6. Moses sent those men to war; Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest was with them. He took with him the holy things and the trumpets for giving the alarm.
7. They fought the Midianites as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed every Midianite man.
8. Among those they killed were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who were the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with a sword.
9. The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children, and they took all their flocks, herds, and goods.
10. They burned all the Midianite towns where they had settled and all their camps,
11. but they took all the people and animals and goods.
12. Then they brought the captives, the animals, and the goods back to Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the Israelites. Their camp was on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River, across from Jericho.
13. Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the people went outside the camp to meet them.
14. Moses was angry with the army officers, the commanders over a thousand men, and those over a hundred men, who returned from war.
15. He asked them, “Why did you let the women live?
16. They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and turned the Israelites from the Lord at Peor. Then a terrible sickness struck the Lord’s people.
17. Kill all the Midianite boys, and kill all the Midianite women who have had sexual relations.