Numbers 25:1–18

¹Now Israel was dwelling in Shit′tim. Then the people started to have immoral relations with the daughters of Mo′ab.²And the women came calling the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people began to eat and to bow down to their gods.³So Israel attached itself to the Ba′al of Pe′or; and the anger of Jehovah began to blaze against Israel.⁴Hence Jehovah said to Moses: “Take all the head ones of the people and expose them to Jehovah toward the sun, that the burning anger of Jehovah may turn back from Israel.”⁵Then Moses said to the judges of Israel: “Each one of ​YOU​ kill his men who have an attachment with the Ba′al of Pe′or.”

⁶But, look! a man of the sons of Israel came, and he was bringing near to his brothers a Mid′i‧an‧ite woman before Moses’ eyes and before the eyes of all the assembly of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting.⁷When Phin′e‧has the son of El‧e‧a′zar the son of Aaron the priest caught sight of it, he at once got up from the midst of the assembly and took a lance in his hand.⁸Then he went after the man of Israel into the vaulted tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman through her genital parts. At that the scourge was halted from upon the sons of Israel.⁹And those who died from the scourge amounted to twenty‐four thousand.

¹⁰Then Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying:¹¹“Phin′e‧has the son of El‧e‧a′zar the son of Aaron the priest has turned back my wrath from upon the sons of Israel by his tolerating no rivalry at all toward me in the midst of them, so that I have not exterminated the sons of Israel in my insistence on exclusive devotion.¹²For that reason say, ‘Here I am giving him my covenant of peace.¹³And it must serve as the covenant of a priesthood to time indefinite for him and his offspring after him, due to the fact that he tolerated no rivalry toward his God and proceeded to make atonement for the sons of Israel.’”

¹⁴Incidentally the name of the fatally struck Israelite man who was fatally struck with the Mid′i‧an‧i‧tess was Zim′ri the son of Sa′lu, a chieftain of a paternal house of the Sim′e‧on‧ites.¹⁵And the name of the Mid′i‧an‧ite woman fatally struck was Coz′bi the daughter of Zur; he was a head one of the clans of a paternal house in Mid′i‧an.

¹⁶Later Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying:¹⁷“Let there be a harassing of the Mid′i‧an‧ites, and ​YOU​ men must strike them,¹⁸because they are harassing ​YOU​ with their deeds of cunning that they committed against ​YOU​ cunningly in the affair of Pe′or and in the affair of Coz′bi the daughter of a chieftain of Mid′i‧an, their sister who was fatally struck in the day of the scourge over the affair of Pe′or.”