Liber Numeri 16
1 Ecce autem Core filius Isaar, filii Caath, filii Levi, et Dathan atque Abiron filii Eliab, Hon quoque filius Pheleth de filiis Ruben,
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.
2 surrexerunt contra Moysen, aliique filiorum Israel ducenti quinquaginta viri proceres synagogæ, et qui tempore concilii per nomina vocabantur.
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.
3 Cumque stetissent adversum Moysen et Aaron, dixerunt: Sufficiat vobis, quia omnis multitudo sanctorum est, et in ipsis est Dominus: Cur elevamini super populum Domini?
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]?”
4 Quod cum audisset Moyses, cecidit pronus in faciem:
When Moses/I heard what they were saying, he/I prostrated himself/myself on the ground.
5 locutusque ad Core et ad omnem multitudinem: Mane, inquit, notum faciet Dominus qui ad se pertineant, et sanctos applicabit sibi: et quos elegerit, appropinquabunt ei.
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.
6 Hoc igitur facite: Tollat unusquisque thuribula sua, tu Core, et omne concilium tuum:
So Korah, tomorrow you and those who are with you must prepare your pans to burn incense.
7 et hausto cras igne, ponite desuper thymiama coram Domino: et quemcumque elegerit, ipse erit sanctus: multum erigimini filii Levi.
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!”
8 Dixitque rursum ad Core: Audite filii Levi:
Then Moses/I spoke again to Korah. He/I said, “You men who are descendants of Levi, listen to me!
9 Num parum vobis est quod separavit vos Deus Israel ab omni populo, et iunxit sibi, ut serviretis ei in cultu tabernaculi, et staretis coram frequentia populi, et ministraretis ei?
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]?
10 idcirco ad se fecit accedere te et omnes fratres tuos filios Levi, ut vobis etiam sacerdotium vindicetis,
Yahweh has brought you, [Korah], and your fellow descendants of Levi, near to himself. Now are you demanding to become priests also?
11 et omnis globus tuus stet contra Dominum? quid est enim Aaron ut murmuretis contra eum?
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].”
12 Misit ergo Moyses ut vocaret Dathan et Abiron filios Eliab. Qui responderunt: Non venimus.
Then Moses/I summoned Dathan and Abiram, but [they refused to come]. They [sent a message] saying, “We will not come to you!
13 numquid parum est tibi quod eduxisti nos de terra, quæ lacte et melle manabat, ut occideres in deserto, nisi et dominatus fueris nostri?
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.
14 Revera induxisti nos in terram, quæ fluit rivis lactis et mellis, et dedisti nobis possessiones agrorum et vinearum. an et oculos nostros vis eruere? non venimus.
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.”
15 Iratusque Moyses valde, ait ad Dominum: Ne respicias sacrificia eorum: tu scis quod ne asellum quidem umquam acceperim ab eis, nec afflixerim quempiam eorum.
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].”
16 Dixitque ad Core: Tu, et omnis congregatio tua, state seorsum coram Domino, et Aaron die crastino separatim.
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.
17 Tollite singuli thuribula vestra, et ponite super ea incensum, offerentes Domino ducenta quinquaginta thuribula: Aaron quoque teneat thuribulum suum.
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.”
18 Quod cum fecissent, stantibus Moyses et Aaron,
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.
19 et coacervassent adversum eos omnem multitudinem ad ostium tabernaculi, apparuit cunctis gloria Domini.
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,
20 Locutusque Dominus ad Moysen et Aaron, ait:
and Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
21 Separamini de medio congregationis huius, ut eos repente disperdam.
“Get away from all these people, in order that I can get rid of them immediately!”
22 Qui ceciderunt proni in faciem, atque dixerunt: Fortissime Deus spirituum universæ carnis, num uno peccante, contra omnes ira tua desæviet?
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]”
23 Et ait Dominus ad Moysen:
Yahweh said to Moses/me,
24 Præcipe universo populo ut separetur a tabernaculis Core, et Dathan et Abiron.
“[Okay], but tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 Surrexitque Moyses, et abiit ad Dathan et Abiron: et sequentibus eum senioribus Israel,
So Moses/I stood up and went to the tents of Dathan and Abiram. The Israeli leaders followed him/me.
26 dixit ad turbam: Recedite a tabernaculis hominum impiorum, et nolite tangere quæ ad eos pertinent, ne involvamini in peccatis eorum.
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!”
27 Cumque recessissent a tentoriis eorum per circuitum, Dathan et Abiron egressi stabant in introitu papilionum suorum cum uxoribus et liberis, omnique frequentia.
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.
28 Et ait Moyses: In hoc scietis, quod Dominus miserit me ut facerem universa quæ cernitis, et non ex proprio ea corde protulerim:
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.
29 Si consueta hominum morte interierint, et visitaverit eos plaga, qua et ceteri visitari solent, non misit me Dominus:
If these men die in a normal way, then it will be clear that Yahweh did not choose me.
30 sin autem novam rem fecerit Dominus, ut aperiens terra os suum deglutiat eos et omnia quæ ad illos pertinent, descenderintque viventes in infernum, scietis quod blasphemaverint Dominum. (Sheol h7585)
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)
31 Confestim igitur ut cessavit loqui, dirupta est terra sub pedibus eorum:
As soon as Moses/I said this, the ground split open beneath those men.
32 et aperiens os suum, devoravit illos cum tabernaculis suis et universa substantia eorum.
It swallowed them and their families and all those who were standing there with Korah and all of their possessions.
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)
34 At vero omnis Israel, qui stabat per gyrum, fugit ad clamorem pereuntium, dicens: Ne forte et nos terra deglutiat.
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!”
35 Sed et ignis egressus a Domino, interfecit ducentos quinquaginta viros, qui offerebant incensum.
And then a fire from Yahweh came down [from the sky] and burned up the 250 men who were burning the incense!
36 Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens:
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
37 Præcipe Eleazaro filio Aaron sacerdoti ut tollat thuribula quæ iacent in incendio, et ignem huc illucque dispergat: quoniam sanctificata sunt
“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].
38 in mortibus peccatorum: producatque ea in laminas, et affigat altari, eo quod oblatum sit in eis incensum Domino, et sanctificata sint, ut cernant ea pro signo et monimento filii Israel.
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.”
39 Tulit ergo Eleazar sacerdos thuribula ænea, in quibus obtulerant hi quos incendium devoravit, et produxit ea in laminas, affigens altari:
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.
40 ut haberent postea filii Israel, quibus commonerentur ne quis accedat alienigena, et qui non est de semine Aaron ad offerendum incensum Domino, ne patiatur sicut passus est Core, et omnis congregatio eius, loquente Domino ad Moysen.
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.
41 Murmuravit autem omnis multitudo filiorum Israel sequenti die contra Moysen et Aaron, dicens: Vos interfecistis populum Domini.
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!”
42 Cumque oriretur seditio, et tumultus incresceret,
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.
43 Moyses et Aaron fugerunt ad tabernaculum fœderis. Quod, postquam ingressi sunt, operuit nubes, et apparuit gloria Domini.
Aaron and Moses/I went and stood in front of the Sacred Tent.
44 Dixitque Dominus ad Moysen:
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
45 Recedite de medio huius multitudinis, etiam nunc delebo eos. Cumque iacerent in terra,
“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].
46 dixit Moyses ad Aaron: Tolle thuribulum, et hausto igne de altari, mitte incensum desuper, pergens cito ad populum ut roges pro eis: iam enim egressa est ira a Domino, et plaga desævit.
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.”
47 Quod cum fecisset Aaron, et cucurrisset ad mediam multitudinem, quam iam vastabat incendium, obtulit thymiama:
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.
48 et stans inter mortuos ac viventes, pro populo deprecatus est, et plaga cessavit.
He stood between the people who had already died and those who were still alive, and then the plague stopped.
49 Fuerunt autem qui percussi sunt, quattuordecim millia hominum, et septingenti, absque his qui perierant in seditione Core.
But 14,700 people had already died from that plague/sickness, in addition to the people who died with Korah.
50 Reversusque est Aaron ad Moysen ad ostium tabernaculi fœderis postquam quievit interitus.
Then after the plague had ended, Aaron and Moses/I returned to the entrance of the Sacred Tent.
