[31:1] The Lord said to Moses,
[31:2] “Punish the Midianites for what they did to the people of Israel. After you have done that, you will die.”
[31:3] So Moses said to the people, “Get ready for war, so that you can attack Midian and punish them for what they did to the Lord.
[31:4] From each tribe of Israel send a thousand men to war.”
[31:5] So a thousand men were chosen from each tribe, a total of twelve thousand men ready for battle.
[31:6] Moses sent them to war under the command of Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took charge of the sacred objects and the trumpets for giving signals.
[31:7] They attacked Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed all the men,
[31:8] including the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed Balaam son of Beor.
[31:9] The people of Israel captured the Midianite women and children, took their cattle and their flocks, plundered all their wealth,
[31:10] and burned all their cities and camps.
[31:11] They took all the loot that they had captured, including the prisoners and the animals,
[31:12] and brought them to Moses and Eleazar and to the community of the people of Israel, who were at the camp on the plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho.