Numbers 31:7–17

⁷Then they waged war against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. ⁸Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba— the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.

⁹The Israelites captured the Midianite women and their children, and they plundered all their herds, flocks, and goods. ¹⁰Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites had lived, as well as all their encampments, ¹¹and carried away all the plunder and spoils, both people and animals.

¹²They brought the captives, spoils, and plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of Israel at the camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho. ¹³And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp.

¹⁴But Moses was angry with the officers of the army — the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds — who were returning from the battle. ¹⁵“Have you spared all the women?” he asked them. ¹⁶“Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD. ¹⁷So now, kill all the boys, as well as every woman who has had relations with a man,