9. But the plague had already killed 24,000 of them.
10. The Lord spoke to Moses. He said,
11. "Phinehas is a priest. He is the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron. Phinehas has turned my anger away from the people of Israel. I am committed to making sure I am honored among them. And he is as committed as I am. Even though I was angry with them, I did not put an end to them.
12. "So tell Phinehas I am making my covenant with him. It promises to give him peace.
13. He and his sons after him will have a covenant to be priests forever. That is because he was committed to making sure that I, his God, was honored. In that way he paid for the sin of the people of Israel."
14. The name of the man of Israel who was killed was Zimri. He was the son of Salu. Zimri was killed along with the woman of Midian. Salu was a family leader in the tribe of Simeon.
15. The name of the woman of Midian who was killed was Cozbi. She was the daughter of Zur. Zur was the chief of a family in Midian.
16. The Lord spoke to Moses. He said,
17. "Treat the people of Midian just as you would treat enemies. Kill them.