1 Now when Israel was living in Shittim the people became false to the Lord, doing evil with the daughters of Moab:
2 For they sent for the people to be present at the offerings made to their gods; and the people took part in their feasts and gave honour to their gods.
3 So Israel had relations with the women of Moab in honour of the Baal of Peor: and the Lord was moved to wrath against Israel.
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, Take all the chiefs of the people, hanging them up in the sun before the Lord, so that the wrath of the Lord may be turned from Israel.
5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, Let everyone put to death those of his men who have had relations with the women of Moab in honour of the Baal of Peor.
6 Then one of the children of Israel came to his brothers, taking with him a woman of Midian, before the eyes of Moses and all the meeting of the people, while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of meeting.
7 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, seeing it, got up from among the people and took a spear in his hand,
8 And went after the man of Israel into the tent, driving the spear through the two of them, through the man of Israel and through the stomach of the woman. So the disease was stopped among the children of Israel.
9 But twenty-four thousand of them had come to their death by the disease.
10 And the Lord said to Moses,
11 Through Phinehas, and because of his passion for my honour, my wrath has been turned away from the children of Israel, so that I have not sent destruction on them all in my wrath.
12 So say to them that I will make with him an agreement of peace:
13 And by this agreement, he and his sons after him have the right to be priests for ever; because, by his care for the honour of his God, he took away the sin of the children of Israel.
14 Now the man of Israel who was put to death with the woman of Midian was Zimri, the son of Salu, a chief of one of the families of the Simeonites.
15 And the woman of Midian who was put to death was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was the head of a family in Midian.
16 Then the Lord said to Moses,
17 Take up arms against the Midianites and overcome them;
18 For they are a danger to you with their false ways, causing sin to come on you in the question of Peor, and because of Cozbi, their sister, the daughter of the chief of Midian, who was put to death at the time of the disease which came on you because of Peor.
1 OR Israele, stanziato in Sittim, cominciò a fornicar con le figliuole di Moab.
2 Ed esse invitarono il popolo a’ sacrificii de’ loro iddii, e il popolo ne mangiò, e adorò gl’iddii d’esse.
3 E Israele si congiunse con Baal-peor; laonde l’ira del Signore si accese contro a Israele.
4 E il Signore disse a Mosè: Prendi tutti i Capi del popolo, e appiccali al Signore, davanti al sole; e l’ira accesa del Signore si rivolgerà d’Israele.
5 Mosè disse ancora a’ Giudici d’Israele: Uccida ciascun di voi quelli de’ suoi, che si son congiunti con Baal-peor
6 Or in quel mezzo tempo un uomo d’Israele venne, e menò a’ suoi fratelli una donna Madianita, davanti agli occhi di Mosè, e davanti agli occhi di tutta la raunanza de’ figliuoli d’Israele, i quali piangevano all’entrata del Tabernacolo della convenenza.
7 E Finees, figliuolo d’Eleazaro, figliuolo del Sacerdote Aaronne, avendo ciò veduto, si levò d’infra la raunanza, e prese in mano una lancia.
8 Ed entrò dietro a quell’uomo Israelita, dentro al lupanare, e li trafisse amendue, l’uomo Israelita, e la donna, per lo ventre d’essa. E la piaga fu arrestata d’in su i figliuoli d’Israele.
9 E i morti di quella piaga furono ventiquattromila.
10 E il Signore parlò ancora a Mosè, dicendo:
11 Finees, figliuolo d’Eleazaro, figliuolo del Sacerdote Aaronne, ha acquetata l’ira mia d’in su i figliuoli d’Israele; perchè è stato mosso del mio zelo nel mezzo di loro; laonde io non ho consumati i figliuoli d’Israele nella mia gelosia.
12 Perciò digli ch’io gli do il mio patto di pace.
13 E il patto del Sacerdozio perpetuo sarà suo, e della sua progenie dopo lui; perciocchè egli è stato mosso di zelo per l’Iddio suo, e ha fatto purgamento per li figliuoli d’Israele.
14 Or il nome dell’uomo Israelita ucciso, il quale era stato ucciso con la donna Madianita, era Zimri, figliuolo di Salu, Capo d’una famiglia paterna de’ Simeoniti.
15 E il nome della donna Madianita uccisa era Cozbi, figliuola di Sur, Capo di nazioni, e di famiglia paterna in Madian
16 Poi il Signore parlò a Mosè, dicendo:
17 Fate guerra a’ Madianiti, e percoteteli;
18 conciossiachè essi abbiano fatta guerra a voi, co’ loro inganni, che v’hanno fatti nel fatto di Peor, e nel fatto di Cozbi, figliuola d’un de’ Capi di Madian, lor sorella, ch’è stata uccisa al giorno della piaga avvenuta per cagione di Peor