Numbers 16
1 And behold Core the son of Isaar, the son of Caath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab, and Hon the son of Pheleth of the children of Ruben,
Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
2 Rose up against Moses, and with them two hundred and fifty others of the children of Israel, leading men of the synagogue, and who in the time of assembly were called by name.
And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
3 And when they had stood up against Moses and Aaron, they said: Let it be enough for you, that all the multitude consisteth of holy ones, and the Lord is among them: Why lift you up yourselves above the people of the Lord?
And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and YHWH is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of YHWH?
4 When Moses heard this, he fell flat on his face:
And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
5 And speaking to Core and all the multitude, he said: In the morning the Lord will make known who belong to him, and the holy he will join to himself: and whom he shall choose, they shall approach to him.
And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow YHWH will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.
6 Do this therefore: Take every man of you your censers, thou Core, and all thy company.
This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
7 And putting fire in them tomorrow, put incense upon it before the Lord: and whomsoever he shall choose, the same shall be holy: you take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.
And put fire therein, and put incense in them before YHWH to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom YHWH doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.
8 And he said again to Core: Hear ye sons of Levi.
And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
9 Is it a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath spared you from all the people, and joined you to himself, that you should serve him in the service of the tabernacle, and should stand before the congregation of the people, and should minister to him?
Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the Elohim of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of YHWH, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?
10 Did he therefore make thee and all thy brethren the sons of Levi to approach unto him, that you should challenge to yourselves the priesthood also,
And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?
11 And that all thy company should stand against the Lord? for what is Aaron that you murmur against him?
For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against YHWH: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?
12 Then Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab. But they answered: We will not come.
And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:
13 Is it a small matter to thee, that thou hast brought us out of a land that flowed with milk and honey, to kill us in the desert, except thou rule also like a lord over us?
Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?
14 Thou best brought us indeed into a land that floweth with rivers of milk and honey, and hast given us possessions of fields and vineyards; wilt thou also pull out our eyes? We will not come.
Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth 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.
15 Moses therefore being very angry, raid to the Lord: Respect not their sacrifices: thou knowest that I have not taken of them so much as a young ass at any time, nor have injured any of them.
And Moses was very wroth, and said unto YHWH, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
16 And he said to Core: Do thou and thy congregation stand apart before the Lord tomorrow, and Aaron apart.
And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before YHWH, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:
17 Take every one of you censers, and put incense upon them, offering to the Lord two hundred and fifty censers: let Aaron also hold his censer.
And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before YHWH every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.
18 When they had done this, Moses and Aaron standing,
And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.
19 And had drawn up all the multitude against them to the door of the tabernacle, the glory of the Lord appeared to them all.
And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of YHWH appeared unto all the congregation.
20 And the Lord speaking to Moses and Aaron, said:
And YHWH spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may presently destroy them.
Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
22 They fell flat on their face, and said: O most mighty, the God of the spirits of all flesh, for one man’s sin shall thy wrath rage against all?
And they fell upon their faces, and said, O Elohim, the El of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
23 And the Lord said to Moses:
And YHWH spake unto Moses, saying,
24 Command the whole people to separate themselves from the tents of Core and Dathan and Abiron.
Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
25 And Moses arose, and went to Dathan and Abiron: and the ancients of Israel following him,
And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 He said to the multitude: Depart from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be involved in their sins.
And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
27 And when they were departed from their tents round about, Dathan and Abiron coming out stood in the entry of their pavilions with their wives and children, and all the people.
So they got up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
28 And Moses said: By this you shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all things that you see, and that I have not forged them of my own head:
And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that YHWH hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
29 If these men die the common death of men, and if they be visited with a plague, wherewith others also are wont to be visited, the Lord did not send me.
If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then YHWH hath not sent me.
30 But if the Lord do a new thing, and the earth opening her mouth swallow them down, and all things that belong to them, and they go down alive into hell, you shall know that they have blasphemed the Lord. (Sheol h7585)
But if YHWH make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked YHWH. (Sheol h7585)
31 And immediately as he had made an end of speaking, the earth broke asunder under their feet:
And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
32 And opening her mouth, devoured them with their tents and all their substance.
And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
33 And they went down alive into hell the ground closing upon them, and they perished from among the people. (Sheol h7585)
They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. (Sheol h7585)
34 But all Israel, that was standing round about, fled at the cry of them that were perishing: saying: Lest perhaps the earth swallow us up also.
And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
35 And a fire coming out from the Lord, destroyed the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense.
And there came out a fire from YHWH, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
36 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
And YHWH spake unto Moses, saying,
37 Command Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers that lie in the burning, and to scatter the fire of one side and the other: because they are sanctified
Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.
38 In the deaths of the sinners: and let him beat them into plates, and fasten them to the altar, because incense hath been offered in them to the Lord, and they are sanctified, that the children of Israel may see them for a sign and a memorial.
The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before YHWH, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
39 Then Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers, wherein they had offered, whom the burning fire had devoured, and beat them into plates, fastening them to the altar:
And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
40 That the children of Israel might have for the time to come wherewith they should be admonished, that no stranger or any one that is not of seed of Aaron should come near to offer incense to the Lord, lest he should suffer as Core suffered, and all his congregation, according as the Lord spoke to Moses.
To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before YHWH; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as YHWH said to him by the hand of Moses.
41 The following day all the multitude of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying: You have killed the people of the Lord.
But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of YHWH.
42 And when there arose a sedition, and the tumult increased,
And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of YHWH appeared.
43 Moses and Aaron fled to the tabernacle of the covenant. And when the were gone into it, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
44 And the Lord said to Moses:
And YHWH spake unto Moses, saying,
45 Get you out from the midst of this multitude, this moment will I destroy them. And as they were lying on the ground,
Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
46 Moses said to Aaron: Take the censer, and putting fire in it from the altar, put incense upon it, and go quickly to the people to pray for them: for already wrath is gone out from the Lord, and the plague rageth.
And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from YHWH; the plague is begun.
47 When Aaron had done this, and had run to the midst of the multitude which the burning fire was now destroying, he offered the incense:
And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was 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 plague ceased.
And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
49 And the number of them that were slain was fourteen thousand and seven hundred men, besides them that had perished in the sedition of Core.
Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
50 And Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant after the destruction was over.
And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
