Numbers 16
1 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:
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 before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, 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 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?
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 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
And Moses, hearing this, went down on his face;
5 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.
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 company;
So do this: let Korah and all his band take vessels for burning perfumes;
7 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.
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 unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
And Moses said to Korah, Give ear now, you sons of Levi:
9 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God 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?
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 And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye 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 both thou and all thy company are gathered together against Yhwh: and what is Aaron, 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: which 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 that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince 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 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.
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 And Moses was very wroth, and said unto Yhwh, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one donkey 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 unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before Yhwh, 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 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.
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 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.
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 all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of Yhwh appeared unto all the congregation.
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 Yhwh spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them.
22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
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 Yhwh spake unto Moses, saying,
And the Lord said to Moses,
24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle 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 unto 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 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.
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 So they gat 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.
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 Yhwh hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
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 the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then Yhwh hath 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 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)
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, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder 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 her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
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 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)
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 the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
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 Yhwh, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
Then fire came out from the Lord, burning up the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the perfume.
36 And Yhwh spake unto Moses, saying,
And the Lord said to Moses,
37 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.
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 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.
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 brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; 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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of meeting.
44 And Yhwh spake unto Moses, saying,
And the Lord said to Moses,
45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon 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 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.
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 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.
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 and seven hundred, beside them that died about 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 unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: 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.
