Numbers 16
1 And Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, taketh both Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons 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 and they rise up before Moses, with men of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty, princes of the company, called of the convention, men of name,
a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly.
3 and they are assembled against Moses and against Aaron, and say unto them, 'Enough of you! for all the company — all of them [are] holy, and in their midst [is] Jehovah; and wherefore do ye lift yourselves up above the assembly of Jehovah?'
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 And Moses heareth, and falleth on his face,
When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.
5 and he speaketh unto Korah, and unto all his company, saying, 'Morning! — and Jehovah is knowing those who are his, and him who is holy, and hath brought near unto Him; even him whom He doth fix on He bringeth near unto 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 do: take to yourselves censers, Korah, and all his company,
You, Korah, and all your followers are to do as follows: Take censers,
7 and put in them fire, and put on them perfume, before Jehovah to-morrow, and it hath been, the man whom Jehovah chooseth, he [is] the holy one; — enough of you, sons of Levi.'
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 And Moses saith unto Korah, 'Hear ye, I pray you, sons of Levi;
Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you sons of Levi!
9 is it little to you that the God of Israel hath separated you from the company of Israel to bring you near unto Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of Jehovah, and to stand before the company to 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 yea, He doth bring thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee — and ye have sought also the priesthood!
He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.
11 Therefore, thou and all thy company who are met [are] against Jehovah; and Aaron, what [is] he, that ye murmur against 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 And Moses sendeth to call for Dathan and for Abiram sons of Eliab, and they say, 'We do not come up;
Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come!
13 is it little that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to put us to death in a wilderness that thou also certainly makest thyself prince over 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 Yea, unto a land flowing with milk and honey thou hast not brought us in, nor dost thou give to us an inheritance of field and vineyard; the eyes of these men dost thou pick out? we do not come up.'
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 And it is very displeasing to Moses, and he saith unto Jehovah, 'Turn not Thou unto their present; not one ass from them have I taken, nor have I afflicted one of them.'
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 And Moses saith unto Korah, 'Thou and all thy company, be ye before Jehovah, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow;
And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.
17 and take ye each his censer, and ye have put on them perfume, and brought near before Jehovah, each his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; and thou and Aaron, each his censer.'
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 And they take each his censer, and put on them fire, and lay on them perfume, and they stand at the opening of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron.
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 And Korah assembleth against them all the company unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and the honour of Jehovah is seen by all the company.
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 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
21 'Be ye separated from the midst of this company, and I consume them in a moment;'
“Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.”
22 and they fall on their faces, and say, 'God, God of the spirits of all flesh — the one man sinneth, and against all the company Thou art wroth!'
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 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
Then the LORD said to Moses,
24 'Speak unto the company, saying, Go ye up from round about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.'
“Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 And Moses riseth, and goeth unto Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel go after him,
So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 and he speaketh unto the company, saying, 'Turn aside, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and come not against anything that they have, lest ye be consumed 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 And they go up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, from round about, and Dathan, and Abiram have come out, standing at the opening of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their infants.
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 And Moses saith, 'By this ye do know that Jehovah hath sent me to do all these works, that [they are] not from my own heart;
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 according to the death of all men these die — or the charge of all men is charged upon them — Jehovah hath not 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 and if a strange thing Jehovah do, and the ground hath opened her mouth and swallowed them, and all that they have, and they have gone down alive to Sheol — then ye have known that these men have despised Jehovah.' (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 And it cometh to pass at his finishing speaking all these words, that the ground which [is] under them cleaveth,
As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open,
32 and the earth openeth her mouth, and swalloweth them, and their houses, and all the men who [are] for Korah, and all the goods,
and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions.
33 and they go down, they, and all that they have, alive to Sheol, and the earth closeth over them, and they perish from the midst of the assembly; (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 and all Israel who [are] round about them have fled at their voice, for they said, 'Lest the earth swallow us;'
At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!”
35 and fire hath come out from Jehovah, and consumeth the two hundred and fifty men bringing near the perfume.
And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
36 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
Then the LORD said to Moses,
37 'Say unto Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, and he lifteth up the censers from the midst of the burning, and the fire scatter thou yonder, for they have been hallowed,
“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 [even] the censers of these sinners against their own souls; and they have made them spread-out plates, a covering for the altar, for they have brought them near before Jehovah, and they are hallowed; and they are become a sign to the sons of Israel.'
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 And Eleazar the priest taketh the brazen censers which they who are burnt had brought near, and they spread them out, 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 a memorial to the sons of Israel, so that a stranger who is not of the seed of Aaron doth not draw near to make a perfume before Jehovah, and is not as Korah, and as his company, — as Jehovah hath spoken by the hand of Moses to 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 And all the company of the sons of Israel murmur, on the morrow, against Moses and against Aaron, saying, 'Ye — ye have put to death the people of Jehovah.'
The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!”
42 And it cometh to pass, in the company being assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they turn towards the tent of meeting, and lo, the cloud hath covered it, and the honour of Jehovah is seen;
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 and Moses cometh — Aaron also — unto the front of the tent of meeting.
Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting,
44 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
and the LORD said to Moses,
45 'Get you up from the midst of this company, and I consume them in a moment;' and they fall on their faces,
“Get away from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” And Moses and Aaron fell facedown.
46 and Moses saith unto Aaron, 'Take the censer, and put on it fire from off the altar, and place perfume, and go, hasten unto the company, and make atonement for them, for the wrath hath gone out from the presence of Jehovah — the plague hath begun.'
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 And Aaron taketh as Moses hath spoken, and runneth unto the midst of the assembly, and lo, the plague hath begun among the people; and he giveth the perfume, and maketh atonement for the people,
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 and standeth between the dead and the living, and the plague is restrained;
He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted.
49 and those who die by the plague are fourteen thousand and seven hundred, apart from those who die for the matter of Korah;
But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah.
50 and Aaron turneth back unto Moses, unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and the plague hath been restrained.
Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, since the plague had been halted.
