1While Israel was staying at Shittim, the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
2They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.
3So Israel yoked itself to Baal of Peor, and the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel.
4And Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all the heads of the people and impale them before Yahweh, in the face of the sun, so that the burning anger of Yahweh may turn away from Israel.”
5And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.”
6And behold, a man of the sons of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman near to his brothers, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
7When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand.
8He went in after the man of Israel into the inner chamber and pierced the two of them through — the man of Israel and the woman, through her belly. Then the plague among the sons of Israel was checked.
9And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.
10And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying:
11“Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was zealous with my zeal among them, so that I did not put an end to the sons of Israel in my zeal.
12Therefore say: Behold, I am giving him my covenant of peace.
13It shall be for him and for his seed after him a covenant of perpetual priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.”
14Now the name of the slain man of Israel, who was struck down with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house among the Simeonites.
15And the name of the Midianite woman who was struck down was Cozbi daughter of Zur; he was head of the clans of a father’s house in Midian.
16And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying:
17“Harass the Midianites and strike them down,
18for they have harassed you with their schemes by which they deceived you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister, who was struck down on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.”
19And it came about after the plague—
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