Numbers 31:7-18

New American Standard Bible

⁷ So they made war against Midian, just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and ^(A)they killed every male. ⁸ They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of those killed: ^(B)Evi, Rekem, ^(C)Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed ^(D)Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. ⁹ And the sons of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and they plundered all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their property. ¹⁰ Then they ^[a]burned all their cities where they lived and all their encampments. ¹¹ And ^(E)they took all the plunder and all the spoils, both of people and of livestock. ¹² They brought the captives and the spoils and the plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab which are by the Jordan, opposite Jericho.

¹³ And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴ But 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. ¹⁵ And Moses said to them, “Have you ^[b]spared ^(F)all the women? ^16 (G)Behold, they caused the sons of Israel, through the ^[c]counsel of ^(H)Balaam, to be unfaithful to the Lord in the matter of Peor, so that the plague took place among the congregation of the Lord! ^17 (I)Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man ^[d]intimately. ¹⁸ However, all the ^[e]girls who have not known a ^[f]man intimately, keep alive for yourselves.