9. A total of 24,000 people died from that sickness.
10. The Lord said to Moses,
11. “I was so angry with the Israelites that I wanted to kill them. But Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, has saved them from my anger. He did this by showing that he feels strongly, just as I do, that my people must worship only me.
12. Tell Phinehas that I am making a peace agreement with him.
13. This is the agreement: He and all of his family who live after him will always be priests, because he had strong feelings for his God. And he did what was needed to make the Israelites pure.”