Morabatur autem eo tempore Israël in Settim, et fornicatus est populus cum filiabus Moab,

And Israel at that time abode in Settim, and the people committed fornication with the daughters of Moab,

Meanwhile, the Israelites were dwelling at Settim; and here they fell a-whoring with the women of Moab.

quæ vocaverunt eos ad sacrificia sua. At ille comederunt et adoraverunt deos earum.

Who called them to their sacrifices. And they ate of them, and adored their gods.

These bade them come and partake of their own sacrifices, and worship their own gods;

Initiatusque est Israël Beelphegor: et iratus Dominus,

And Israel was initiated to Beelphegor: upon which the Lord being angry,

so that sons of Israel learned the rites of Beelphegor. And the Lord was indignant;

ait ad Moysen: Tolle cunctos principes populi, et suspende eos contra solem in patibulis, ut avertatur furor meus ab Israël.

Said to Moses: Take all the princes of the people, and hang them up on gibbets against the sun: that my fury may be turned away from Israel.

he would have had all the clan chiefs hanged on gibbets in the sun’s heat, to avert the divine vengeance from the people.

Dixitque Moyses ad judices Israël: Occidat unusquisque proximos suos, qui initiati sunt Beelphegor.

And Moses said to the judges of Israel: Let every man kill his neighbours, that have been initiated to Beelphegor.

But Moses quickly bade the rulers of the people slay all those who had learned Beelphegor’s worship.

Et ecce unus de filiis Israël intravit coram fratribus suis ad scortum Madianitidem, vidente Moyse, et omni turba filiorum Israël, qui flebant ante fores tabernaculi.

And behold one of the children of Israel went in before his brethren to a harlot of Madian, in the sight of Moses, and of all the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle.

And now, in full sight of Moses, and of the whole multitude that stood weeping at the tabernacle door, one of the Israelites brought in a Madianite woman to shame his brethren.

Quod cum vidisset Phinees filius Eleazari filii Aaron sacerdotis, surrexit de medio multitudinis, et arrepto pugione,

And when Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest saw it, he rose up from the midst of the multitude, and taking a dagger,

Whereupon Phinees, son of Eleazar, son of the high priest Aaron, left his place among the multitude weapon in hand,

ingressus est post virum Israëlitem in lupanar, et perfodit ambos simul, virum scilicet et mulierem in locis genitalibus. Cessavitque plaga a filiis Israël:

Went in after the Israelite into the brothel house, and thrust both of them through together, to wit, the man and the woman in the genital parts. And the scourge ceased from the children of Israel:

and followed this Israelite into the place of shame; man and woman both he pierced through, groin to groin. With that, the Israelites were rid of the plague that had befallen them;

et occisi sunt viginti quatuor millia hominum.

And there were slain four and twenty thousand men.

but not till twenty-four thousand of them had perished.

Dixitque Dominus ad Moysen:

And the Lord said to Moses:

And the Lord said to Moses,

Phinees filius Eleazari filii Aaron sacerdotis avertit iram meam a filiis Israël: quia zelo meo commotus est contra eos, ut non ipse delerem filios Israël in zelo meo.

Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned away my wrath from the children of Israel: because he was moved with my zeal against them, that I myself might not destroy the children of Israel in my zeal.

It is Phinees, son of Eleazar, son of the high priest Aaron, who has averted my vengeance from the sons of Israel; a man roused to such indignation in my cause, that my own indignation has spared them from utter overthrow.

Idcirco loquere ad eum: Ecce do ei pacem fœderis mei,

Therefore say to him: Behold I give him the peace of my covenant,

Tell him, then, that I pledge him my favour;

et erit tam ipsi quam semini ejus pactum sacerdotii sempiternum: quia zelatus est pro Deo suo, et expiavit scelus filiorum Israël.

And the covenant of the priesthood for ever shall be both to him and his seed, because he hath been zealous for his God, and hath made atonement for the wickedness of the children of Israel.

the priesthood is secured by covenant to him and to his heirs for ever, in return for this zeal on his God’s behalf, that atoned for Israel’s sin.

Erat autem nomen viri Israëlitæ, qui occisus est cum Madianitide, Zambri filius Salu, dux de cognatione et tribu Simeonis.

And the name of the Israelite, that was slain with the woman of Madian, was Zambri the son of Salu, a prince of the kindred and tribe of Simeon.

(The Israelite who was killed with the woman of Madian was one Zambri, son of Salu, a clan chief of Simeon;

Porro mulier Madianitis, quæ pariter interfecta est, vocabatur Cozbi filia Sur principis nobilissimi Madianitarum.

And the Madianite woman, that was slain with him, was called Cozbi the daughter of Sur, a most noble prince among the Madianites.

and the woman who died with him was called Cozbi, daughter to Sur, a man of high rank among the Madianites.)

Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens:

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

And now the Lord said to Moses,

Hostes vos sentiant Madianitæ, et percutite eos:

Let the Madianites find you their enemies, and slay you them:

Treat the Madianites as enemies, and smite them down;

quia et ipsi hostiliter egerunt contra vos, et decepere insidiis per idolum Phogor, et Cozbi filiam ducis Madian sororem suam, quæ percussa est in die plagæ pro sacrilegio Phogor.

Because they also have acted like enemies against you, and have guilefully deceived you by the idol Phogor, and Cozbi their sister, a daughter of a prince of Madian, who was slain in the day of the plague for the sacrilege of Phogor.

it was as enemies they treated you, when they baited a trap for you with Phogor’s rites, and with their countrywoman, the Madianite princess Cozbi, that died when the plague came to punish Phogor’s worshippers.