1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Take vengeance for the Israelites on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people [in death].” 3 Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for war, so that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian [for seducing Israel to participate in idolatry]. 4 A thousand [fighting men] from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.” 5 So out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe were selected, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to war with them, and the sacred vessels [of the sanctuary] and the trumpets to blow the alarm in his hand. 7 They made war against Midian, just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur [the father of Cozbi] and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; also Balaam the son of Beor they killed with the sword. 9 The sons of Israel captured the women of Midian and their children; and all their cattle, all their livestock, and all their property they took as spoil [of war]. 10 They burned all the cities where they lived, and all their encampments with fire. 11 They took all the plunder and all the spoils of war, both people and livestock. 12 Then they brought the captives, the spoils, and the plunder to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the Israelites at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan [River] across from Jericho.
13 Moses and 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 of hundreds, who served in the war. 15 And Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? 16 Look, these [are the women who] caused the Israelites, by the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and so a plague came among the congregation of the Lord. 17 Now therefore, kill every male among the children, and kill every woman who is not a virgin. 18 But all the young girls who have not known a man intimately, keep alive for yourselves [to marry]. 19 Camp outside the camp for seven days; whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any dead body, purify yourselves and your captives, on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 You shall purify every garment and every article made of leather and all the things made of goats’ hair, and every article made of wood.”
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded Moses: 22 only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 everything that can stand fire, you shall pass through fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water of purification [to remove its impurity]; and all that cannot stand fire [such as fabrics] you shall pass through water. 24 And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may come into the camp.”
25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “You and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the fathers’ households of the congregation are to take a count of the spoil of war that was captured, both people and livestock. 27 Divide the spoil into two [equal] parts between those who were involved in the war, that is, those who went out to battle and all [the rest of] the congregation. 28 Levy a tax for the Lord from the warriors who went to battle, one in five hundred of the persons, the oxen, the donkeys, and the flocks. 29 Take this tribute from the warriors’ half and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the Lord. 30 From the Israelites’ half [of the spoil] you shall take one out of every fifty of the persons, the oxen, the donkeys, the flocks, and of all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who are in charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.” 31 Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
32 The plunder that remained from the spoil of war which the warriors had taken, was 675,000 sheep, 33 and 72,000 cattle, 34 and 61,000 donkeys, 35 and 32,000 persons in all, of the [Midianite] women who were virgins.
36 The half share, the portion of those who went to war, was 337,500 sheep in number, 37 and the Lord’s levy (tax) of the sheep was 675; 38 the cattle were 36,000, from which the Lord’s levy was 72; 39 the donkeys were 30,500, from which the Lord’s levy was 61; 40 the persons were 16,000, from whom the Lord’s levy was 32 persons. 41 Moses gave the levy which was the Lord’s offering to Eleazar the priest, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
42 As for the Israelites’ half, which Moses separated from that of the warriors— 43 now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep, 44 and 36,000 cattle, 45 and 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 people— 47 and from the Israelites’ half, Moses took one out of every fifty, both of persons and animals, and gave them to the Levites, who were in charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, approached Moses, 49 and they said to him, “Your servants have counted the warriors under our command, and not one man of us is missing. 50 So we have brought as an offering to the Lord what each man obtained—articles of gold, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.” 51 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all the handmade articles. 52 All the gold of the offering which they presented to the Lord from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds was 16,750 shekels. 53 For the men of war had taken plunder, every man for himself. 54 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) as a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord.
1 We give thanks and praise to You, O God, we give thanks,
For Your [wonderful works declare that Your] name is near;
People declare Your wonders.
2
“When I select an appointed time,
I will judge with equity,” [says the Lord].
3
“The earth and all the inhabitants of it melt [in tumultuous times].
It is I who will steady its pillars. Selah.
4
“I said to the arrogant, ‘Do not boast;’
And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn [of self-glorification].
5
‘Do not lift up your [defiant and aggressive] horn on high,
Do not speak with a stiff neck.’”
6
For not from the east, nor from the west,
Nor from the desert comes exaltation.
7
But God is the Judge;
He puts down one and lifts up another.
8
For a cup [of His wrath] is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams;
It is well mixed and fully spiced, and He pours out from it;
And all the wicked of the earth must drain it and drink down to its dregs.
9
But as for me, I will declare it and rejoice forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10
All the horns of the wicked He will cut off,
But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.
1 God is known in Judah;
His name is great in Israel.
2
His tabernacle is in Salem (Jerusalem);
His dwelling place is in Zion.
3
There He broke the flaming arrows,
The shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah.
4
You are glorious and resplendent,
More majestic than the mountains of prey.
5
The stouthearted have been stripped of their spoil,
They have slept the sleep [of death];
And none of the warriors could use his hands.
6
At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep [of death].
7
You, even You, are to be feared [with the submissive wonder of reverence];
Who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?
8
You caused judgment to be heard from heaven;
The earth feared and was quiet
9
When God arose to [establish] judgment,
To save all the humble of the earth. Selah.
10
For the wrath of man shall praise You;
With a remnant of wrath You will clothe and arm Yourself.
11
Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;
Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared [with awe-inspired reverence].
12
He will cut off the spirit of princes;
He is awesome and feared by the kings of the earth.
1 The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Tyre:
Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
For Tyre is destroyed, without house, without harbor;
It is reported to them from the land of Cyprus (Kittim).
2
Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon;
Your messengers crossed the sea
3
And they were on great waters.
The grain of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile River, was Tyre’s revenue;
And she was the market of nations.
4
Be ashamed, O Sidon [mother-city of Tyre, now like a widow bereaved of her children];
For the sea speaks, the stronghold of the sea, saying,
“I have neither labored nor given birth [to children];
I have neither brought up young men nor reared virgins.”
5
When the report reaches Egypt,
They will be in agony at the report about Tyre.
6
Cross over to Tarshish [to seek safety as exiles];
Wail, O inhabitants of the coastland [of Tyre].
7
Is this your jubilant city,
Whose origin dates back to antiquity,
Whose feet used to carry her [far away] to colonize distant places?
8
Who has planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9
The Lord of hosts has planned it, to defile the pride of all beauty,
To bring into contempt and humiliation all the honored of the earth.
10
Overflow your land like [the overflow of] the Nile, O Daughter of Tarshish;
There is no more restraint [on you to make you pay tribute to Tyre].
11
He has stretched out His hand over the sea,
He has shaken the kingdoms;
The Lord has given a command concerning Canaan to destroy her strongholds and her fortresses [like Tyre and Sidon].
12
He has said, “You shall never again exult [in triumph], O crushed Virgin Daughter of Sidon.
Arise, cross over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.”
13 Now look at the land of the Chaldeans (Babylonia)—this is the people which was not; the Assyrians allocated Tyre for desert creatures—they set up their siege towers, they stripped its palaces, they made it a ruin.
14
Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
For your stronghold [of Tyre] is destroyed.
15 Now in that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the prostitute’s song:
16
Take a harp, walk around the city,
O forgotten prostitute;
Play the strings skillfully, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.
17 It will come to pass at the end of seventy years that the Lord will remember Tyre. Then she will return to her prostitute’s wages and will play the [role of a] prostitute [by trading] with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18 But her commercial gain and her prostitute’s wages will be dedicated to the Lord; it will not be treasured or stored up, but her commercial gain will become sufficient food and stately clothing for those who dwell (minister) in the presence of the Lord.
1 [I am writing about] what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life [the One who existed even before the beginning of the world, Christ]— 2 and the Life [an aspect of His being] was manifested, and we have seen [it as eyewitnesses] and testify and declare to you [the Life], the eternal Life who was [already existing] with the Father and was [actually] made visible to us [His followers]— 3 what we have seen and heard we also proclaim to you, so that you too may have fellowship [as partners] with us. And indeed our fellowship [which is a distinguishing mark of born-again believers] is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things to you so that our joy [in seeing you included] may be made complete [by having you share in the joy of salvation].
5 This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection]. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness [of sin], we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we [really] walk in the Light [that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God], as He Himself is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin [by erasing the stain of sin, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations]. 8 If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.] 9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose]. 10 If we say that we have not sinned [refusing to admit acts of sin], we make Him [out to be] a liar [by contradicting Him] and His word is not in us.