[1] When the Israelites were camped at Acacia Valley, the men began to have sexual intercourse with the Moabite women who were there. [2] These women invited them to sacrificial feasts, where the god of Moab was worshiped. The Israelites ate the food and worshiped the god [3] Baal of Peor. So the LORD was angry with them [4] and said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of Israel and, in obedience to me, execute them in broad daylight, and then I will no longer be angry with the people." [5] Moses said to the officials, "Each of you is to kill every man in your tribe who has become a worshiper of Baal of Peor." [6] One of the Israelites took a Midianite woman into his tent in the sight of Moses and the whole community, while they were mourning at the entrance of the Tent of the LORD's presence. [7] When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up and left the assembly. He took a spear, [8] followed the man and the woman into the tent, and drove the spear through both of them. In this way the epidemic that was destroying Israel was stopped, [9] but it had already killed twenty-four thousand people. [10] The LORD said to Moses, [11] "Because of what Phinehas has done, I am no longer angry with the people of Israel. He refused to tolerate the worship of any god but me, and that is why I did not destroy them in my anger. [12] So tell him that I am making a covenant with him that is valid for all time to come. [13] He and his descendants are permanently established as priests, because he did not tolerate any rivals to me and brought about forgiveness for the people's sin." [14] The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the head of a family in the tribe of Simeon. [15] The woman's name was Cozbi. Zur, her father, was chief of a group of Midianite clans. [16] The LORD commanded Moses, [17] "Attack the Midianites and destroy them, [18] because of the evil they did to you when they deceived you at Peor, and because of Cozbi, who was killed at the time of the epidemic at Peor."
