25 Israel settled down and remained in Shittim, and the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab,

² Who invited the [Israelites] to the sacrifices of their gods, and [they] ate and bowed down to Moab’s gods.

³ So Israel joined himself to [the god] Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.

⁴ And the Lord said to Moses, Take all the leaders or chiefs of the people, and hang them before the Lord in the sun [after killing them], that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.

⁵ And Moses said to the judges of Israel, Each one of you slay his men who joined themselves to Baal of Peor.

⁶ And behold, one of the Israelites came and brought to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and of all the congregation of Israel while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of Meeting [over the divine judgment and the punishment].

⁷ And when Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand

⁸ And went after the man of Israel into the inner room and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman through her body. Then the [smiting] plague was stayed from the Israelites.

⁹ Nevertheless those who died in the [smiting] plague were 24,000.

¹⁰ And the Lord said to Moses,

¹¹ Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the Israelites, in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My jealousy.

¹² Therefore say, Behold, I give to Phinehas the priest My covenant of peace.

¹³ And he shall have it, and his descendants after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.^(A)

¹⁴ Now the man of Israel who was slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, a head of a father’s house among the Simeonites.

¹⁵ And the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi daughter of Zur; he was head of a father’s house in Midian.

¹⁶ And the Lord said to Moses,

¹⁷ Provoke hostilities with the Midianites and attack them,

¹⁸ For they harass you with their wiles with which they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and of Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.