< Numbers 16 >

1 And Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, made bold, and [with him] Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, the sons of Reuben;
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,
2 and they rose up against Moses, with two hundred and fifty men of the children of Israel, princes of the assembly, summoned to the council, men of renown;
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.
3 and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, It is enough; for all the assembly, all of them are holy, and Jehovah is among them; and why do ye lift up yourselves above the congregation of Jehovah?
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?
4 When Moses heard this, he fell on his face.
And Moses, hearing this, went down on his face;
5 And he spoke to Korah and to all his band, saying, Even to-morrow will Jehovah make known who is his, and who is holy; and he will cause him to come near to him; and him whom he has chosen, him will he cause to come near to him.
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.
6 This do: take you censers, Korah, and all his band,
So do this: let Korah and all his band take vessels for burning perfumes;
7 and put fire therein, and lay incense thereon before Jehovah to-morrow; and it shall be that the man whom Jehovah doth choose, he shall be holy. It is enough, ye sons of Levi!
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.
8 And Moses said to Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi!
And Moses said to Korah, Give ear now, you sons of Levi:
9 Is it too little for you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the assembly of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the work of the tabernacle of Jehovah, and to stand before the assembly to minister to them?
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;
10 — that he has brought thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee; and seek ye now the priesthood also?
Letting you, and all your brothers the sons of Levi, come near to him? and would you now be priests?
11 For which cause thou and all thy band are banded together against Jehovah; and Aaron, who is he that ye murmur against him?
So you and all your band have come together against the Lord; and Aaron, who is he, that you are crying out against him?
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, We will not come up!
Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: and they said, We will not come up:
13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that thou must make thyself altogether a ruler over us?
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?
14 Moreover, thou hast not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up!
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.
15 Then Moses was very wroth, and said to Jehovah, Have no regard to their oblation: not one ass have I taken from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
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.
16 And Moses said to Korah, Be thou and all thy band before Jehovah, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow.
And Moses said to Korah, You and all your band are to come before the Lord tomorrow, you and they and Aaron:
17 And take each his censer, and put incense thereon, and present before Jehovah every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; and thou, and Aaron, each his censer.
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.
18 And they took each his censer, and put fire on them, and laid incense thereon, and stood before the entrance to the tent of meeting, as well as Moses and Aaron.
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.
19 And Korah gathered the whole assembly against them to the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of Jehovah appeared to all the assembly.
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.
20 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
21 Separate yourselves from the midst of this assembly, and I will consume them in a moment.
Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them.
22 And they fell on their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh! shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with the whole assembly?
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?
23 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
And the Lord said to Moses,
24 Speak unto the assembly, saying, Get you up from about the habitation of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
Say to the people, Come away from the tent 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 responsible men of Israel went with him.
26 And he spoke to the assembly, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye perish in all their sins.
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.
27 And they got up from the habitation of Koran, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side. And Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the entrance of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little ones.
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.
28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that Jehovah has sent me to do all these deeds, for they are not out of my own heart:
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.
29 if these men die as all men die, and are visited with the visitation of all men, Jehovah has not sent me;
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.
30 but if Jehovah make a new thing, and the ground open its mouth, and swallow them up, and all that they have, and they go down alive into Sheol, then ye shall know that these men have despised Jehovah. (Sheol h7585)
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)
31 And it came to pass when he had ended speaking all these words, that the ground clave apart that was under them.
And while these words were on his lips, the earth under them was parted in two;
32 And the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that belonged to Korah, and all their property.
And the earth, opening her mouth, took them in, with their families, and all the men who were joined to Korah, and their goods.
33 And they went down, they and all that they had, alive into Sheol, and the earth covered them; and they perished from among the congregation. (Sheol h7585)
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)
34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at their cry; for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up!
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.
35 And there came out a fire from Jehovah, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that had presented incense.
Then fire came out from the Lord, burning up the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the perfume.
36 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
And the Lord said to Moses,
37 Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning; and scatter the fire afar; for they are hallowed,
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;
38 the censers of these sinners who have forfeited their life; and they shall make them into broad plates for the covering of the altar; for they presented them before Jehovah, therefore they are hallowed; and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
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.
39 And Eleazar the priest took the copper censers, which they that were burnt had presented; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
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:
40 as a memorial to the children of Israel, that no stranger who is not of the seed of Aaron come near to burn incense before Jehovah, that he be not as Korah, and as his band, — as Jehovah had said to him through Moses.
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.
41 And the whole assembly of the children of Israel murmured on the morrow against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of Jehovah.
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.
42 And it came to pass, when the assembly was gathered together against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of Jehovah appeared.
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.
43 And Moses and Aaron went before the tent of meeting.
Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of meeting.
44 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
And the Lord said to Moses,
45 Get you up from the midst of this assembly, and I will consume them in a moment. And they fell on their faces.
Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them. And they went down on their faces.
46 And Moses said to Aaron, Take the censer, and put fire thereon from off the altar, and lay on incense, and carry it quickly to the assembly, and make atonement for them; for there is wrath gone out from Jehovah: the plague is begun.
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.
47 And Aaron took as Moses had said, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and behold, the plague had begun among the people; and he put on incense, and made atonement for the people.
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.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
And he took his place between the dead and the living: and the disease was stopped.
49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides them that had died because of the matter of Korah.
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.
50 And Aaron returned to Moses to the entrance of the tent of meeting; and the plague was stayed.
Then Aaron went back to Moses to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the disease came to a stop.

< Numbers 16 >