Numbers 25

1 And Israel stayed at Shittim, and the people made themselves common by going whoring after the daughters of Moab. 2 And the women called them to the sacrifices of their idols, and the people ate of their sacrifices and bowed down to their idols. 3 And Israel gave itself over to Baal-peor; and the Lord was very angry with Israel. 4 And the Lord said to Moses, 4 “Take all the leaders of the people and make a public example of them for the Lord, in the face of the sun; and the anger of the Lord will be turned away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the tribes of Israel, 5 “Each of you kill the men of his own who have given themselves over to Baal-peor.”

6 And a man of the children of Israel came and brought his brother to a Midianite woman, in front of Moses and in front of the whole gathering of the children of Israel — and they were weeping at the door of the tent of witness. 7 And Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, and got up out of the middle of the gathering and took a spear in his hand, 8 and went in after the Israelite man into the inner room, and ran them both through — the Israelite man, and the woman through her body. And the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. [a] 9 And those who died in the plague were 24,000.

10 And the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger away from the children of Israel, when I was burning with jealousy among them; and I did not finish off the children of Israel in my jealousy. 12 So say this to him: Look, I am giving him a covenant of peace; 13 and he and his descendants after him are to have a lasting covenant of priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the children of Israel.” 14 Now the name of the Israelite man who was killed, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, a leader of a house of the tribe of Simeon. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi daughter of Zur, a leader of the nation of Ommoth; it is a chief house among the people of Midian. [b]

16 And the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Speak to the children of Israel and say: 17 Treat the Midianites as enemies and strike them down, [c] 18 because they are enemies to you in the treachery by which they trapped you through Peor, and through Cozbi their sister, the daughter of a leader of Midian, who was killed on the day of the plague because of Peor.”