3 The Lord was angry with Israel because they had worshipped the god Baal-Peor.
4 So he said to Moses, “Take the Israelite leaders who are responsible for this and have them killed in front of my sacred tent where everyone can see. Perhaps then I will stop being angry with the Israelites.”
5 Moses told Israel's officials, “Each of you must put to death any of your men who worshipped Baal.”
6 Later, Moses and the people were at the sacred tent, crying, when one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman to meet his family.
7 Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron the priest, saw the couple and left the crowd. He found a spear
8 and followed the man into his tent, where he ran the spear through the man and into the woman's stomach. The Lord immediately stopped punishing Israel with a deadly disease,
9 but twenty-four thousand Israelites had already died.