1 When the Israelites were camped in the Valley of Acacia, the men began to have sexual intercourse with the Moabite women who were there.
2 These women invited them to sacrificial feasts, where the god of Moab was worshipped. The Israelites ate the food and worshipped the god
3 Baal of Peor. So the Lord was angry with them
4 and said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of Israel and, in obedience to me, execute them in broad daylight, and then I will no longer be angry with the people.”
5 Moses said to the officials, “Each of you is to kill every man in your tribe who has become a worshipper of Baal of Peor.”
6 One of the Israelites took a Midianite woman into his tent in the sight of Moses and the whole community, while they were mourning at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence.
7 When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up and left the assembly. He took a spear,