Numbers 25

1. And Israel dwelt in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.

2. And they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to their gods.

3. And Israel joined himself to Baal Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.

4. And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the heads of the people and impale them before the LORD facing the sun, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.”

5. And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal Peor.”

6. And behold, a man of the children of Israel came and brought to his brethren a woman of Midian, in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

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

8. And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman, through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

9. And those that died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.

10. And the LORD spoke to Moses saying,

11. “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the children of Israel in that he was zealous for My sake among them, so that I did not destroy the children of Israel in My jealousy.

12. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give him My covenant of peace.

13. And he shall have it, and his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood because he was zealous for his God and made an atonement for the children of Israel.’ ”

14. And the name of the Israelite who was killed, he who was struck with the woman of Midian, was Zimri, the son of Salu, leader of a chief house of the Simeonites.

15. And the Midianite woman’s name who was killed was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur. He was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.

16. And the LORD spoke to Moses saying,

17. “Attack the Midianites and strike them.

18. For they trouble you with their lies, with which they have deceived you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi the daughter of a ruler of Midian, their sister, who was stricken in the day of the plague because of Peor.”