Numbers 31:7-18

7They fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every man. 8Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. 9The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder. 10They burned all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps. 11They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals,

12and brought the captives, spoils and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho. 13Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp.

14Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who returned from the battle. 15“Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. 16“They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the LORD in the Peor incident, so that a plague struck the LORD ’s people. 17Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man,

18but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.