1. The Lord said to Moses,
2. “Punish the Midianites for what they did to the people of Israel. After you have done that, you will die.”
3. So Moses said to the people, “Get ready for war, so that you can attack Midian and punish them for what they did to the Lord.
4. From each tribe of Israel send a thousand men to war.”
5. So a thousand men were chosen from each tribe, a total of 12,000 men ready for battle.
6. Moses sent them to war under the command of Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took charge of the sacred objects and the trumpets for giving signals.
7. They attacked Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed all the men,
8. including the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed Balaam son of Beor.
9. The people of Israel captured the Midianite women and children, took their cattle and their flocks, plundered all their wealth,
10. and burnt all their cities and camps.
11. They took all the loot that they had captured, including the prisoners and the animals,
12. and brought them to Moses and Eleazar and to the community of the people of Israel, who were at the camp on the plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho.
13. Moses, Eleazar, and all the other leaders of the community went out of the camp to meet the army.
14. Moses was angry with the officers, the commanders of battalions and companies, who had returned from the war.
15. He asked them, “Why have you kept all the women alive?
16. Remember that it was the women who followed Balaam's instructions and at Peor led the people to be unfaithful to the Lord. That was what brought the epidemic on the Lord's people.
17. So now kill every boy and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse,
18. but keep alive for yourselves all the girls and all the women who are virgins.