I will judge you there just as I did your ancestors in the wilderness after bringing them out of Egypt, says the Sovereign Lord.

我怎样在埃及地的旷野刑罚你们的列祖，也必照样刑罚你们。这是主耶和华说的。

我怎样在埃及地的旷野审判你们的祖先，也必照样审判你们。这是主耶和华说的。

我怎样在埃及地的旷野审判你们的祖先，也必照样审判你们。这是主耶和华说的。

就像我从前在埃及的旷野审判你们的祖先一样。这是主耶和华说的。

我怎样在埃及地的旷野审判你们的祖先，也必怎样审判你们。这是主耶和华的宣告。

我怎樣在埃及地的曠野刑罰你們的列祖，也必照樣刑罰你們。這是主耶和華說的。

我怎樣在埃及地的曠野審判你們的祖先，也必照樣審判你們。這是主耶和華說的。

我怎樣在埃及地的曠野審判你們的祖先，也必照樣審判你們。這是主耶和華說的。

就像我從前在埃及的曠野審判你們的祖先一樣。這是主耶和華說的。

我怎樣在埃及地的曠野審判你們的祖先，也必怎樣審判你們。這是主耶和華的宣告。

我怎樣在埃及地的曠野判罰你們祖先，我也要怎樣判罰你們：這是主永恆主發神諭說的。

我鞫爾、如在埃及曠野鞫爾列祖、主耶和華言之矣、

與昔在埃及曠野、斥爾祖之非無異、我耶和華、已言之矣。

我斥爾非、如昔在伊及曠野斥爾祖之非、或作我必審鞫爾如昔在伊及曠野審鞫爾祖然此乃主天主所言、

As I judged your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, declares the Sovereign Lord.

Long ago, I judged your people in the desert of Egypt. In the same way, I will judge you,” announces the Lord and King.

As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God.

Just as I entered into judgment with your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.

Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares the Lord God.

Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says the Lord GOD.

Like as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.

Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the sovereign LORD.

Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” says the Lord Yahweh.

Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did,or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say,“ The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.”And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites.And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death.

Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said. Then the Lord’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp.Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to the Lord, the fire stopped.After that, the area was known as Taberah( which means“ the place of burning”), because fire from the Lord had burned among them there.Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain.“ Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed.“ We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted.But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!”The manna looked like small coriander seeds, and it was pale yellow like gum resin.The people would go out and gather it from the ground. They made flour by grinding it with hand mills or pounding it in mortars. Then they boiled it in a pot and made it into flat cakes. These cakes tasted like pastries baked with olive oil.The manna came down on the camp with the dew during the night.Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated.And Moses said to the Lord,“ Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people?Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors?Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying,‘ Give us meat to eat!’I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy!If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!”Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Gather before me seventy men who are recognized as elders and leaders of Israel. Bring them to the Tabernacle to stand there with you.I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone.“ And say to the people,‘ Purify yourselves, for tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You were whining, and the Lord heard you when you cried,“ Oh, for some meat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will have to eat it.And it won’t be for just a day or two, or for five or ten or even twenty.You will eat it for a whole month until you gag and are sick of it. For you have rejected the Lord, who is here among you, and you have whined to him, saying,“ Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”But Moses responded to the Lord,“ There are 600,000 foot soldiers here with me, and yet you say,‘ I will give them meat for a whole month!’Even if we butchered all our flocks and herds, would that satisfy them? Even if we caught all the fish in the sea, would that be enough?”Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!”So Moses went out and reported the Lord’s words to the people. He gathered the seventy elders and stationed them around the Tabernacle.And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again.Two men, Eldad and Medad, had stayed behind in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but they had not gone out to the Tabernacle. Yet the Spirit rested upon them as well, so they prophesied there in the camp.A young man ran and reported to Moses,“ Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ assistant since his youth, protested,“ Moses, my master, make them stop!”But Moses replied,“ Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them all!”Then Moses returned to the camp with the elders of Israel.Now the Lord sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp. For miles in every direction there were quail flying about three feet above the ground.So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels! They spread the quail all around the camp to dry.But while they were gorging themselves on the meat— while it was still in their mouths— the anger of the Lord blazed against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.So that place was called Kibroth hattaavah( which means“ graves of gluttony”) because there they buried the people who had craved meat from Egypt.From Kibroth hattaavah the Israelites traveled to Hazeroth, where they stayed for some time.

“ But the people of Israel rebelled against me, and they refused to obey my decrees there in the wilderness. They wouldn’t obey my regulations even though obedience would have given them life. They also violated my Sabbath days. So I threatened to pour out my fury on them, and I made plans to utterly consume them in the wilderness.

“ But their children, too, rebelled against me. They refused to keep my decrees and follow my regulations, even though obedience would have given them life. And they also violated my Sabbath days. So again I threatened to pour out my fury on them in the wilderness.

One day Korah son of Izhar, a descendant of Kohath son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben.They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly.They united against Moses and Aaron and said,“ You have gone too far! The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the Lord, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the Lord’s people?”When Moses heard what they were saying, he fell face down on the ground.Then he said to Korah and his followers,“ Tomorrow morning the Lord will show us who belongs to him and who is holy. The Lord will allow only those whom he selects to enter his own presence.Korah, you and all your followers must prepare your incense burners.Light fires in them tomorrow, and burn incense before the Lord. Then we will see whom the Lord chooses as his holy one. You Levites are the ones who have gone too far!”Then Moses spoke again to Korah:“ Now listen, you Levites!Does it seem insignificant to you that the God of Israel has chosen you from among all the community of Israel to be near him so you can serve in the Lord’s Tabernacle and stand before the people to minister to them?Korah, he has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites. Are you now demanding the priesthood as well?The Lord is the one you and your followers are really revolting against! For who is Aaron that you are complaining about him?”Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they replied,“ We refuse to come before you!Isn’t it enough that you brought us out of Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us here in this wilderness, and that you now treat us like your subjects?What’s more, you haven’t brought us into another land flowing with milk and honey. You haven’t given us a new homeland with fields and vineyards. Are you trying to fool these men? We will not come.”Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord,“ Do not accept their grain offerings! I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, and I have never hurt a single one of them.”And Moses said to Korah,“ You and all your followers must come here tomorrow and present yourselves before the Lord. Aaron will also be here.You and each of your 250 followers must prepare an incense burner and put incense on it, so you can all present them before the Lord. Aaron will also bring his incense burner.”So each of these men prepared an incense burner, lit the fire, and placed incense on it. Then they all stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle with Moses and Aaron.Meanwhile, Korah had stirred up the entire community against Moses and Aaron, and they all gathered at the Tabernacle entrance. Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to the whole community,and the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,“ Get away from all these people so that I may instantly destroy them!”But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground.“ O God,” they pleaded,“ you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Must you be angry with all the people when only one man sins?”And the Lord said to Moses,“ Then tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”So Moses got up and rushed over to the tents of Dathan and Abiram, followed by the elders of Israel.“ Quick!” he told the people.“ Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and don’t touch anything that belongs to them. If you do, you will be destroyed for their sins.”So all the people stood back from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Then Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, together with their wives and children and little ones.And Moses said,“ This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things that I have done— for I have not done them on my own.If these men die a natural death, or if nothing unusual happens, then the Lord has not sent me.But if the Lord does something entirely new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and all their belongings, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have shown contempt for the Lord.”He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them.The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the men, along with their households and all their followers who were standing with them, and everything they owned.So they went down alive into the grave, along with all their belongings. The earth closed over them, and they all vanished from among the people of Israel.All the people around them fled when they heard their screams.“ The earth will swallow us, too!” they cried.Then fire blazed forth from the Lord and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense.And the Lord said to Moses,“ Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pull all the incense burners from the fire, for they are holy. Also tell him to scatter the burning coals.Take the incense burners of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and hammer the metal into a thin sheet to overlay the altar. Since these burners were used in the Lord’s presence, they have become holy. Let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel.”So Eleazar the priest collected the 250 bronze incense burners that had been used by the men who died in the fire, and the bronze was hammered into a thin sheet to overlay the altar.This would warn the Israelites that no unauthorized person— no one who was not a descendant of Aaron— should ever enter the Lord’s presence to burn incense. If anyone did, the same thing would happen to him as happened to Korah and his followers. So the Lord’s instructions to Moses were carried out.But the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying,“ You have killed the Lord’s people!”As the community gathered to protest against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tabernacle and saw that the cloud had covered it, and the glorious presence of the Lord appeared.Moses and Aaron came and stood in front of the Tabernacle,and the Lord said to Moses,“ Get away from all these people so that I can instantly destroy them!” But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground.And Moses said to Aaron,“ Quick, take an incense burner and place burning coals on it from the altar. Lay incense on it, and carry it out among the people to purify them and make them right with the Lord. The Lord’s anger is blazing against them— the plague has already begun.”Aaron did as Moses told him and ran out among the people. The plague had already begun to strike down the people, but Aaron burned the incense and purified the people.He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped.But 14,700 people died in that plague, in addition to those who had died in the affair involving Korah.Then because the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

The Lord told Moses,“ Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying,‘ These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”Then the Lord said,“ I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are.Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”But Moses tried to pacify the Lord his God.“ O Lord!” he said.“ Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand?Why let the Egyptians say,‘ Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people!Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying,‘ I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’”So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.Then Moses turned and went down the mountain. He held in his hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.These tablets were God’s work; the words on them were written by God himself.When Joshua heard the boisterous noise of the people shouting below them, he exclaimed to Moses,“ It sounds like war in the camp!”But Moses replied,“ No, it’s not a shout of victory nor the wailing of defeat. I hear the sound of a celebration.”When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and he burned with anger. He threw the stone tablets to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain.He took the calf they had made and burned it. Then he ground it into powder, threw it into the water, and forced the people to drink it.Finally, he turned to Aaron and demanded,“ What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?”“ Don’t get so upset, my lord,” Aaron replied.“ You yourself know how evil these people are.They said to me,‘ Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’So I told them,‘ Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire— and out came this calf!”Moses saw that Aaron had let the people get completely out of control, much to the amusement of their enemies.So he stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted,“ All of you who are on the Lord’s side, come here and join me.” And all the Levites gathered around him.Moses told them,“ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Each of you, take your swords and go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other. Kill everyone— even your brothers, friends, and neighbors.”The Levites obeyed Moses’ command, and about 3,000 people died that day.Then Moses told the Levites,“ Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the Lord, for you obeyed him even though it meant killing your own sons and brothers. Today you have earned a blessing.”The next day Moses said to the people,“ You have committed a terrible sin, but I will go back up to the Lord on the mountain. Perhaps I will be able to obtain forgiveness for your sin.”So Moses returned to the Lord and said,“ Oh, what a terrible sin these people have committed. They have made gods of gold for themselves.But now, if you will only forgive their sin— but if not, erase my name from the record you have written!”But the Lord replied to Moses,“ No, I will erase the name of everyone who has sinned against me.Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about. Look! My angel will lead the way before you. And when I come to call the people to account, I will certainly hold them responsible for their sins.”Then the Lord sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshiped the calf Aaron had made.

Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night.Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron.“ If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained.“ Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?”Then they plotted among themselves,“ Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel.Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing.They said to all the people of Israel,“ The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land!And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey.Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle.And the Lord said to Moses,“ How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them?I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!”But Moses objected.“ What will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?” he asked the Lord.“ They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing your people from Egypt.Now if you destroy them, the Egyptians will send a report to the inhabitants of this land, who have already heard that you live among your people. They know, Lord, that you have appeared to your people face to face and that your pillar of cloud hovers over them. They know that you go before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.Now if you slaughter all these people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will say,‘ The Lord was not able to bring them into the land he swore to give them, so he killed them in the wilderness.’“ Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed. For you said,‘ The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.’In keeping with your magnificent, unfailing love, please pardon the sins of this people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”Then the Lord said,“ I will pardon them as you have requested.But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the Lord’s glory,not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice.They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it.But my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land.Now turn around, and don’t go on toward the land where the Amalekites and Canaanites live. Tomorrow you must set out for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.”Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,“ How long must I put up with this wicked community and its complaints about me? Yes, I have heard the complaints the Israelites are making against me.Now tell them this:‘ As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say.You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die.You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.“‘ You said your children would be carried off as plunder. Well, I will bring them safely into the land, and they will enjoy what you have despised.But as for you, you will drop dead in this wilderness.And your children will be like shepherds, wandering in the wilderness for forty years. In this way, they will pay for your faithlessness, until the last of you lies dead in the wilderness.“‘ Because your men explored the land for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years— a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins. Then you will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy.’I, the Lord, have spoken! I will certainly do these things to every member of the community who has conspired against me. They will be destroyed here in this wilderness, and here they will die!”The ten men Moses had sent to explore the land— the ones who incited rebellion against the Lord with their bad report—were struck dead with a plague before the Lord.Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.When Moses reported the Lord’s words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief.Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills.“ Let’s go,” they said.“ We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the Lord has promised us.”But Moses said,“ Why are you now disobeying the Lord’s orders to return to the wilderness? It won’t work.Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the Lord is not with you.When you face the Amalekites and Canaanites in battle, you will be slaughtered. The Lord will abandon you because you have abandoned the Lord.”But the people defiantly pushed ahead toward the hill country, even though neither Moses nor the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant left the camp.Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills came down and attacked them and chased them back as far as Hormah.

So he gave them what they asked for, but he sent a plague along with it.The people in the camp were jealous of Moses and envious of Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest.Because of this, the earth opened up; it swallowed Dathan and buried Abiram and the other rebels.Fire fell upon their followers; a flame consumed the wicked.The people made a calf at Mount Sinai; they bowed before an image made of gold.They traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass eating bull.They forgot God, their savior, who had done such great things in Egypt—such wonderful things in the land of Ham, such awesome deeds at the Red Sea.So he declared he would destroy them. But Moses, his chosen one, stepped between the Lord and the people. He begged him to turn from his anger and not destroy them.The people refused to enter the pleasant land, for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them.Instead, they grumbled in their tents and refused to obey the Lord.Therefore, he solemnly swore that he would kill them in the wilderness,that he would scatter their descendants among the nations, exiling them to distant lands.Then our ancestors joined in the worship of Baal at Peor; they even ate sacrifices offered to the dead!They angered the Lord with all these things, so a plague broke out among them.But Phinehas had the courage to intervene, and the plague was stopped.So he has been regarded as a righteous man ever since that time.At Meribah, too, they angered the Lord, causing Moses serious trouble.They made Moses angry, and he spoke foolishly.Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land, as the Lord had commanded them.Instead, they mingled among the pagans and adopted their evil customs.They worshiped their idols, which led to their downfall.They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons.They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters. By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan, they polluted the land with murder.They defiled themselves by their evil deeds, and their love of idols was adultery in the Lord’s sight.That is why the Lord’s anger burned against his people, and he abhorred his own special possession.He handed them over to pagan nations, and they were ruled by those who hated them.Their enemies crushed them and brought them under their cruel power.Again and again he rescued them, but they chose to rebel against him, and they were finally destroyed by their sin.Even so, he pitied them in their distress and listened to their cries.He remembered his covenant with them and relented because of his unfailing love.He even caused their captors to treat them with kindness.Save us, O Lord our God! Gather us back from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you.Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting! Let all the people say,“ Amen!” Praise the Lord!

While the Israelites were camped at Acacia Grove, some of the men defiled themselves by having sexual relations with local Moabite women.These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, so the Israelites feasted with them and worshiped the gods of Moab.In this way, Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the Lord’s anger to blaze against his people.The Lord issued the following command to Moses:“ Seize all the ringleaders and execute them before the Lord in broad daylight, so his fierce anger will turn away from the people of Israel.”So Moses ordered Israel’s judges,“ Each of you must put to death the men under your authority who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.”Just then one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman into his tent, right before the eyes of Moses and all the people, as everyone was weeping at the entrance of the Tabernacle.When Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest saw this, he jumped up and left the assembly. He took a spearand rushed after the man into his tent. Phinehas thrust the spear all the way through the man’s body and into the woman’s stomach. So the plague against the Israelites was stopped,but not before 24,000 people had died.Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest has turned my anger away from the Israelites by being as zealous among them as I was. So I stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended to do in my zealous anger.Now tell him that I am making my special covenant of peace with him.In this covenant, I give him and his descendants a permanent right to the priesthood, for in his zeal for me, his God, he purified the people of Israel, making them right with me.”The Israelite man killed with the Midianite woman was named Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a family from the tribe of Simeon.The woman’s name was Cozbi; she was the daughter of Zur, the leader of a Midianite clan.Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Attack the Midianites and destroy them,because they assaulted you with deceit and tricked you into worshiping Baal of Peor, and because of Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, who was killed at the time of the plague because of what happened at Peor.”