¹Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. ²They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lᴏʀᴅ was aroused against Israel. ⁴Then the Lᴏʀᴅ said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the Lᴏʀᴅ, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lᴏʀᴅ may turn away from Israel.” ⁵So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.” ⁶And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁷Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; ⁸and 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 body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. ⁹And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁰Then the Lᴏʀᴅ spoke to Moses, saying: ¹¹“Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal. ¹²Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; ¹³and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’ ” ¹⁴Now the name of the Israelite who was killed, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house among the Simeonites. ¹⁵And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur; he was head of the people of a father’s house in Midian. ¹⁶Then the Lᴏʀᴅ spoke to Moses, saying: ¹⁷“Harass the Midianites, and attack them; ¹⁸for they harassed you with their schemes by which they seduced you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister, who was killed in the day of the plague because of Peor.”

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song. Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him. ²As smoke is driven away, So drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish at the presence of God. ³But let the righteous be glad; Let them rejoice before God; Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly. ⁴Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name Yah, And rejoice before Him. ⁵A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation. ⁶God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land. ⁷O God, when You went out before Your people, When You marched through the wilderness, Selah ⁸The earth shook; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. ⁹You, O God, sent a plentiful rain, Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance, When it was weary. ¹⁰Your congregation dwelt in it; You, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor. ¹¹The Lᴏʀᴅ gave the word; Great was the company of those who proclaimed it: ¹²“Kings of armies flee, they flee, And she who remains at home divides the spoil. ¹³Though you lie down among the sheepfolds, You will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver, And her feathers with yellow gold.” ¹⁴When the Almighty scattered kings in it, It was white as snow in Zalmon. ¹⁵A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan. ¹⁶Why do you fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in; Yes, the Lᴏʀᴅ will dwell in it forever. ¹⁷The chariots of God are twenty thousand, Even thousands of thousands; The Lᴏʀᴅ is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place. ¹⁸You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious, That the Lᴏʀᴅ God might dwell there. ¹⁹Blessed be the Lᴏʀᴅ, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah ²⁰Our God is the God of salvation; And to God the Lᴏʀᴅ belong escapes from death. ²¹But God will wound the head of His enemies, The hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in His trespasses. ²²The Lᴏʀᴅ said, “I will bring back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, ²³That your foot may crush them in blood, And the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies.” ²⁴They have seen Your procession, O God, The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary. ²⁵The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; Among them were the maidens playing timbrels. ²⁶Bless God in the congregations, The Lᴏʀᴅ, from the fountain of Israel. ²⁷There is little Benjamin, their leader, The princes of Judah and their company, The princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali. ²⁸Your God has commanded your strength; Strengthen, O God, what You have done for us. ²⁹Because of Your temple at Jerusalem, Kings will bring presents to You. ³⁰Rebuke the beasts of the reeds, The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples, Till everyone submits himself with pieces of silver. Scatter the peoples who delight in war. ³¹Envoys will come out of Egypt; Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God. ³²Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; Oh, sing praises to the Lᴏʀᴅ, Selah ³³To Him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old! Indeed, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice. ³⁴Ascribe strength to God; His excellence is over Israel, And His strength is in the clouds. ³⁵O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!

¹The burden against Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste And destroyed, Because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste And destroyed, ²He has gone up to the temple and Dibon, To the high places to weep. Moab will wail over Nebo and over Medeba; On all their heads will be baldness, And every beard cut off. ³In their streets they will clothe themselves with sackcloth; On the tops of their houses And in their streets Everyone will wail, weeping bitterly. ⁴Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out, Their voice shall be heard as far as Jahaz; Therefore the armed soldiers of Moab will cry out; His life will be burdensome to him. ⁵“My heart will cry out for Moab; His fugitives shall flee to Zoar, Like a three-year-old heifer. For by the Ascent of Luhith They will go up with weeping; For in the way of Horonaim They will raise up a cry of destruction, ⁶For the waters of Nimrim will be desolate, For the green grass has withered away; The grass fails, there is nothing green. ⁷Therefore the abundance they have gained, And what they have laid up, They will carry away to the Brook of the Willows. ⁸For the cry has gone all around the borders of Moab, Its wailing to Eglaim And its wailing to Beer Elim. ⁹For the waters of Dimon will be full of blood; Because I will bring more upon Dimon, Lions upon him who escapes from Moab, And on the remnant of the land.”

¹Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, ²when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. ³Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— ⁴rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. ⁵For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, ⁶as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. ⁷Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. ⁸Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; ⁹not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. ¹⁰For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. ¹¹Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. ¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” ¹³And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? ¹⁴But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” ¹⁵But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; ¹⁶having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. ¹⁷For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. ¹⁸For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, ¹⁹by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, ²⁰who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. ²¹There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.