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,
And Core the son of Isaar the son of Caath the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiron, sons of Eliab, and Aun the son of Phaleth the son of Ruben, spoke;
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.
and rose up before Moses, and two hundred and fifty men of the sons of Israel, chiefs of the assembly, chosen councillors, and men of renown.
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 rose up against Moses and Aaron, and said, Let it be enough for you that all the congregation [are] holy, and the Lord [is] among them; and why do you set up yourselves against the congregation of the Lord?
4 When Moses had heard this, he fell prone on his face.
And when Moses heard it, he fell on his face.
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.
And he spoke to Core and all his assembly, saying, God has visited and known those that are his and who are holy, and has brought them to himself; and whom he has chosen for himself, he has brought to himself.
6 Therefore, do this: Each one of you, Korah and all your associates, take your censer,
This do you: take to yourselves censers, Core and all his company;
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 put fire on them, and put incense on them before the Lord to-morrow; and it shall come to pass that the man whom the Lord has chosen, he shall be holy: let it be enough for you, you sons of Levi.
8 And he said again to Korah: “Listen, sons of Levi.
And Moses said to Core, Listen to me, 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 a little thing for you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, and brought you near to himself to minister in the services of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the tabernacle to minister for 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,
And he has brought you near and all your brethren the sons of Levi with you, and do you seek to be priests also?
11 and so that your entire group would stand against the Lord? For what is Aaron that you should murmur against him?”
Thus [it is with] you and all your congregation which is gathered together against God: and who is Aaron, that you murmur against him?
12 Therefore, Moses sent to call for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, who responded: “We will not come.
And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiron sons of Eliab; and they said, We will not go up.
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 a little thing that you have brought us up to a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, [and] that you altogether rule 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.”
You are a prince, and have you brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, and have you given us an inheritance of land and vineyards? would you have put out the eyes of those men? we will not go up.
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.”
And Moses was exceeding indignant, and said to the Lord, Do you take no heed to their sacrifice: I have not taken away the desire of any one of them, neither have I hurt any 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 Core, Sanctify your company, and be ready before the Lord, you and Aaron and they, to-morrow.
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.”
And take each man his censer, and you shall put incense upon them, and shall bring each one his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers, and you and Aaron shall bring each his censer.
18 When they had done this, Moses and Aaron stood up,
And each man took his censer, and they put on them fire, and laid incense on them; and Moses and Aaron stood by the doors of the tabernacle of witness.
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.
And Core raised up against them all his company by the door of the tabernacle of witness; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.
20 And the Lord, speaking to Moses and Aaron, said:
And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
21 “Separate yourselves from the midst of this congregation, so that I may suddenly destroy them.”
Separate your selves from the midst of this congregation, and I will consume them at once.
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?”
And they fell on their faces, and said, O God, the God of spirits and of all flesh, if one man has sinned, [shall] the wrath of the Lord [be] upon the whole congregation?
23 And the Lord said to Moses:
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
24 “Instruct the entire people to separate from the tents of Korah, and Dathan, and Abiram.”
Speak to the congregation, saying, Depart from the company of Core round about.
25 And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram. And the elders of Israel followed him,
And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiron, and all the elders of Israel went with 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 spoke to the congregation, saying, Separate yourselves from the tents of these stubborn men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, lest you be consumed with them in all their sin.
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.
And they stood aloof from the tent of Core round about; and Dathan and Abiron went forth and stood by the doors of their tents, and their wives and their children and their store.
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:
And Moses said, Hereby shall you know that the Lord has sent me to perform all these works, that [I have] not [done them] of myself.
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 shall die according to the death of all men, if also their visitation shall be according to the visitation 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 shall show by a wonder, and the earth shall open her mouth and swallow them up, and their houses, and their tents, and all that belongs to them, and they shall go down alive into Hades, then you shall know that these men have provoked the Lord. (Sheol h7585)
31 Therefore, as soon as he had ceased to speak, the earth broke open under their feet.
And when he ceased speaking all these words, the ground clave asunder beneath them.
32 And opening its mouth, it devoured them with their tabernacles and their entire substance.
And the ground opened, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that were with Core, and their cattle.
33 And they descended alive, the ground closing around them, into the underworld, and they perished from the midst of the multitude. (Sheol h7585)
And they went down and all that they had, alive into Hades; and the ground covered them, and they perished from the midst of the congregation. (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.”
And all Israel round about them fled from the sound of them, for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up [also].
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 went forth from the Lord, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
36 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
And 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
and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, Take up the brazen censers out of the midst of the men that have been burnt, and scatter the strange fire yonder, for they have sanctified the censers
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.”
of these sinners against their own souls, and do you make them beaten plates a covering to the altar, because they were brought before the Lord and hallowed; and they became a sign to the children of Israel.
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,
And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest took the brazen censers, which the men who had been burnt brought near, and they put them as a covering on 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.
a memorial to the children of Israel that no stranger might draw near, who is not of the seed of Aaron, to offer incense before the Lord; so he shall not be as Core and as they that conspired with him, as the Lord spoke to him by the hand of Moses.
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.”
And the children of Israel murmured the next day against Moses and Aaron, saying, You have killed the people of the Lord.
42 And when there arose a sedition, and the tumult increased,
And it came to pass when the congregation combined against Moses and Aaron, that they ran impetuously to the tabernacle of witness; and 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.
And Moses and Aaron went in, in front of the tabernacle of witness.
44 And the Lord said to Moses:
And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
45 “Withdraw from the midst of this multitude, and I will destroy them immediately.” And while they were lying on the ground,
Depart out of the midst of this congregation, and I will consume them at once: and they fell upon their faces.
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.”
And Moses said to Aaron, Take a censer, and put on it fire from the altar, and put incense on it, and carry it away quickly into the camp, and make atonement for them; for wrath is gone forth from the presence of the Lord, it has begun to destroy the people.
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.
And Aaron took as Moses spoke to him, and ran among the congregation, for already the plague had begun among the people; and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
48 And standing between the dead and the living, he prayed for the people, and the scourge ceased.
And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague ceased.
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.
And they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides those that died on account of Core.
50 And Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, after the destruction quieted.
And Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the tabernacle of witness, and the plague ceased.
