Numbers 16
1 Then, behold, Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and also On the son of Peleth, of the sons of Ruben,
Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted
2 rose up against Moses, with two hundred fifty others of the sons of Israel, leading men of the assembly, and who, at the time of a council, would be called by name.
a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly.
3 And when they had stood against Moses and Aaron, they said: “Let it be sufficient for you that the entire multitude is of holy ones, and that the Lord is among them. Why do you elevate yourselves above the people of the Lord?”
They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”
4 When Moses had heard this, he fell prone on his face.
When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.
5 And speaking to Korah, and to the entire multitude, he said: “In the morning, the Lord will cause it to be known who belongs to him, and which holy ones he will join to himself. And whomever he will choose, they shall be close to him.
Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one He chooses, He will bring near to Himself.
6 Therefore, do this: Each one of you, Korah and all your associates, take your censer,
You, Korah, and all your followers are to do as follows: Take censers,
7 and drawing fire into it tomorrow, place incense upon it before the Lord. And whomever he will choose, the same shall be holy. You sons of Levi have been raised up greatly.”
and tomorrow you are to place fire and incense in them in the presence of the LORD. Then the man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. It is you sons of Levi who have taken too much upon yourselves!”
8 And he said again to Korah: “Listen, sons of Levi.
Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you sons of Levi!
9 Is it a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has separated you from all the people, and has joined you to himself, so that you would serve him in the rituals of the tabernacle, and stand before gatherings of the people, and minister to him?
Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel and brought you near to Himself to perform the work at the LORD’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them?
10 Was the reason that he caused you and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, to approach him, so that you would even claim for yourselves the priesthood too,
He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.
11 and so that your entire group would stand against the Lord? For what is Aaron that you should murmur against him?”
Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the LORD! As for Aaron, who is he that you should grumble against him?”
12 Therefore, Moses sent to call for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, who responded: “We will not come.
Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come!
13 Is it a small matter to you, that you have led us away from a land that was flowing with milk and honey, so as to kill us in the desert, unless you could also be a ruler over us?
Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also appoint yourself as ruler over us?
14 You have led us, it is true, to a land that flows with streams of milk and honey, and you have given us possession of fields and vineyards. But will you also tear out our eyes? We will not come.”
Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!”
15 And Moses, being very angry, said to the Lord: “Do not look with favor on their sacrifices. You know that I have not accepted from them, at any time, so much as a young donkey, nor have I afflicted any of them.”
Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”
16 And he said to Korah: “You and your congregation, stand alone before the Lord, and apart from Aaron, tomorrow.
And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.
17 Let each one of you take censers, and place incense in them, offering to the Lord two hundred fifty censers. Let Aaron also hold his censer.”
Each man is to take his censer, place incense in it, and present it before the LORD—250 censers. You and Aaron are to present your censers as well.”
18 When they had done this, Moses and Aaron stood up,
So each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
19 and, having crowded the entire multitude close to them at the door of the tabernacle, the glory of the Lord appeared to them all.
When Korah had gathered his whole assembly against them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole congregation.
20 And the Lord, speaking to Moses and Aaron, said:
And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
21 “Separate yourselves from the midst of this congregation, so that I may suddenly destroy them.”
“Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.”
22 But they fell prone on their faces, and they said, “O most strong One, the God of the spirits of all flesh, should your anger rage against all, for the sin of one?”
But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”
23 And the Lord said to Moses:
Then the LORD said to Moses,
24 “Instruct the entire people to separate from the tents of Korah, and Dathan, and Abiram.”
“Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram. And the elders of Israel followed him,
So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 and he said to the crowd, “Withdraw from the tabernacles of these impious men, and touch nothing which pertains to them, lest you become involved in their sins.”
And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”
27 And when they had withdrawn from their tents all around, Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their pavilions, with their wives and children, and with all their associates.
So they moved away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram had come out and stood at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children and infants.
28 And Moses said: “By this shall you know that the Lord has sent me to do all that you discern, and that I have not brought these things out of my own heart:
Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things, for it was not my own doing:
29 If these men pass away by the common death of men, or if they will be visited by a scourge, of a kind by which others are often visited, then the Lord did not send me.
If these men die a natural death, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me.
30 But if the Lord accomplishes something new, so that the earth opens its mouth and swallows them whole, along with everything that belongs to them, and they descend alive into the underworld, then you shall know that they have blasphemed the Lord.” (Sheol h7585)
But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.” (Sheol h7585)
31 Therefore, as soon as he had ceased to speak, the earth broke open under their feet.
As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open,
32 And opening its mouth, it devoured them with their tabernacles and their entire substance.
and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions.
33 And they descended alive, the ground closing around them, into the underworld, and they perished from the midst of the multitude. (Sheol h7585)
They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. (Sheol h7585)
34 Yet truly, all of Israel, which was standing all around, took flight at the clamor of those who were perishing, saying, “Lest perhaps the earth may swallow us whole also.”
At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!”
35 Then, too, a fire, going forth from the Lord, put to death the two hundred fifty men who were offering the incense.
And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
36 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Then the LORD said to Moses,
37 “Instruct Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to take up the censers which lie in the burning, and to scatter the fire to one side and another, because they were sanctified
“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the censers from the flames and to scatter the coals far away, because the censers are holy.
38 in the deaths of these sinners. And let him form them into plates, and affix them to the altar, because incense had been offered in them to the Lord, and they were sanctified, and so that the sons of Israel may discern in them a sign and a memorial.”
As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.”
39 Therefore, Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, by which those whom the burning devoured had made an offering, and he formed them into plates, affixing them to the altar,
So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar,
40 so that the sons of Israel would have, thereafter, something to admonish them, lest any stranger, or anyone who is not of the offspring of Aaron, might approach to offer incense to the Lord, and lest he endure what happened to Korah, and to all his congregation, when the Lord spoke to Moses.
just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his followers.
41 Then, the following day, the entire multitude of the sons of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying: “You have put to death the people of the Lord.”
The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!”
42 And when there arose a sedition, and the tumult increased,
But when the congregation gathered against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the Tent of Meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared.
43 Moses and Aaron fled to the tabernacle of the covenant. But after they had entered it, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting,
44 And the Lord said to Moses:
and the LORD said to Moses,
45 “Withdraw from the midst of this multitude, and I will destroy them immediately.” And while they were lying on the ground,
“Get away from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” And Moses and Aaron fell facedown.
46 Moses said to Aaron: “Take the censer, and draw fire into it from the altar; place incense upon it, and continue on, quickly, to the people, to pray for them. For already wrath has gone forth from the Lord, and the scourge rages.”
Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has begun.”
47 When Aaron had done this, and he had run into the midst of the multitude, which the burning fire was now destroying, he offered the incense.
So Aaron took the censer as Moses had ordered and ran into the midst of the assembly. And seeing that the plague had begun among the people, he offered the incense and made atonement for the people.
48 And standing between the dead and the living, he prayed for the people, and the scourge ceased.
He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted.
49 But the number of those who were struck down was fourteen thousand men, and seven hundred, aside from those who had perished in the sedition of Korah.
But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah.
50 And Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, after the destruction quieted.
Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, since the plague had been halted.
