Numbers 25 Expanded Bible
Israel Worships Baal at Peor
25 While the people of Israel were still camped at ·Acacia [L Shittim], the men began ·sinning sexually [to prostitute themselves] with Moabite women [C on the advice of Balaam who found another way to get his money; 31:16]. 2 The women invited them to their sacrifices to their gods, and the ·Israelites [L people] ate food there and worshiped these gods. 3 So the Israelites ·began to worship [L yoked themselves to] Baal of Peor, and the Lord was very angry with them.
4 The Lord said to Moses, “Get all the leaders of the people and ·kill [impale] them in open daylight in the presence of the Lord. Then the Lord will not be angry with the people of Israel.”
5 So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must ·put to death [kill] your people who have become ·worshipers of [L yoked to] Baal of Peor.”
6 Moses and the Israelites were gathered at the entrance to the Meeting Tent, crying there. Then an ·Israelite man [L man of the sons/T children of Israel] brought a Midianite woman to his ·brothers [family] in plain sight of Moses and all the ·people [community; congregation; assembly]. 7 Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, so he ·left the meeting [L rose up from the community/congregation/assembly] and ·got [L took in his hand] his spear. 8 He followed the Israelite into his ·tent [vaulted/newlywed tent] and drove his spear through the belly of both the Israelite man and the Midianite woman [C while they were embracing]. Then the ·terrible sickness [plague] among the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] stopped.
9 This ·sickness [plague] had killed twenty-four thousand people.
10 The Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has saved the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] from my anger. He hates sin as much as I do. ·Since he tried to save my honor among them [L Because of his zeal in their midst], I will not kill them in my zeal. 12 So tell Phinehas that I am making my ·peace agreement [covenant/treaty of peace] with him. 13 He and his ·descendants [L seed] will ·always be priests [L have a covenant/treaty of eternal/perpetual priesthood], because he had ·great concern for the honor of [L passion/zeal for] his God. He ·removed the sins of the Israelites so they would belong to God [L provided atonement for the sons/T children of Israel].”
14 The Israelite man who was ·killed [L struck] with the Midianite woman was named Zimri son of Salu. He was the leader of a ·family [ancestral clan] in the tribe of Simeon. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was ·put to death [L struck] was Cozbi daughter of Zur, who was the chief of a Midianite ·family [ancestral clan].
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “·The Midianites are your enemies [Harrass the Midianites], and you should ·kill [L strike] them. 18 They have already ·made you their enemies [harrassed you], because they tricked you at Peor and because of their sister Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader. She was the woman who was killed when the ·sickness [plague] came because the people sinned at Peor.”
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