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Numbers 25
New Catholic Bible
Numbers 25
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 25
Israel Worships Baal of Peor. 1 While Israel dwelt in Shittim,[a] the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. 2 They invited the people to sacrifice to their gods. The people ate and worshiped their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal[b] of Peor. The Lord grew angry at Israel 4 and the Lord said to Moses, “Take all of the leaders of the people and hang them before the Lord in broad daylight[c] so that the rage of the Lord turns away from Israel.”
5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you is to kill those who joined themselves to Baal of Peor.”
6 Then one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his relatives before the eyes of Moses and before the eyes of the whole assembly of the people of Israel who were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
Phinehas’ Zeal for God. 7 When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up and left the assembly, taking a spear in his hand. 8 He followed the Israelite into the tent. He then drove it through both of them, through the Israelite and into the woman’s stomach. This is how the plague among the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Yet, twenty-four thousand died[d] in the plague.
10 The Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has calmed my anger at the people of Israel. He was zealous for my sake among them so that I not consume the people of Israel in my zeal. 12 Therefore, say, ‘I establish my covenant of peace with him. 13 He will have it, and his descendants after him, as a covenant for an everlasting priesthood. He was zealous for his God, and he made atonement for the people of Israel.’ ”
14 Now the name of the Israelite who was slain along with the Midianite woman was Zimri, the son of Salu, a leader of the ancestral tribe of the Simeonites. 15 The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal leader of an ancestral tribe of Midian.
16 Downfall of the Midianites. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Harass the Midianites and slay them 18 for they harassed you with their schemes when they seduced you in the affair at Peor and in the affair of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister who was slain on the day of the plague because of Peor.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 25:1 Shittim: opposite Jericho, on the other side of the Jordan. See Jos 2:1.
- Numbers 25:3 Baal: means “Lord” and was the generic name for the divinities of the Canaanites. See Num 31:16; Deut 4:3; 1 Cor 10:8.
- Numbers 25:4 Hang them before the Lord in broad daylight: a public display of those who had sinned might dissuade others from straying.
- Numbers 25:9 Twenty-four thousand died: the worship of Baal had a devastating effect on the people of Israel. The numbers are corroborated in the decrease from the first census to the second (see Num 1:44-46; 26:51).
Numbers 25
New International Version
Numbers 25
New International Version
Moab Seduces Israel
25 While Israel was staying in Shittim,(A) the men began to indulge in sexual immorality(B) with Moabite(C) women,(D) 2 who invited them to the sacrifices(E) to their gods.(F) The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. 3 So Israel yoked themselves to(G) the Baal of Peor.(H) And the Lord’s anger burned against them.
4 The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders(I) of these people, kill them and expose(J) them in broad daylight before the Lord,(K) so that the Lord’s fierce anger(L) may turn away from Israel.”
5 So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death(M) those of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.”(N)
6 Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite(O) woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping(P) at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas(Q) son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear(R) in his hand 8 and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman’s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped;(S) 9 but those who died in the plague(T) numbered 24,000.(U)
10 The Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites.(V) Since he was as zealous for my honor(W) among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal. 12 Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace(X) with him. 13 He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood,(Y) because he was zealous(Z) for the honor(AA) of his God and made atonement(AB) for the Israelites.”(AC)
14 The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman(AD) was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.(AE) 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Kozbi(AF) daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.(AG)
16 The Lord said to Moses,(AH) 17 “Treat the Midianites(AI) as enemies(AJ) and kill them.(AK) 18 They treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the Peor incident(AL) involving their sister Kozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of that incident.”
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