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Numbers · Revised Version with Apocrypha

Numbers 31 Revised Version with Apocrypha

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About RV
  • Protestant
  • OT: Masoretic Hebrew
  • NT: Critical text
  • Protestant, with the Apocrypha
  • Formal (word for word)
  • 1895
  • Public domain

Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people. 3 And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm ye men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the LORD’S vengeance on Midian. 4 Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war. 5 So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 And Moses sent them, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and 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 warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew every male. 8 And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain; Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword. 9 And the children of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took for a prey. 10 And all their cities in the places wherein they dwelt, and all their encampments, they burnt with fire. 11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of man and of beast. 12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and unto Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho. 13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. 14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, which came from the service of the war. 15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? 16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD. 17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. 18 But all the women children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. 19 And encamp ye without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, ye and your captives. 20 And as to every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’ [hair], and all things made of wood, ye shall purify yourselves. 21 And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the statute of the law which the LORD hath commanded Moses: 22 howbeit the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make to go through the water. 24 And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp. 25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 26 Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers’ [houses ]of the congregation: 27 and divide the prey into two parts; between the men skilled in war, that went out to battle, and all the congregation: 28 and levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, [both ]of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the flocks: 29 take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for the LORD’S heave offering. 30 And of the children of Israel’s half, thou shalt take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, [even ]of all the cattle, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD. 31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. 32 Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep, 33 and threescore and twelve thousand beeves, 34 and threescore and one thousand asses, 35 and thirty and two thousand persons in all, of the women that had not known man by lying with him. 36 And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep: 37 and the LORD’S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen. 38 And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the LORD’S tribute was threescore and twelve. 39 And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD’S tribute was threescore and one. 40 And the persons were sixteen thousand; of whom the LORD’S tribute was thirty and two persons. 41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD’S heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses. 42 And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided off from the men that warred, 43 (now the congregation’s half was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand, seven thousand and five hundred sheep, 44 and thirty and six thousand beeves, 45 and thirty thousand and five hundred asses, 46 and sixteen thousand persons;) 47 even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses. 48 And the officers which were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses: 49 and they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us. 50 And we have brought the LORD’S oblation, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, ankle chains, and bracelets, signet-rings, earrings, and armlets, to make atonement for our souls before the LORD. 51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels. 52 And all the gold of the heave offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. 53 ([For ]the men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.) 54 And 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 the LORD.

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 five Midianite kings

    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 five Midianite kings

    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

    Deliverer and lawgiver

    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 five Midianite kings

    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

  • Rekem

    One of five Midianite kings

    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

    Midianite chief, father of Cozbi

    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.

  1. 2 Numbers 27:13; Numbers 25:14–18; Judges 2:10; Revelation 6:10; Psalm 94:1–3
  2. 3 Leviticus 26:25; Numbers 25:13; Exodus 17:16; 2 Kings 10:30; Numbers 25:11
  3. 4 1 Samuel 14:6; Leviticus 26:8; Judges 7:2
  4. 6 Numbers 14:44; Numbers 10:8–9; 2 Chronicles 13:12–15; Joshua 6:4–6; Joshua 6:13–15
  5. 7 Judges 21:11; 1 Kings 11:15–16; 1 Samuel 27:9; Judges 6:1–2; Deuteronomy 20:13–14
  6. 8 Joshua 13:21–22; Numbers 25:15; Revelation 2:14; Jude 11; Numbers 25:18
  7. 9 2 Chronicles 28:8–10; Deuteronomy 20:14; 2 Chronicles 28:5; Numbers 31:15–16
  8. 10 Isaiah 1:7; 1 Samuel 30:1; Revelation 18:8; 1 Kings 9:16; Joshua 6:24
  9. 11 Deuteronomy 20:14; Joshua 8:2
  10. 12 Numbers 22:1
  11. 13 Numbers 31:12; Genesis 14:17; 1 Samuel 15:12; 1 Samuel 30:21; Numbers 31:22–24
  12. 14 Numbers 31:48; Exodus 32:19; Leviticus 10:16; Numbers 12:3; 1 Samuel 15:13–14
  13. 15 1 Samuel 15:3; Deuteronomy 2:34; Jeremiah 48:10; Psalm 137:8–9; Joshua 10:40
  14. 16 2 Peter 2:15; Numbers 25:1–9; Revelation 2:14; Deuteronomy 4:3; Joshua 22:17
  15. 17 Deuteronomy 20:16–18; Judges 21:11–12; Deuteronomy 7:2
  16. 18 Deuteronomy 21:10–14; Leviticus 25:44; Deuteronomy 20:14; 2 Chronicles 28:8–10; Isaiah 14:2
  17. 19 Numbers 5:2; Numbers 19:11–22; 1 Chronicles 22:8
  18. 20 Genesis 35:2; Exodus 19:10; Numbers 19:14–16; Numbers 19:22
  19. 21 Numbers 30:16
  20. 23 Numbers 19:9; 1 Corinthians 3:13; Numbers 19:17; Matthew 3:11; Isaiah 43:2
  21. 24 Leviticus 11:25; Numbers 19:19; Leviticus 15:13; Leviticus 14:9
  22. 27 Joshua 22:8; 1 Samuel 30:24–25; Psalm 68:12; 1 Samuel 30:4
  23. 28 Numbers 18:26; Numbers 31:47; Numbers 31:30; Proverbs 3:9–10; Genesis 14:20
  24. 29 Numbers 18:26; Deuteronomy 12:12; Deuteronomy 12:19; Exodus 29:27
  25. 30 Numbers 3:7–8; Numbers 3:31; Numbers 3:25; 1 Chronicles 26:20–27; Numbers 18:23–28
  26. 41 Numbers 18:8; Numbers 18:19; Numbers 31:29–31; Galatians 6:6; Matthew 10:10
  27. 47 Numbers 31:30; Luke 10:1–8; Deuteronomy 12:17–19; Numbers 18:21–24; Isaiah 56:10–11
  28. 49 John 18:9; 1 Samuel 30:18–19; Psalm 72:14
  29. 50 Exodus 30:12; Exodus 30:15–16; Psalm 116:12; Psalm 107:15; Psalm 116:17
  30. 51 Numbers 7:2–6
  31. 53 Deuteronomy 20:14; Numbers 31:32
  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).

  1. Quotes verse 31:18 Augustine of Hippo, Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament (Sermon II)

    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)