Numbers 31

¹And the LORD said to Moses,

²“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”

³So Moses told the people, “Arm some of your men for war, that they may go against the Midianites and execute the LORD’s vengeance on them.

⁴Send into battle a thousand men from each tribe of Israel.”

⁵So a thousand men were recruited from each tribe of Israel—twelve thousand armed for war.

⁶And Moses sent the thousand from each tribe into battle, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took with him the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling.

⁷Then they waged war against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male.

⁸Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.

⁹The Israelites captured the Midianite women and their children, and they plundered all their herds, flocks, and goods.

¹⁰Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites had lived, as well as all their encampments,

¹¹and carried away all the plunder and spoils, both people and animals.

¹²They brought the captives, spoils, and plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of Israel at the camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho.

¹³And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp.