Numbers 16
1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Pallu, the son of Reuben, made themselves ready,
Now Korach, the son of Yizhar, the son of Kehath, the son of Levi, was presumptuous, together with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben:
2 And came before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty chiefs of the people, men of good name who had a place in the meeting of the people.
So that they rose up before Moses, with certain men of the children of Israel, in number two hundred and fifty; [who were] princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown.
3 They came together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take overmuch on yourselves, seeing that all the people are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; why then have you put yourselves in authority over the people of the Lord?
And they assembled themselves against Moses, and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye assume too much; for the whole of the congregation are all of them holy, and the Lord is among them; wherefore then will you lift yourselves up above the congregation of the Lord?
4 And Moses, hearing this, went down on his face;
And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
5 And he said to Korah and his band, In the morning the Lord will make clear who are his, and who is holy, and who may come near him: the man of his selection will be caused to come near him.
And he spoke unto Korach and unto all his company, saying, Tomorrow, —then will the Lord make known who is his, and who is holy, that he may cause them to come near unto him; and him whom he shall choose will he cause to come near unto him.
6 So do this: let Korah and all his band take vessels for burning perfumes;
This do ye: Take yourselves censers, Korach and all his company;
7 And put spices on the fire in them before the Lord tomorrow; then the man marked out by the Lord will be holy: you take overmuch on yourselves, you sons of Levi.
And put therein fire, and put upon them incense before the Lord, tomorrow; and it shall be that the man whom the Lord will choose, he shall be the holy one; you assume too much, ye sons of Levi.
8 And Moses said to Korah, Give ear now, you sons of Levi:
And Moses said unto Korach, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
9 Does it seem only a small thing to you that the God of Israel has made you separate from the rest of Israel, letting you come near himself to do the work of the House of the Lord, and to take your place before the people to do what has to be done for them;
It is too little for you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near unto himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister for them?
10 Letting you, and all your brothers the sons of Levi, come near to him? and would you now be priests?
And he hath brought thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and now will ye seek the priesthood also?
11 So you and all your band have come together against the Lord; and Aaron, who is he, that you are crying out against him?
For which cause [beware], thou and all thy company that are gathered together against the Lord; for Aaron, what is he, that ye should murmur against him:
12 Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: and they said, We will not come up:
And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, We will not come up:
13 Is it not enough that you have taken us from a land flowing with milk and honey, to put us to death in the waste land, but now you are desiring to make yourself a chief over us?
Is it too little that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that thou wilt assume to make thyself also a prince over us?
14 And more than this, you have not taken us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us a heritage of fields and vine-gardens: will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.
Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, and thou hast not given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou bore out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
15 Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, Give no attention to their offering: not one of their asses have I taken, or done wrong to any of them.
And this displeased Moses greatly, and he said unto the Lord, Have no respect unto their offering: I have not taken away an ass of any one of them, nor have I done wrong to any one of them.
16 And Moses said to Korah, You and all your band are to come before the Lord tomorrow, you and they and Aaron:
And Moses said unto Korach, Thou and all thy company, be ye before the Lord, thou, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow:
17 And let every man take a vessel for burning perfumes, and put sweet spices in them; let every man take his vessel before the Lord, two hundred and fifty vessels; you and Aaron and everyone with his vessel.
And take ye every man his censer, and put incense upon them, and bring ye near before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each his censer.
18 So every man took his vessel and they put fire in them, with spices, and came to the door of the Tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.
And they took every man his censer, and put fire on them, and laid incense thereupon; and they stood at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.—
19 And Korah made all the people come together against them to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the glory of the Lord was seen by all the people.
And Korach assembled against them all the congregation unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; and the glory of the Lord then appeared unto all the congregation.
20 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
21 Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them.
Separate yourselves from the midst of this congregation, and I will make an end of them in a moment.
22 Then falling down on their faces they said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, because of one man's sin will your wrath be moved against all the people?
And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, this one man doth sin, and with all the congregation wouldst thou be wroth!
23 And the Lord said to Moses,
And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
24 Say to the people, Come away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram.
Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you away from about the dwelling of Korach, Dathan, and Abiram.
25 So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the responsible men of Israel went with him.
And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and there went after him the elders of Israel.
26 And he said to the people, Come away now from the tents of these evil men, without touching anything of theirs, or you may be taken in the punishment of their sins.
And he spoke unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing which belongeth to them, lest ye be destroyed through all their sins.
27 So on every side they went away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram: and Dathan and Abiram came out to the door of their tents, with their wives and their sons and their little ones.
So they got away from the dwelling of Korach, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, standing [boldly] at the door of their tents, with their wives, and their sons, and their little ones.
28 And Moses said, Now you will see that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and I have not done them of myself.
And Moses said, Through this shall ye know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these deeds; that [I have] not done them out of my own heart.
29 If these men have the common death of men, or if the natural fate of all men overtakes them, then the Lord has not sent me.
If these men die as all men die, and if the visitation of all men be visited on them: then hath the Lord not sent me.
30 But if the Lord does something new, opening the earth to take them in, with everything which is theirs, and they go down living into the underworld, then it will be clear to you that the Lord has not been honoured by these men. (Sheol h7585)
But if the Lord do create a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertaineth unto them, and they go down alive into the pit: then shall ye understand that these men have provoked the Lord. (Sheol h7585)
31 And while these words were on his lips, the earth under them was parted in two;
And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground that was under them was cloven asunder:
32 And the earth, opening her mouth, took them in, with their families, and all the men who were joined to Korah, and their goods.
And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korach, and all their goods.
33 So they and all theirs went down living into the underworld, and the earth was shut over them, and they were cut off from among the meeting of the people. (Sheol h7585)
And they went down, they, and all they that appertained to them, alive into the pit; and the earth closed over them, and they disappeared from the midst of the congregation. (Sheol h7585)
34 And all Israel round about them went in flight at their cry, For fear, said they, that we go down into the heart of the earth.
And all Israel that were round about them fled at their cry; for they said, Perhaps the earth may swallow us up [also].
35 Then fire came out from the Lord, burning up the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the perfume.
And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that had offered the incense.
36 And the Lord said to Moses,
And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
37 Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he is to take out of the flames the vessels with the perfumes in them, turning the fire out of them, for they are holy;
Speak unto Elazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he lift up the censers out of the burning, and throw out the fire far away; for they have been hallowed:
38 And let the vessels of those men, who with their lives have made payment for their sin, be hammered out into plates as a cover for the altar; for they have been offered before the Lord and are holy; so that they may be a sign to the children of Israel.
The censers of these sinners against their own lives; and they shall make of them broad plates for a covering for the altar; for they brought them near before the Lord, and they have thus become hallowed; and they shall serve for a sign unto the children of Israel.
39 So Eleazar the priest took the brass vessels which had been offered by those who were burned up, and they were hammered out to make a cover for the altar:
And Elazar the priest took the copper censers, which they that were burnt had brought near; and they beat them out for a covering unto the altar:
40 To be a sign, kept in memory for ever by the children of Israel, that no man who is not of the seed of Aaron has the right of burning spices before the Lord, so that he may not be like Korah and his band: as the Lord said to him by the mouth of Moses.
As a memorial unto the children of Israel, in order that no stranger, who is not of the seed of Aaron, should come near to burn incense before the Lord; that he become not as Korach, and as his company; as the Lord had spoken to him by the hand of Moses.
41 But on the day after, all the children of Israel made an outcry against Moses and against Aaron, saying, You have put to death the Lord's people.
And all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, on the morrow, saying, It is you who have caused the people of the Lord to die.
42 Now when the people had come together against Moses and Aaron, looking in the direction of the Tent of meeting, they saw the cloud covering it, and the glory of the Lord came before their eyes.
And it came to pass, when the congregation assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation, and, behold, the cloud covered it; and the glory of the Lord appeared.
43 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of meeting.
And Moses came with Aaron before the tabernacle of the congregation.
44 And the Lord said to Moses,
And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
45 Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them. And they went down on their faces.
Remove yourselves from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
46 And Moses said to Aaron, Take your vessel and put in it fire from the altar, and sweet spices, and take it quickly into the meeting of the people, and make them free from sin: for wrath has gone out from the Lord, and the disease is starting.
And Moses said unto Aaron, Take the censer, and put therein fire from off the altar, and put on incense, and carry [it] quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them; for the wrath is gone forth from the Lord; the plague hath begun.
47 And at the words of Moses, Aaron took his vessel, and went running among the people; and even then the disease had made a start among them; and he put spices in his vessel to take away the sin of the people.
And Aaron took as Moses had commanded, and he ran into the midst of the assembly; and, behold, the plague had begun among the people: and he put on the incense, and made an atonement for the people.
48 And he took his place between the dead and the living: and the disease was stopped.
And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
49 Now fourteen thousand, seven hundred deaths were caused by that disease, in addition to those who came to their end because of what Korah had done.
And those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides those that had died about the matter of Korach.
50 Then Aaron went back to Moses to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the disease came to a stop.
And Aaron returned unto Moses, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, after the plague had been stayed.
