Numbers 25

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

While staying in Shittim, the men of Israel engaged in sexual immorality with Moabite women and participated in sacrifices to their gods, joining in the worship of Baal of Peor. In response to the fierce anger of the LORD, Moses instructed the judges of Israel to execute those who had worshiped Baal of Peor. Amidst this, an Israelite named Zimri brought a Midianite woman named Cozbi into the camp before Moses and the weeping congregation. Phinehas, grandson of Aaron, took a spear, followed them into the tent, and killed both of them, which halted a plague that had already killed 24,000 Israelites. Consequently, the LORD granted Phinehas and his descendants a covenant of a permanent priesthood for turning away His wrath, and subsequently commanded Moses to attack and defeat the Midianites for their deceitful hostility regarding the matter of Peor and Cozbi.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab, ²who also invited them to the sacrifices for their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to these gods. ³So Israel joined in worshiping Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD burned against them. ⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that His fierce anger may turn away from Israel.” ⁵So Moses told the judges of Israel, “Each of you must kill all of his men who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.” ⁶Just then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and the whole congregation of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. ⁷On seeing this, Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand, ⁸followed the Israelite into his tent, and drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and on through the belly of the woman. So the plague against the Israelites was halted, ⁹but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000. ¹⁰Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹¹“Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the Israelites; for he was zealous for My sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My zeal. ¹²Declare, therefore, that I am granting him My covenant of peace. ¹³It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.” ¹⁴The name of the Israelite who was slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. ¹⁵And the name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family. ¹⁶And the LORD said to Moses, ¹⁷“Attack the Midianites and strike them dead. ¹⁸For they assailed you deceitfully when they seduced you in the matter of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite leader, the woman who was killed on the day the plague came because of Peor.”

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Louis Segond 1910 and Berean Standard Bible: public domain. Cross references: open-cross-ref, Creative Commons BY 4.0.