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So Moses told the judges of Israel, “Each of you must kill all of his men who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.”
Numbers 25:5 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Everyone kill his men who have joined themselves to Baal Peor.”
  • KJV And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.
  • NKJV So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.”
  • NASB So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill his men who have become followers of Baal of Peor.”
  • NLT So Moses ordered Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death the men under your authority who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Moses orders the judges of Israel to put to death each man who joined himself to Baal of Peor. The command is passed down to be carried out among the people.

Overview

Moses relays God's directive, charging Israel's appointed judges to execute those guilty of idolatry. The instruction emphasizes that judgment must fall specifically on the individuals who committed the sin. This call for purging unfaithfulness shows the gravity of apostasy within the covenant community and the necessity of removing it.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Exod 18:21Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
  • 1 Kgs 18:40Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
  • Deut 13:13that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known),
  • Exod 32:27–28He told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each of you men is to fasten his sword to his side, go back and forth through the camp from gate to gate, and slay his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”
  • Exod 18:25–26So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
  • Deut 17:3–5and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden—
  • Exod 22:20If anyone sacrifices to any god other than the LORD alone, he must be set apart for destruction.
  • Deut 13:15you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock.
  • Deut 13:6If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (which neither you nor your fathers have known,
  • Deut 13:9Instead, you must surely kill him. Your hand must be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Numbers videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Numbers 25:5YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on NumbersMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.

How Numbers 25:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.