Numbers · Bible in Basic English
Numbers 31 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Then the Lord said to Moses,
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2 Give the Midianites punishment for the wrong they did to the children of Israel: and after that you will go to rest with your people.
2 “Avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”
3 So Moses said to the people, Let men from among you be armed for war to put into effect against Midian the Lord's punishment on them.
3 Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for war, that they may go against Midian, to execute Yahweh’s vengeance on Midian.
4 From every tribe of Israel send a thousand to the war.
4 You shall send one thousand out of every tribe, throughout all the tribes of Israel, to the war.”
5 So from the thousands of Israel a thousand were taken from every tribe, twelve thousand men armed for war.
5 So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
6 And Moses sent them out to war, a thousand from every tribe, and with them Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, taking in his hands the vessels of the holy place and the horns for sounding the note of war.
6 Moses sent them, one thousand of every tribe, to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.
7 And they made war on Midian, as the Lord gave orders to Moses; and they put to death every male.
7 They fought against Midian, as Yahweh commanded Moses. They killed every male.
8 They put the kings of Midian to death with the rest, Evi and Reken and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian: and Balaam, the son of Beor, they put to death with the sword.
8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.
9 The women of Midian with their little ones the children of Israel took prisoner; and all their cattle and flocks and all their goods they took for themselves;
9 The children of Israel took the women of Midian captive with their little ones; and all their livestock, all their flocks, and all their goods, they took as plunder.
10 And after burning all their towns and all their tent-circles,
10 All their cities in the places in which they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire.
11 They went away with the goods they had taken, man and beast.
11 They took all the captives, and all the plunder, both of man and of animal.
12 And the prisoners and the goods and everything they had taken, they took to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the people of Israel, to the tent-circle in the lowlands of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
12 They brought the captives with the prey and the plunder, to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho.
13 Then Moses and Eleazar the priest and the chiefs of the people went out to them before they had come into the tent-circle.
13 Moses and Eleazar the priest, with all the princes of the congregation, went out to meet them outside of the camp.
14 And Moses was angry with the chiefs of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds who had come back from the war.
14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war.
15 And Moses said to them, Why have you kept all the women safe?
15 Moses said to them, “Have you saved all the women alive?
16 It was these who, moved by Balaam, were the cause of Israel's sin against the Lord in the question of Peor, because of which disease came on the people of the Lord.
16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against Yahweh in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of Yahweh.
17 So now put every male child to death, and every woman who has had sex relations with a man.
17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.
18 But all the female children who have had no sex relations with men, you may keep for yourselves.
18 But all the girls, who have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
19 You yourselves will have to keep outside the tent-circle for seven days, anyone of you who has put any person to death or come near a dead body; and on the third day and on the seventh day make yourselves and your prisoners clean.
19 “Encamp outside of the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, you and your captives.
20 And every bit of clothing, and anything made of leather or goats' hair or wood, you are to make clean.
20 You shall purify every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.”
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had been to the fight, This is the rule of the law which the Lord has given to Moses:
21 Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, “This is the statute of the law which Yahweh has commanded Moses.
22 But gold and silver and brass and iron and tin and lead,
22 However the gold, and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23 And anything which may be heated, is to go through the fire and be made clean; but in addition it is to be put in the water of cleaning: and anything which may not go through the fire is to be put in the water.
23 everything that may withstand the fire, you shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water for impurity. All that doesn’t withstand the fire you shall make to go through the water.
24 And on the seventh day, after washing your clothing, you will be clean, and then you may come into the tent-circle.
24 You shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. Afterward you shall come into the camp.”
25 And the Lord said to Moses,
25 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
26 Get an account of everything which was taken in the war, of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of families of the people:
26 “Count the plunder that was taken, both of man and of animal, you, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the congregation;
27 And let division be made of it into two parts, one for the men of war who went out to the fight, and one for all the people:
27 and divide the plunder into two parts: between the men skilled in war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation.
28 And from the men of war who went out let there be offered to the Lord one out of every five hundred, from the persons, and from the oxen and asses and sheep:
28 Levy a tribute to Yahweh of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred; of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks.
29 Take this from their part and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to be lifted up to the Lord.
29 Take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for Yahweh’s wave offering.
30 And from the part given to the children of Israel, take one out of every fifty, from the persons, and from the oxen and asses and sheep, and give it to the Levites who have the care of the House of the Lord.
30 Of the children of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the livestock, and give them to the Levites, who perform the duty of Yahweh’s tabernacle.”
31 So Eleazar and Moses did as the Lord had given orders to Moses.
31 Moses and Eleazar the priest did as Yahweh commanded Moses.
32 Now the beasts taken, in addition to what the fighting-men took for themselves, were six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep,
32 Now the plunder, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,
33 And seventy-two thousand oxen,
33 seventy-two thousand head of cattle,
34 And sixty-one thousand asses;
34 sixty-one thousand donkeys,
35 And thirty-two thousand persons, that is, women who had never had sex relations with a man.
35 and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of the women who had not known man by lying with him.
36 And the half given as their part to the men who went to the war, was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand, five hundred sheep,
36 The half, which was the portion of those who went out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep;
37 Of which the Lord's part was six hundred and seventy-five.
37 and Yahweh’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred seventy-five.
38 The number of oxen was thirty-six thousand, of which the Lord's part was seventy-two;
38 The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which Yahweh’s tribute was seventy-two.
39 The number of asses was thirty thousand, five hundred, of which the Lord's part was sixty-one.
39 The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which Yahweh’s tribute was sixty-one.
40 And the number of persons was sixteen thousand, of which the Lord's part was thirty-two persons.
40 The persons were sixteen thousand, of whom Yahweh’s tribute was thirty-two persons.
41 And Moses gave the Lord's part, lifted up as an offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord had given orders to Moses.
41 Moses gave the tribute, which was Yahweh’s wave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
42 And from the half given to the children of Israel, which Moses had kept separate from that given to the fighting-men,
42 Of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided off from the men who fought
43 (Now the people's half was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand, five hundred sheep,
43 (now the congregation’s half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
44 And thirty-six thousand oxen,
44 thirty-six thousand head of cattle,
45 And thirty thousand, five hundred asses,
45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,
46 And sixteen thousand persons;)
46 and sixteen thousand persons),
47 Even from the children of Israel's half, Moses took one out of every fifty, men and beasts, and gave them to the Levites who had the care of the House of the Lord; as the Lord gave orders to Moses.
47 even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of animal, and gave them to the Levites, who performed the duty of Yahweh’s tabernacle, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
48 Then the men in authority over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came to Moses,
48 The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses.
49 And said to him, Your servants have taken note of the number of all the fighting-men under our orders, and every one is present;
49 They said to Moses, “Your servants have taken the sum of the men of war who are under our command, and there lacks not one man of us.
50 And we have here an offering for the Lord from what every man took in the war, ornaments of gold, leg-chains and arm-rings, finger-rings, ear-rings, and neck-ornaments, to make our souls free from sin before the Lord.
50 We have brought Yahweh’s offering, what every man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before Yahweh.”
51 So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, even all the worked ornaments.
51 Moses and Eleazar the priest took their gold, even all worked jewels.
52 And the gold which the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds gave, as an offering to be lifted up before the Lord, came to sixteen thousand, seven hundred and fifty shekels.
52 All the gold of the wave offering that they offered up to Yahweh, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels.
53 (For every man of the army had taken goods for himself in the war.)
53 The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.
54 Then Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold given by the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and took it into the Tent of meeting, to be a sign in memory of the children of Israel before the Lord.
54 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Meeting for a memorial for the children of Israel before Yahweh.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Evi
One of the five kings of Midian killed in Israel's war of vengeance against the Midianites.
Cited in the guide: Numbers 31:8; Joshua 13:21
Hur
One of the five kings of Midian killed in Israel's war of vengeance against the Midianites.
Cited in the guide: Numbers 31:8; Joshua 13:21
Moses
Drawn from the Nile, he led Israel out of Egypt and received God's Law.
Cited in the guide: Exodus 2–Deuteronomy 34
Reba
One of the five kings of Midian killed in Israel's war of vengeance against the Midianites.
Cited in the guide: Numbers 31:8; Joshua 13:21
Zur
A tribal chief of a Midianite family and father of Cozbi; a Zur is also named among the five Midianite kings killed in the war of vengeance.
Cited in the guide: Numbers 25:15; Numbers 31:8; Joshua 13:21
Cross references (32)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 2 Numbers 27:13; Numbers 25:14–18; Judges 2:10; Revelation 6:10; Psalm 94:1–3
- 3 Leviticus 26:25; Numbers 25:13; Exodus 17:16; 2 Kings 10:30; Numbers 25:11
- 4 1 Samuel 14:6; Leviticus 26:8; Judges 7:2
- 6 Numbers 14:44; Numbers 10:8–9; 2 Chronicles 13:12–15; Joshua 6:4–6; Joshua 6:13–15
- 7 Judges 21:11; 1 Kings 11:15–16; 1 Samuel 27:9; Judges 6:1–2; Deuteronomy 20:13–14
- 8 Joshua 13:21–22; Numbers 25:15; Revelation 2:14; Jude 11; Numbers 25:18
- 9 2 Chronicles 28:8–10; Deuteronomy 20:14; 2 Chronicles 28:5; Numbers 31:15–16
- 10 Isaiah 1:7; 1 Samuel 30:1; Revelation 18:8; 1 Kings 9:16; Joshua 6:24
- 11 Deuteronomy 20:14; Joshua 8:2
- 12 Numbers 22:1
- 13 Numbers 31:12; Genesis 14:17; 1 Samuel 15:12; 1 Samuel 30:21; Numbers 31:22–24
- 14 Numbers 31:48; Exodus 32:19; Leviticus 10:16; Numbers 12:3; 1 Samuel 15:13–14
- 15 1 Samuel 15:3; Deuteronomy 2:34; Jeremiah 48:10; Psalm 137:8–9; Joshua 10:40
- 16 2 Peter 2:15; Numbers 25:1–9; Revelation 2:14; Deuteronomy 4:3; Joshua 22:17
- 17 Deuteronomy 20:16–18; Judges 21:11–12; Deuteronomy 7:2
- 18 Deuteronomy 21:10–14; Leviticus 25:44; Deuteronomy 20:14; 2 Chronicles 28:8–10; Isaiah 14:2
- 19 Numbers 5:2; Numbers 19:11–22; 1 Chronicles 22:8
- 20 Genesis 35:2; Exodus 19:10; Numbers 19:14–16; Numbers 19:22
- 21 Numbers 30:16
- 23 Numbers 19:9; 1 Corinthians 3:13; Numbers 19:17; Matthew 3:11; Isaiah 43:2
- 24 Leviticus 11:25; Numbers 19:19; Leviticus 15:13; Leviticus 14:9
- 27 Joshua 22:8; 1 Samuel 30:24–25; Psalm 68:12; 1 Samuel 30:4
- 28 Numbers 18:26; Numbers 31:47; Numbers 31:30; Proverbs 3:9–10; Genesis 14:20
- 29 Numbers 18:26; Deuteronomy 12:12; Deuteronomy 12:19; Exodus 29:27
- 30 Numbers 3:7–8; Numbers 3:31; Numbers 3:25; 1 Chronicles 26:20–27; Numbers 18:23–28
- 41 Numbers 18:8; Numbers 18:19; Numbers 31:29–31; Galatians 6:6; Matthew 10:10
- 47 Numbers 31:30; Luke 10:1–8; Deuteronomy 12:17–19; Numbers 18:21–24; Isaiah 56:10–11
- 49 John 18:9; 1 Samuel 30:18–19; Psalm 72:14
- 50 Exodus 30:12; Exodus 30:15–16; Psalm 116:12; Psalm 107:15; Psalm 116:17
- 51 Numbers 7:2–6
- 53 Deuteronomy 20:14; Numbers 31:32
- 54 Exodus 30:16; Zechariah 6:14; Numbers 16:40; Psalm 103:1–2; Joshua 4:7
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
You have a plain passage in Genesis, when Eve herself was first made, "He made her a woman." Scripture also in another place saith, that God ordered "the women" to be separated "which had not known man by lying with him." This then ought now to be well established, and should not detain us, that so we may be able …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)