Numbers 16
1 One day Korah, who was the son of Izhar and a descendant of Levi’s son Kohath, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, who were the sons of Eliab, and On, who was the son of Peleth. Those three men were from the tribe of Reuben.
And Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, takes both Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben,
2 Korah and those other three men incited 250 other people who were leaders among the Israeli people to join them in rebelling against Moses/me.
and they rise up before Moses with men of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, called of the convention, men of renown,
3 They came together to criticize Aaron and Moses/me. They said to them/us, “You two are using more [authority] than you should! Yahweh has set apart all of us Israeli people, and he is with/helping all of us. So why do you act as though you are more important than the rest of us people who belong to Yahweh [RHQ]?”
and they are assembled against Moses and against Aaron, and say to them, “Enough of you! For all the congregation—all of them [are] holy, and YHWH [is] in their midst; and why do you lift yourselves up above the assembly of YHWH?”
4 When Moses/I heard what they were saying, he/I prostrated himself/myself on the ground.
And Moses hears, and falls on his face,
5 Then he/I said to Korah and those [Israeli leaders] who were with Korah, “Tomorrow morning Yahweh will show us whom he has chosen to be his [priest], and who is holy and allowed to come near to him. Yahweh will permit [only] those whom he chooses to come into his presence.
and he speaks to Korah and to all his congregation, saying, “Indeed, [in the] morning YHWH may cause [you] to know those who are His and him who is holy, and has brought [him] near to Him; even him whom He fixes on He brings near to Him.
6 So Korah, tomorrow you and those who are with you must prepare your pans to burn incense.
Do this: take censers for yourselves—Korah and all his company—
7 Then you must light a fire in them and burn the incense in the presence of Yahweh. Then we will see which one of us Yahweh has chosen to be his holy servant. It is you men who are descendants of Levi who are trying to use more [authority] than you should!”
and put fire in them and put incense on them before YHWH tomorrow, and it has been, the man whom YHWH chooses, he [is] the holy one—enough of you, sons of Levi!”
8 Then Moses/I spoke again to Korah. He/I said, “You men who are descendants of Levi, listen to me!
And Moses says to Korah, “Now hear, sons of Levi;
9 The God of us Israelis has chosen all of you to be close to him in order that you can work for him at his Sacred Tent and serve the people. (Is that unimportant/Does that mean nothing) to you [RHQ]?
is it little to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the Dwelling Place of YHWH, and to stand before the congregation to serve them?
10 Yahweh has brought you, [Korah], and your fellow descendants of Levi, near to himself. Now are you demanding to become priests also?
Indeed, He brings you near, and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, with you—and you have also sought the priesthood!
11 It is really Yahweh against whom you and your fellow descendants of Levi are rebelling. Aaron is not the one about whom you are really complaining [RHQ].”
Therefore, you and all your congregation are meeting against YHWH; and Aaron, what [is] he, that you murmur against him?”
12 Then Moses/I summoned Dathan and Abiram, but [they refused to come]. They [sent a message] saying, “We will not come to you!
And Moses sends to call for Dathan and for Abiram, sons of Eliab, and they say, “We do not come up!
13 You brought us out of Egypt, which was a very fertile [IDM] land, in order to cause us to die here in this desert. That was bad. But now you are also trying to boss us [RHQ], and that is worse.
Is it little that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to put us to death in a wilderness, that you also certainly make yourself prince over us?
14 You have not given us a new land to live in, a land that has good fields and vineyards. You are only trying to [RHQ] trick these people. So we will not come to you.”
Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor do you give an inheritance of field and vineyard to us; do you pick out the eyes of these men? We do not come up!”
15 Then Moses/I became very angry. He/I said to Yahweh, “Do not accept the grain offerings that they have brought. I have not taken anything from them, not even one donkey, and I have never done anything wrong to them, [so they have no reason to complain about me].”
And it is very displeasing to Moses, and he says to YHWH, “Do not turn to their present; I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I afflicted one of them.”
16 Then Moses/I said to Korah, “You and all those who are with you must come here tomorrow and stand in front of Yahweh. Aaron will also be here.
And Moses says to Korah, “You and all your congregation, be [present] before YHWH—you, and they, and Aaron—tomorrow;
17 You and all the 250 men who are with you must each take a pan in which to burn incense, and put incense in it, to [burn it to be] an offering to Yahweh. Aaron will do the same thing.”
and let each take his censer and you have put incense on them, and each has brought his censer near before YHWH—two hundred and fifty censers; indeed, you and Aaron, each [with] his censer.”
18 So [the next day] each of those men got a pan to burn incense. They put in it incense and hot coals to light it, and then they all stood at the entrance of the Sacred Tent with Aaron and Moses/me.
And they each take his censer, and put fire on them, and lay incense on them, and they stand at the opening of the Tent of Meeting with Moses and Aaron.
19 Then Korah summoned all the people who supported him and who were against Moses/me, and they also gathered at the entrance of the tent. Then the glory of Yahweh appeared to all of them/us,
And Korah assembles all the congregation against them at the opening of the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of YHWH is seen by all the congregation.
20 and Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
And YHWH speaks to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
21 “Get away from all these people, in order that I can get rid of them immediately!”
“Be separated from the midst of this congregation, and I consume them in a moment”;
22 But Aaron and Moses/I prostrated themselves/ourselves on the ground. We pleaded with Yahweh, saying, “God, you are the one who caused all these people to live [MTY]. Only one of these men has sinned; so, (is it right for you to be angry with all the people?/it is not right for you to be angry with all the people!) [RHQ]”
and they fall on their faces, and say, “God, God of the spirits of all flesh—one man sins, and are You angry against all the congregation?”
23 Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,
24 “[Okay], but tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
“Speak to the congregation, saying, Go up from around the dwelling place of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 So Moses/I stood up and went to the tents of Dathan and Abiram. The Israeli leaders followed him/me.
And Moses rises, and goes to Dathan and Abiram, and [the] elderly of Israel go after him,
26 He/I told the people, “Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them! If you touch anything, you will die because of their sins!”
and he speaks to the congregation, saying, “Now turn aside from the tents of these wicked men, and do not come against anything that they have, lest you are consumed in all their sins.”
27 So all the people moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came out of their tents with their wives and children and babies, and stood at the entrances of their tents.
And they go up from the dwelling place of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, from all around, and Dathan and Abiram have come out, standing at the opening of their tents, with their wives, and their sons, and their infants.
28 Then Moses/I said, “I was not the one who decided to do all these things that I have done. It was Yahweh who [chose me and] sent me to do them. And now he will prove that to you.
And Moses says, “By this you know that YHWH has sent me to do all these works, that [they are] not from my own heart;
29 If these men die in a normal way, then it will be clear that Yahweh did not choose me.
if these die according to the death of all men, or the charge of all men is charged on them, YHWH has not sent me;
30 But if Yahweh does something that has never happened before, if he causes the ground [that is under their feet] to open up and swallow these men [and their families] and all their possessions, and they fall into the opening and are buried while they are still alive, then you will know that these men have insulted Yahweh.” (Sheol h7585)
but if YHWH does a strange thing, and the ground has opened her mouth and swallowed them and all that they have, and they have gone down alive to Sheol, then you have known that these men have despised YHWH.” (Sheol h7585)
31 As soon as Moses/I said this, the ground split open beneath those men.
And it comes to pass at his finishing speaking all these words, that the ground which [is] under them cleaves,
32 It swallowed them and their families and all those who were standing there with Korah and all of their possessions.
and the earth opens her mouth and swallows them, and their houses, and all the men who [are] for Korah, and all the goods,
33 They fell into the opening in the ground while they were still alive, and all their possessions fell into the opening also. They disappeared, and the ground closed back up again. (Sheol h7585)
and they go down—they and all that they have—alive to Sheol, and the earth closes over them, and they perish from the midst of the assembly; (Sheol h7585)
34 They screamed as they fell, and all the people who were standing nearby heard them scream. The people [were terrified and] cried out as they ran away, saying, “[We do not want] the ground to swallow us also!”
and all Israel who [are] around them have fled at their voice, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us”;
35 And then a fire from Yahweh came down [from the sky] and burned up the 250 men who were burning the incense!
and fire has come out from YHWH and consumes the two hundred and fifty men bringing the incense near.
36 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,
37 “Tell Aaron’s son Eleazar to take the pans that had incense in them away from the fire and to scatter the burning coals. The pans that those men [were carrying] are (holy/dedicated to me) [because they burned incense to me in them].
“Say to Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to lift up the censers from the midst of the burning and scatter the fire away, for they have been hallowed.
38 Those men have now died because of their sin; so [Eleazar must] take their pans and hammer the metal to make it become very thin. He must make a covering for the altar with that metal. Those pans were used to offer incense to me, so they are (holy/dedicated to me). [What happened to] those pans will now warn the Israeli people.”
[As for] the censers of these sinners against their own souls, indeed, they have made them [into] spread-out plates [for] a covering for the altar, for they have brought them near before YHWH, and they are hallowed; and they become a sign to the sons of Israel.”
39 So Eleazar the priest collected the 250 pans for burning incense that had been used by the men who died in the fire. He hammered the pans very thin to make a covering for the altar, as Yahweh told Moses/me should be done.
And Eleazar the priest takes the bronze censers which they who are burned had brought near, and they spread them out [for] a covering for the altar—
40 That warned the Israeli people that only those who were descendants of Aaron were permitted to burn incense for an offering to Yahweh. If anyone else did that, the same thing that happened to Korah and those who were with him would happen to them.
a memorial to the sons of Israel, so that a stranger who is not of the seed of Aaron does not draw near to make incense before YHWH, and is not as Korah and as his congregation, as YHWH has spoken by the hand of Moses to him.
41 But the following morning, all the Israeli people started to complain against Aaron and Moses/me, saying “You have killed many people who belonged to Yahweh!”
And on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel murmurs against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have put the people of YHWH to death.”
42 When all the people gathered together to protest about what Aaron and Moses/I had done, they looked at the Sacred Tent and saw that the sacred cloud had covered it, and the glory of Yahweh had appeared.
And it comes to pass, in the congregation being assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they turn toward the Tent of Meeting, and behold, the cloud has covered it and the glory of YHWH is seen;
43 Aaron and Moses/I went and stood in front of the Sacred Tent.
and Moses comes—Aaron also—to the front of the Tent of Meeting.
44 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,
45 “Get away from these people, in order that I can get rid of them immediately [without injuring you two]!” But Aaron and Moses/I prostrated themselves/ourselves on the ground [and prayed].
“Get up from the midst of this congregation, and I consume them in a moment”; and they fall on their faces,
46 Moses/I said to Aaron, “Quickly take another pan and put in it some burning/hot coals from the altar. Put incense in the pan, and carry it out among the people to atone for the sins of the people. Yahweh is very angry with them, and [I know that] a (severe plague/bad sickness) has already started among them.”
and Moses says to Aaron, “Take the censer and put fire on it from off the altar, and place incense, and go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for the wrath has gone out from the presence of YHWH—the plague has begun.”
47 So Aaron did what Moses/I told him. He took the burning incense out among the people. The plague had already started to strike the people, but Aaron continued to burn the incense so that God would forgive them for the sins they had committed.
And Aaron takes [it] as Moses has spoken, and runs to the midst of the assembly, and behold, the plague has begun among the people; and he gives the incense, and makes atonement for the people,
48 He stood between the people who had already died and those who were still alive, and then the plague stopped.
and stands between the dead and the living, and the plague is restrained;
49 But 14,700 people had already died from that plague/sickness, in addition to the people who died with Korah.
and those who die by the plague are fourteen thousand and seven hundred, apart from those who die for the matter of Korah;
50 Then after the plague had ended, Aaron and Moses/I returned to the entrance of the Sacred Tent.
and Aaron turns back to Moses, to the opening of the Tent of Meeting, and the plague has been restrained.
