Numbers 16
1 Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi tried to take over leadership, along with Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On, son of Peleth, who were from the tribe of Reuben.
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 They rebelled against Moses, and were joined by 250 well-respected Israelite leaders and members of the assembly.
a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly.
3 They joined together in opposition to Moses and Aaron, telling them, “You've taken too much power for yourselves! Every one of the Israelites is holy, and the Lord is among them. So why do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly?”
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 heard what they were saying, he fell facedown on the ground.
When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.
5 Then he told Korah and all those with him, “In the morning the Lord is going to make it clear who is his and who is holy, and allow that person to approach him. He will only allow whoever he chooses to approach 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 This is what you, Korah, and everyone with you are going to do. Take some incense burners,
You, Korah, and all your followers are to do as follows: Take censers,
7 and tomorrow put incense in them and set it on fire in the presence of the Lord. Then the man the Lord chooses is the one who is holy. It is you Levites who are taking too much power for yourselves!”
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 Moses also told Korah, “Listen, you Levites!
Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you sons of Levi!
9 Do you think it's something insignificant that the God of Israel chose you from all the other Israelites and allowed you to approach him and carry out the work in the Lord's Tabernacle, to stand before the Israelites and serve them?
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 He has allowed you the privilege of approaching him, Korah, you and all the other Levites, but now you want to have the priesthood as well!
He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.
11 So in reality you and those who have joined you are fighting against the Lord—because who is Aaron that you should complain about 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 Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they replied, “We're not going to appear before you!
Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come!
13 Haven't you done enough by taking us away from a land flowing with milk and honey in order to kill us out here in the desert? Do you have to make yourself a dictator as well, someone to rule 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 On top of that you haven't taken us to a land flowing with milk and honey or given us fields and vineyards to own. Do you really think you can fool everyone? No, we will not attend!”
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 Moses got really angry and said to the Lord, “Don't accept their offerings. I have never taken even a donkey from them or treated any of them badly.”
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 Moses told Korah, “You and all those who have joined you must appear before the Lord tomorrow—all of you and Aaron too.
And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.
17 Each one will take his incense burner, put incense in it, and offer it before the Lord. All 250 of you will use your incense burners and Aaron will as well.”
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 So each one took his incense burner, put incense in it, set it on fire, and stood together with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
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 When Korah had gathered all his rebellious group at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Lord's glory appeared before the whole congregation.
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 The Lord told Moses and Aaron,
And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
21 “Step away from these Israelites and I will destroy them right away.”
“Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.”
22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown on the ground said, “God—God of everything that lives—when it's just one man who sins, do you have to be angry with the everybody?”
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 Then the Lord told Moses,
Then the LORD said to Moses,
24 “Tell the people to move away from the homes of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
“Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 So Moses went over to Dathan and Abiram, and the Israelite elders of Israel followed him.
So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 He ordered the people, “Move away from the tents of these wicked men and don't touch anything that belongs to them, otherwise you will be destroyed along with them in all 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 The people moved away from the homes of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances to their tents along with their wives, children and little ones.
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 Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord did send me to carry out everything I've done, for it wasn't anything I thought up.
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 die a natural death, experiencing the destiny of every human being, then the Lord didn't sent 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 does something totally different, and the earth opens up and swallows them down along with everything that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have acted with contempt to 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 Immediately Moses finished saying all this the ground under the rebels split apart,
As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open,
32 and the earth opened up and swallowed them and their households down, as well as everyone who was there with Korah and everything that belonged to them.
and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions.
33 They went down alive into Sheol with all that they had. The earth closed over them, and they were no more. (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 When they heard their cries, all the Israelites nearby ran away, shouting, “Watch out! The earth could swallow us too!”
At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!”
35 Fire burst out from the Lord and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense.
And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
36 Then the Lord said to Moses,
Then the LORD said to Moses,
37 “Tell Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, to collect the holy incense burners from among those who have been burned up, and scatter the coals used for the incense well away from the camp.
“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 Have the incense burners of those who sinned at the expense of their own lives hammered into metal sheets as a covering for the altar, because they were offered before the Lord, and so have become holy. They will be a reminder to Israelites of what happened.”
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 So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze incense burners used by those who had been burned up, and had them hammered out as a covering for 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 following the instructions given to him from the Lord through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one who is not a descendant of Aaron should come and offer incense before the Lord, otherwise they could end up like Korah and those with him.
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 The next day all the Israelites complained to Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord's people!”
The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!”
42 But as the people gathered to confront them, Moses and Aaron went over to the Tent of Meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it and the Lord's glory appeared.
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 went and stood at the front of the Tent of Meeting,
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 “Get away from these people and I will finish them off immediately.” Moses and Aaron fell facedown 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 told Aaron, “Put some coals from the altar and some incense in your incense burner. Then run to the people and make them right before the Lord, for the Lord is angry with them and a plague has started.”
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 Aaron took the incense burner just as Moses had told him and ran into the middle of the assembly. He saw that the plague had started to affect the people so he offered the incense and made the people right with the Lord.
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 He stood between those who had died and those who were still alive, and the plague was stopped.
He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted.
49 However, 14,700 died from the plague in addition to those who'd died because of Korah.
But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah.
50 Then Aaron went back to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting because the plague had been stopped.
Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, since the plague had been halted.
