Behold, these caused the people of Israel, by the counsel of Balaam, to act treacherously against the LORD in the matter of Peor: The Hebrew particle hen (Behold) and the pronoun for these (literally “they”) emphasize that it is these women (and nobody else) who acted in the way described here. Good models for Behold, these … are “Remember that it was the women who…” (Good News Translation), “You should recall that they…” (Chewa), “Yet they are the very ones who…” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), and “It is those ones who…” (La Nouvelle Bible Segond).
Caused the people of Israel is literally “were to the people of Israel.” As in verse 3, the Hebrew verb for “were” has the nuance of “moved/acted against” (so Levine, page 455). So a more accurate rendering here is “were detrimental to Israelites” (Levine). Other possible models are “pushed the Israelites” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie) or “tempted the Israelites.”
By the counsel of Balaam is literally “by the word of Balaam” (La Nouvelle Bible Segond; see the comments on verse 8). Good News Translation says “followed Balaam’s instructions,” which may be a helpful model since the sentence of this verse in the Hebrew text is rather complex and hence difficult to follow if rendered literally as in Revised Standard Version.
To act treacherously against the LORD is literally “by instigating disloyalty/unfaithfulness against the LORD.” Such behavior is the opposite of what the LORD expects of his people and hence it is a capital offense worthy of death. For the Hebrew root meaning “disloyalty,” see the comments on 5.6, where it is rendered “breaking faith.”
In the matter of Peor is literally “upon the word of Peor” (see 25.18). For Peor see 25.3. Good News Translation renders this phrase as “at Peor,” which is probably easier to understand. However, the Hebrew does not simply refer to the location itself. Revised Standard Version is more accurate here, and so is Levine with “in the Peor incident.” Another possible model is “in the [judicial] case at Peor” (Chewa).
A possible model for the first half of this verse is:
• They are the very ones who, at Balaam’s instruction [or, counsel], were detrimental against [or, acted against] the people of Israel, by instigating sacrilegious [or, impious/offensive] rebellion against the LORD in the Peor incident….
New International Version is similar with the following:
• They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened at Peor….
And so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD: Because the Midianite women caused the Israelites to be unfaithful to the LORD, many of the Israelites died from a plague (see 25.8-9). The Hebrew word for congregation (ʿedah) is better translated “community” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), as in 1.2 (see the comments there).
Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .