Numbers 31

¹ God tell Moses say,

² “Before you die, make sure say una punish Midianites for wetin dem do to Israel.

³ Moses con tell the people say, “God wan punish the Midianites. Tell our men make dem ready for battle.

⁴ Each tribe go send 1,000 men go fight.”

⁵ Na twelve thousand men dem pick from tribes of Israel, and after dem don ready for battle,

⁶ Moses send them go war. Phinehas son of Eleazar go with them and take some things with them from Holy Tent, and trumpets wey dem go dey use for battle signal.

⁷ The Israelites fight the Midianites, just as God don command Moses. Dem kill all the men,

⁸ with Balaam, son of Beor and five Midianite kings, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba.

⁹ Israelites capture every woman and children, dem take their sheeps and animals, and take everything wey belong to them,

¹⁰ and burn down the Midianite towns and villages.

¹¹ Israel soldier come gather everything wey dem don take from the Midianite together, with the people dem capture and animals.

12-13 Dem go back to their own camp for mountains of Moab across Jordan River from Jericho, where Moses, Eleazar, and other Israelite leader meet the army outside camp.

¹⁴ Moses come begin dey vex with the army commander,

¹⁵ and say, “I no believe say una allow women live.

¹⁶ Na them follow Balaam advice and dem call our people to worship the god Baal Peor. Na why God punish us as he kill many of our people be that.

¹⁷ Make una kill every boy and all women wey don have sex.

¹⁸ But, make una no kill the young women wey never have sex. Una fit keep them for unaself.”

¹⁹ Moses tell the soldiers say, “If una don kill anyone or don touch dead body, una no dey clean and una need to stay outside camp for seven days. On third and seventh day, make una purify unaself and the women wey una capture.

²⁰ Make una also purify every cloth, and everything wey dem make with leather, goat hair, or wood.”

²¹ Eleazar the priest tell the men wey don return for battle say, “Na the regulations wey God don give Moses be these.

22-23 Anything wey fire no fit burn, like gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin or lead, make una put them inside fire to purify them. Make una purify other things with water of purification.

²⁴ On the seventh day, make una wash una cloth; then una go dey clean, and una go fit enter camp.

²⁵ God tell Moses say,

²⁶ “You, Eleazar, together with other leaders of the community, make una count everything wey dem capture, plus the prisoners and animals.

²⁷ Divide wetin dem take to two parts, one part for the soldier, and the other for the community.

²⁸ From the part wey belong to the soldiers, give God tax of one out of every 500 prisoners and same way for the cattle, donkey, sheep, and goats.

²⁹ Give them to Eleazar as special gift to God.

³⁰ From the part wey belong to the rest of the people, take one out of every fifty prisoners, and same way for cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. Give them to Levites, wey dey in charge of God Tent.”

³¹ Moses and Eleazar do wetin God don command.

32-35 Na the list of wetin the soldiers capture be this, in addition to the ones wey dem keep for themselves: 675,000 sheep and goats, 72,00 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 virgins.

36-40 The soldier share na 337,500 sheep and goats, and the tax for God na 675; 36,000 cattle for soldiers, and 72 na the tax for God; 30,500 donkeys for soldiers; and 61 na the tax for God; and 16,000 virgins for soldiers, and na 32 be tax for God.

⁴⁷ From this share, Moses take one out of every fifty prisoner and animal, and as God don command, he give them to levites wey dey in charge of Holy Tent.

⁴⁸ The officers wey don command the army go meet Moses,

⁴⁹ and report say, “Sir, we don count the soldiers wey dey under our command, and nobody dey miss.

⁵⁰ So, we dey bring the gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklace wey each of us don take. We dey offer them to God as payment offering, so that he go protect us.”

⁵¹ Moses and Eleazar come receive the gold, wey be say all of them still dey ornament form.

⁵² The total number of contribution wey the officers bring na around 200 kilograms.

⁵³ Those wey no be officers, dem keep their own share.

⁵⁴ Naso Moses and Eleazar take the gold go Tent, so that God go protect the people of Israel.