The Wilderness Years

and her husband hears but holds his peace with her on the day he learns of it, then her vows and obligations she has bound herself to will stand.

But if her husband expresses his disapproval on the day he hears it, he will void the vow which is on her and the obligation to which she has bound herself; and ADONAI will forgive her.

"The vow of a widow, however, or of a divorcee, including everything to which she has obligated herself, will stand against her.

"If a woman vowed in her husband's house or obligated herself with an

and her husband heard it but held his peace with her and did not express disapproval, then all her vows and obligations will stand.

But if her husband makes them null and void on the day he hears them, then whatever she said, vows or binding obligation, will not stand; her husband has voided them; and ADONAI will forgive her.

Her husband may let every vow and every binding obligation stand, or he may void it.

But if her husband entirely holds his peace with her day after day, then he confirms all her vows and obligations; he must let them stand, because he held his peace with her on the day he heard them.

If he makes them null and void after he has heard them, then he will bear the consequent guilt."

These are the laws which ADONAI ordered Moshe between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter, if she is a minor living in her father's house.

ADONAI said to Moshe,

"On behalf of the people of Isra'el, take vengeance on the Midyanim. After that, you will be gathered to your people."

Moshe said to the people, "Equip men from among yourselves for war. They are to go and fight Midyan, in order to carry out ADONAI's vengeance on Midyan.

You are to send to the war a thousand men from every one of Isra'el's tribes."

So out of the thousands of people in Isra'el, a thousand armed men from each tribe, 12,000 altogether, were mustered for war.

Moshe sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war; he sent them and Pinchas the son of El'azar the cohen to the war, with the holy utensils and the trumpets for sounding the alarm in his care.

They fought against Midyan, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe, and killed every male.

They killed the kings of Midyan along with the others who were slain - Evi, Rekem, Tzur, Hur and Reva, the five kings of Midyan. They also killed Bil'am the son of B'or with the sword.

The people of Isra'el took captive the women of Midyan and their little ones, and they took as booty all their cattle, flocks and other goods.

They set fire to all their cities in the areas where they lived and all their camps.

They took all the booty, all the people and animals they had captured,

and brought the captives, booty and spoil to Moshe, El'azar the cohen and the community of Isra'el in the camp on the plains of Mo'av by the Yarden across from Yericho.

Moshe, El'azar the cohen and all the community leaders went to meet them outside the camp.

But Moshe was angry with the army officers, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds coming in from the battlefield.

Moshe asked them, "You let the women live?