So Moses said to the people, "Prepare some of your men for battle. They must go to war against Midian. They will carry out the Lord's plan to punish Midian.
Moses sent them into battle. He sent 1,000 from each tribe. The priest Phinehas went along with them. Phinehas was the son of Eleazar. Phinehas took some articles from the sacred tent with him. He also took the trumpets. The trumpet blasts would tell the people what to do and when to do it.
Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba were among the men they killed. Those men were the five kings of Midian. The people of Israel also killed Balaam, the son of Beor, with a sword.
They brought back to Israel's camp the prisoners and everything else they had taken. They took them to Moses and to the priest Eleazar. They brought them to the whole community. Israel was camped on the flatlands of Moab. They were by the Jordan River across from Jericho.
Moses was angry with the officers of the army who had returned from the battle. Some of them were the commanders of thousands of men. Others were the commanders of hundreds.
"The women followed Balaam's advice. They caused the people of Israel to turn away from the Lord. The people worshiped the god Baal that was worshiped at Peor. So a plague struck them.
"All of you who have killed anyone must stay outside the camp for seven days. And all of you who have touched anyone who was killed must do the same thing. On the third and seventh days you must make yourselves pure. You must also make your prisoners pure.
must be put through fire. So must everything else that doesn't burn up. Then those things will be 'clean.' But they must also be made pure with the special water. In fact, everything that won't burn up must be put through that water.
"Set apart a gift for me. Take something from the soldiers who fought in the battle. Set apart one out of every 500 people, cattle, donkeys, sheep and goats.
"Also take something from the half that belongs to the people of Israel. Choose one out of every 50 people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats or other animals. Give them to the Levites. They are accountable for taking care of my holy tent."
Moses chose one out of every 50 people and animals. He gave them to the Levites. They were accountable for taking care of the Lord's holy tent. Moses did just as the Lord had commanded him.
"So we've brought an offering to the Lord. We've brought the gold articles each of us took in the battle. We've also brought armbands, bracelets, rings, earrings and necklaces. We've brought them to pay for our sin in the sight of the Lord."
The gold that was received from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds weighed 420 pounds. Moses and Eleazar offered all of it as a gift to the Lord.
Moses and the priest Eleazar accepted the gold from all of the commanders. They brought it into the Tent of Meeting. It reminded the Lord of the people of Israel.