Numbers 25
1 Israel stayed at Shittim, and the people began to have sexual relations with the daughters of Moab.
2 They invited the people to the sacrifices to their gods; the people ate and bowed down before their gods.
3 Israel joined itself to Baal of Peor, and the LORD’s anger burned against Israel.
4 The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang them up before the LORD, in the sun’s presence, so that the LORD’s burning anger may turn away from Israel.”
5 Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you, kill the men under your authority who joined themselves to Baal of Peor.”
6 Then one of the Israelites came and brought a Midianite woman to his relatives, right before the eyes of Moses and the whole community of Israelites, while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
7 When Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he rose from the middle of the community and took a spear in his hand.
8 He followed the Israelite into the tent and pierced them both—the Israelite and the woman—through her belly. Then the plague among the Israelites stopped.
9 Those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.
10 The LORD spoke to Moses:
11 “Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites, because he was zealous with my zeal among them; so I did not destroy the Israelites in my zeal.
12 Therefore say, ‘I am giving him my covenant of peace.’
13 It will be a covenant of lasting priesthood for him and his descendants after him, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”
14 The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri, son of Salu, a leader of a family among the Simeonites.
15 The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi, daughter of Zur; he was the head of the clans of a family in Midian.
16 The LORD spoke to Moses:
17 “Attack the Midianites and strike them down.
18 For they attacked you with the schemes by which they deceived you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, daughter of a Midianite leader, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague because of Peor.”
19 This was after the plague.
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