The people fall into fornication and idolatry; for which twenty-four thousand are slain. The zeal of Phinees.

¹ Now Israel, at that time, dwelt in Shittim, and the people were fornicating with the daughters of Moab,

² who called them to their sacrifices. And they ate, and they adored their gods.

³ And Israel was initiated into Baal of Peor. And so the Lord, being angry,¹

1. 25:3Initiated to Beelphegor: That is, they took to the worship of Beelphegor, an obscene idol of the Moabites, and were consecrated, as it were, to him.(Challoner)

⁴ said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people, and hang them on gallows against the sun, so that my fury may be averted from Israel.”

⁵ And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Let each one kill his neighbors, who have been initiated into Baal of Peor.”¹

1. 25:5Notice that Phinehas does not act until after Moses gives the order from God to kill those who were sinning.(Conte)

⁶ And behold, one of the sons of Israel entered, in the sight of his brothers, to a prostitute of Midian, within view of Moses and of all the crowd of the sons of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle.

⁷ And when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, had seen it, he rose up from the midst of the multitude, and, seizing a dagger,

⁸ he entered after the Israelite man, into the brothel, and he pierced both of them at the same time, specifically, the man and the woman at the location of their genitals. And the scourge ceased from among the sons of Israel.

⁹ And there were slain twenty-four thousand men.

¹⁰ And the Lord said to Moses:

¹¹ “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has averted my wrath from the sons of Israel. For he was moved against them by my zeal, so that I myself, in my zeal, might not wipe away the sons of Israel.

¹² Because of this, say to him: Behold, I give to him the peace of my covenant.

¹³ And the covenant of the everlasting priesthood shall be as much for him as for his offspring. For he was zealous on behalf of his God, and he has made expiation for the wickedness of the sons of Israel.”

¹⁴ Now the name of the Israelite man, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader from the kinship and tribe of Simeon.

¹⁵ Moreover, the Midianite woman, who was put to death together with him, was called Cozbi the daughter of Zur, a most noble leader among the Midianites.

¹⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

¹⁷ “Let the Midianites perceive you as enemies, and strike them down,

¹⁸ for they, too, have behaved with hostility against you, and they have deceived you insidiously by means of the idol Peor, and by Cozbi, the daughter of a commander of Midian, their sister, who was struck down in the day of the scourge because of the sacrilege of Peor.”