1. The Lord said to Moses,
2. “Before you die, make sure that the Midianites are punished for what they did to Israel.”
3. Then Moses told the people, “The Lord wants to punish the Midianites. So tell our men to prepare for battle.
4. Each tribe will send a thousand men to fight.”
5. Twelve thousand men were picked from the tribes of Israel, and after they were prepared for battle,
12-13. Then they returned to their own camp in the hills of Moab across the River Jordan from Jericho, where Moses, Eleazar, and the other Israelite leaders met the troops outside camp.
21-23. Eleazar then explained, “If you need to purify something that won't burn, such as gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead, you must first place it in a hot fire. After you take it out, sprinkle it with the water that purifies. Everything else should only be sprinkled with the water. Do all of this, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
26-27. Make a list of everything taken from the Midianites, including the captives and the animals. Then divide them between the soldiers and the rest of the people. Eleazar the priest and the family leaders will help you.
28-29. From the half that belongs to the soldiers, set aside for the Lord one out of every five hundred people or animals and give these to Eleazar.
32-35. and listed everything that had been taken from the Midianites. The list included 675,000 sheep and goats, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 young women who had never had sex.
36-47. Each half included 337,500 sheep and goats, 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 young women. From the half that belonged to the soldiers, Moses counted out 675 sheep and goats, 72 cattle, 61 donkeys, and 32 women and gave them to Eleazar to be dedicated to the Lord. Then from the half that belonged to the people, Moses set aside one out of every fifty animals and women, as the Lord had said, and gave them to the Levites.