bed with a man.
19“You are to remain outside the camp for seven days. All of you and your prisoners who have killed a person or touched the dead are to purify yourselves on the third day and the seventh day.
20Also purify everything: garments, leather goods, things made of goat hair, and every article of wood.”
21Then the priest Eleazar said to the soldiers who had gone to battle, “This is the legal statute the Lord commanded Moses:
22The gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead —
23everything that can withstand fire — you are to pass through fire, and it will be clean. It must still be purified with the purification water. Anything that cannot withstand fire, pass through the water.
24On the seventh day wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may enter the camp.”
25The Lord told Moses,
26“You, the priest Eleazar, and the family heads of the community are to take a count of what was captured, people and animals.
27Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to war and the entire community.
28Set aside a tribute for the Lord from what belongs to the fighting men who went out to war: one out of every five hundred people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.
29Take the tribute from their half and give it to the priest Eleazar as a contribution to the Lord.
30From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every fifty from the people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats, all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who perform the duties of the Lord’s tabernacle.”
31So Moses and the priest Eleazar did as the Lord commanded Moses.
32The captives remaining from the plunder the army had taken totaled: 675,000 sheep and goats,
3372,000 cattle,
3461,000 donkeys,
35and 32,000 people, all the females who had not gone to bed with a man.
Commentaries on Numbers 31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries