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¹ AND Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.² And they invited the people to the sacrifices offered to their gods; and the people did eat, and worshipped their gods.³ And Israel joined himself to Baal-peor; and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.⁴ And the LORD said to Moses, Take all the chiefs of the people and expose them before the LORD in the daylight that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from the children of Israel.⁵ And Moses said to the judges of Israel, Slay every one of you his men who have joined themselves to Baal-peor.

⁶ And, behold, one of the men of the children of Israel came to his brethren, and then he went in to a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel while they were weeping at 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 the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand;⁸ And he went in after the man of Israel into the private chamber and thrust 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 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and said to him.¹¹ Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the children of Israel because he was moved with my zeal among them that I did not consume the children of Israel in my anger.¹² Therefore I said, Behold, I will give to him my covenant of peace;¹³ And he shall have it and his sons after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the children of Israel.¹⁴ Now the name of the Israelite who was slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri, the son of Salu, a chief of a fathers house of the tribe of Simeon.¹⁵ And the name of the Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was the chief of the people of his fathers house in Midian.

¹⁶ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,¹⁷ Harass the Midianites and destroy them;¹⁸ For they have distressed you with their treachery, wherewith they have plotted against you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain in the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.