1Herren sagde nu til Moses:2„Jeg vil, at du skal straffe midjanitterne, fordi de lokkede Israels folk til at dyrke afguder. Dette bliver din sidste opgave, inden du skal dø.”3Da sagde Moses til folket: „Nogle af jer skal ruste sig til kamp imod midjanitterne, så Herren kan straffe dem.4-6Hver stamme skal stille med 1000 mand.” Denne hær, som i alt talte 12.000 mand, sendte Moses nu af sted imod midjanitterne, anført af Pinehas, præsten Eleazars søn. De havde pagtens ark og alarmtrompeterne med.7Det var på Herrens befaling, de angreb midjanitterne og dræbte samtlige mænd iblandt dem.8Blandt de dræbte var der fem midjanitiske konger, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur og Reba. Også Bileam, Beors søn, blev dræbt.9Den israelitiske hær tog alle kvinder og børn til fange, beslaglagde midjanitternes husdyr og rigdomme10og brændte alle deres byer og landsbyer af.11-13Så førte de fangerne og krigsbyttet i triumftog hjem til lejren på Moabs sletter ved Jordanfloden over for Jeriko. Moses, præsten Eleazar og folkets ledere kom dem i møde uden for lejren.14Moses blev vred på officererne, da han så, hvad de bragte med sig hjem.15„Hvorfor har I ladet kvinderne leve?” spurgte han.16„Det var jo netop dem, der fulgte Bileams råd og lokkede Israels folk til at dyrke afguder på Peors bjerg, så Herrens folk blev ramt af en frygtelig plage.17Derfor skal I dræbe alle drenge og alle kvinder, der har haft samleje med en mand.18Kun småpigerne og de kvinder, der er jomfruer, må I skåne og bruge som slaver.19Alle de af jer, som har dræbt nogen eller rørt ved en død, skal blive uden for lejren i syv dage, og på den tredje og den syvende dag skal I og jeres fanger gennemgå renselsesritualet, så I renses for synd.20Husk også at vaske jeres tøj og alt, hvad der er lavet af læder, gedehår og træ.”21Præsten Eleazar sagde derefter til de mænd, der havde deltaget i krigen: „Herren har befalet Moses,22-23at I skal rense alt det, der ikke er brændbart, såsom guld, sølv, bronze, jern, tin og bly, ved at lægge det i ilden. Men alt det, der er brændbart, skal I rense ved at lægge det i vand.24Når det er gjort, skal I vente i syv dage, før I gennemgår renselsesritualet og vasker jeres tøj. Først da kan I vende tilbage til lejren.”25Herren sagde nu til Moses:26„Sammen med præsten Eleazar og stammelederne skal du lave en liste over alt krigsbyttet, deriblandt også krigsfangerne og husdyrene,27hvorefter du skal dele byttet i to dele. Den ene halvdel skal deles ud til dem, der tog del i krigen, og den anden halvdel skal deles ud til resten af folket,28efter at Herren har fået sin del af fangerne, kvæget, æslerne, fårene og gederne. Herrens andel af krigernes udbytte er én ud af hver 500.29Denne andel skal overdrages præsten Eleazar som en ydelse til præstetjenesten for Herren.30Herrens andel af folkets udbytte skal være én ud af hver 50. Denne andel skal overdrages levitterne, som arbejder ved Herrens bolig.”31Moses og præsten Eleazar gjorde, som Herren havde befalet.32-35Krigsbyttet udgjorde 675.000 får og geder, 72.000 stykker kvæg, 61.000 æsler og 32.000 småpiger og unge jomfruer.36-40Den halvdel, som tilfaldt dem, der havde været i kamp, udgjorde således 337.500 får og geder, hvoraf 675 blev givet til præsterne, 36.000 stykker kvæg, hvoraf 72 blev givet til præsterne, 30.500 æsler, hvoraf 61 blev givet til præsterne, 16.000 småpiger og unge jomfruer, hvoraf 32 blev overdraget til præsterne som slaver.41Præsternes andel blev overdraget til Eleazar, sådan som Herren havde sagt.42-46Den anden halvdel, som tilfaldt folket, beløb sig til 337.500 får og geder, 36.000 stykker kvæg, 30.500 æsler og 16.000 småpiger og unge jomfruer.47Af disse dyr og mennesker blev én ud af hver 50 overdraget til levitterne, sådan som Herren havde sagt.48Da kom lederne for de forskellige hærafdelinger til Moses49og sagde: „Efter at vi har optalt de hjemvendte krigere, kan vi melde, at vi ikke har mistet en eneste mand i krigen.50Derfor har vi besluttet at give Herren alle de guldsmykker vi tog fra fjenden, dvs. samtlige ankelringe,[1] armbånd, fingerringe, øreringe og halssmykker. Dette offer skal skaffe os soning hos Herren.”51-53Moses og præsten Eleazar tog imod denne særlige gave. Den samlede vægt af alle disse kunstfærdigt udførte guldsmykker, som krigerne havde taget i krigsbytte, beløb sig til næsten 200 kilo.54Hærførernes gave blev bragt til åbenbaringsteltet, hvor det blev opbevaret som et minde for Herrens ansigt.
1The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,2“Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” (4.Mos 20,24; 4.Mos 25,17)3So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian.4You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war.”5So there were provided, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. (4.Mos 32,27; Josva 4,13)6And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. (3.Mos 23,24; 4.Mos 10,6; 4.Mos 10,9)7They warred against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed every male. (5.Mos 20,13; Dom 21,11; 1.Sam 27,9; 1.Kong 11,15)8They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. (4.Mos 25,15; Josva 13,21; Josva 13,22)9And the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, and they took as plunder all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods.10All their cities in the places where they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire, (1.Mos 25,16)11and took all the spoil and all the plunder, both of man and of beast. (5.Mos 20,14; Josva 8,2)12Then they brought the captives and the plunder and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. (4.Mos 22,1)13Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the chiefs of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp.14And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. (4.Mos 31,48)15Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? (1.Sam 15,3)16Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord. (4.Mos 23,28; 4.Mos 24,14; 4.Mos 25,2; 4.Mos 25,9; 2.Pet 2,15; Åb 2,14)17Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. (Dom 21,11)18But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves. (5.Mos 21,10)19Encamp outside the camp seven days. Whoever of you has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. (4.Mos 5,2; 4.Mos 19,12; 4.Mos 19,22)20You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats’ hair, and every article of wood.”21Then Eleazar the priest said to the men in the army who had gone to battle: “This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded Moses:22only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,23everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for impurity. And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water. (4.Mos 19,9)24You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. And afterward you may come into the camp.” (3.Mos 11,25)25The Lord said to Moses,26“Take the count of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation,27and divide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. (Josva 22,8; 1.Sam 30,24)28And levy for the Lord a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks. (4.Mos 18,26; 4.Mos 31,30; 4.Mos 31,47)29Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the Lord.30And from the people of Israel’s half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep guard over the tabernacle of the Lord.” (4.Mos 1,53; 4.Mos 31,42)31And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.32Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 675,000 sheep,3372,000 cattle,3461,000 donkeys,35and 32,000 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him.36And the half, the portion of those who had gone out in the army, numbered 337,500 sheep,37and the Lord’s tribute of sheep was 675. (4.Mos 31,28)38The cattle were 36,000, of which the Lord’s tribute was 72.39The donkeys were 30,500, of which the Lord’s tribute was 61.40The persons were 16,000, of which the Lord’s tribute was 32 persons.41And Moses gave the tribute, which was the contribution for the Lord, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses. (4.Mos 18,8; 4.Mos 18,19)42From the people of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from that of the men who had served in the army—43now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep,4436,000 cattle,45and 30,500 donkeys,46and 16,000 persons—47from the people of Israel’s half Moses took one of every 50, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites who kept guard over the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses. (4.Mos 31,30)48Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses (4.Mos 31,14)49and said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the men of war who are under our command, and there is not a man missing from us.50And we have brought the Lord’s offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and beads, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.” (2.Mos 30,12)51And Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold, all crafted articles.52And all the gold of the contribution that they presented to the Lord, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels.[1]53(The men in the army had each taken plunder for himself.) (4.Mos 31,32; 5.Mos 20,14)54And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the people of Israel before the Lord. (2.Mos 30,16)