Israel begins worshipping the Baal of Peor and sleeping with Moabite women, and a plague strikes. Phinehas acts to stop it, and God makes a covenant of peace with him.
1 And Israel abode in Shittim , and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab .
2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods : and the people did eat , and bowed down to their gods .
3 And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor : and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel .
4 And the LORD said unto Moses , Take all the heads of the people , and hang them up before the LORD against the sun , that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel .
5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel , Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor .
6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses , and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel , who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation .
7 And when Phinehas , the son of Eleazar , the son of Aaron the priest , saw it, he rose up from among the congregation , and took a javelin in his hand ;
8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent , and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel , and the woman through her belly . So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel .
9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand .
10 And the LORD spake unto Moses , saying ,
11 Phinehas , the son of Eleazar , the son of Aaron the priest , hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel , while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy .
12 Wherefore say , Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace :
13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood ; because he was zealous for his God , and made an atonement for the children of Israel .
14 Now the name of the Israelite that was slain , even that was slain with the Midianitish woman , was Zimri , the son of Salu , a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites .
15 And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi , the daughter of Zur ; he was head over a people , and of a chief house in Midian .
16 And the LORD spake unto Moses , saying ,
17 Vex the Midianites , and smite them:
18 For they vex you with their wiles , wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor , and in the matter of Cozbi , the daughter of a prince of Midian , their sister , which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake .