< Numbers 16 >
1 Now Korach, the son of Yizhar, the son of Kehath, the son of Levi, was presumptuous, together with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben:
2 So that they rose up before Moses, with certain men of the children of Israel, in number two hundred and fifty; [who were] princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown.
3 And they assembled themselves against Moses, and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye assume too much; for the whole of the congregation are all of them holy, and the Lord is among them; wherefore then will you lift yourselves up above the congregation of the Lord?
4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
5 And he spoke unto Korach and unto all his company, saying, Tomorrow, —then will the Lord make known who is his, and who is holy, that he may cause them to come near unto him; and him whom he shall choose will he cause to come near unto him.
6 This do ye: Take yourselves censers, Korach and all his company;
7 And put therein fire, and put upon them incense before the Lord, tomorrow; and it shall be that the man whom the Lord will choose, he shall be the holy one; you assume too much, ye sons of Levi.
8 And Moses said unto Korach, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
9 It is too little for you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near unto himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister for them?
10 And he hath brought thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and now will ye seek the priesthood also?
11 For which cause [beware], thou and all thy company that are gathered together against the Lord; for Aaron, what is he, that ye should murmur against him:
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, We will not come up:
13 Is it too little that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that thou wilt assume to make thyself also a prince over us?
14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, and thou hast not given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou bore out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
15 And this displeased Moses greatly, and he said unto the Lord, Have no respect unto their offering: I have not taken away an ass of any one of them, nor have I done wrong to any one of them.
16 And Moses said unto Korach, Thou and all thy company, be ye before the Lord, thou, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow:
17 And take ye every man his censer, and put incense upon them, and bring ye near before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each his censer.
18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire on them, and laid incense thereupon; and they stood at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.—
19 And Korach assembled against them all the congregation unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; and the glory of the Lord then appeared unto all the congregation.
20 And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
21 Separate yourselves from the midst of this congregation, and I will make an end of them in a moment.
22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, this one man doth sin, and with all the congregation wouldst thou be wroth!
23 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you away from about the dwelling of Korach, Dathan, and Abiram.
25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and there went after him the elders of Israel.
26 And he spoke unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing which belongeth to them, lest ye be destroyed through all their sins.
27 So they got away from the dwelling of Korach, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, standing [boldly] at the door of their tents, with their wives, and their sons, and their little ones.
28 And Moses said, Through this shall ye know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these deeds; that [I have] not done them out of my own heart.
29 If these men die as all men die, and if the visitation of all men be visited on them: then hath the Lord not sent me.
30 But if the Lord do create a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertaineth unto them, and they go down alive into the pit: then shall ye understand that these men have provoked the Lord. (Sheol )
31 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground that was under them was cloven asunder:
32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korach, and all their goods.
33 And they went down, they, and all they that appertained to them, alive into the pit; and the earth closed over them, and they disappeared from the midst of the congregation. (Sheol )
34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at their cry; for they said, Perhaps the earth may swallow us up [also].
35 And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that had offered the incense.
36 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
37 Speak unto Elazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he lift up the censers out of the burning, and throw out the fire far away; for they have been hallowed:
38 The censers of these sinners against their own lives; and they shall make of them broad plates for a covering for the altar; for they brought them near before the Lord, and they have thus become hallowed; and they shall serve for a sign unto the children of Israel.
39 And Elazar the priest took the copper censers, which they that were burnt had brought near; and they beat them out for a covering unto the altar:
40 As a memorial unto the children of Israel, in order that no stranger, who is not of the seed of Aaron, should come near to burn incense before the Lord; that he become not as Korach, and as his company; as the Lord had spoken to him by the hand of Moses.
41 And all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, on the morrow, saying, It is you who have caused the people of the Lord to die.
42 And it came to pass, when the congregation assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation, and, behold, the cloud covered it; and the glory of the Lord appeared.
43 And Moses came with Aaron before the tabernacle of the congregation.
44 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
45 Remove yourselves from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
46 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take the censer, and put therein fire from off the altar, and put on incense, and carry [it] quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them; for the wrath is gone forth from the Lord; the plague hath begun.
47 And Aaron took as Moses had commanded, and he ran into the midst of the assembly; and, behold, the plague had begun among the people: and he put on the incense, and made an atonement for the people.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
49 And those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides those that had died about the matter of Korach.
50 And Aaron returned unto Moses, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, after the plague had been stayed.
