17 "Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them.
17 Vex the Midianites, and smite them:
17 "Harass the Midianites and strike them down,
17 "From here on make the Midianites your enemies. Fight them tooth and nail.
17 "Harass the Midianites, and attack them;
17 "Attack the Midianites and destroy them,
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 25:17
Commentary on Numbers 25:16-18
(Read Numbers 25:16-18)
We read not that any Midianites died of the plague; God punished them with the sword of an enemy, not with the rod of a father. We must set ourselves against whatever is an occasion of sin to us, Matthew 5:29,30. Whatever draws us to sin, should be a vexation to us, as a thorn in the flesh. And none will be more surely and severely punished than those who, after Satan's example, and with his subtlety, tempt others to sin.