Numbers 16:30-18:9

New King James Version

³⁰ But if the Lord creates ^(A)a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they ^(B)go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.”

^31 (C)Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, ³² and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and ^(D)all the men with Korah, with all their goods. ³³ So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. ³⁴ Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also!”

³⁵ And ^(E)a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.

³⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to pick up the censers out of the blaze, for ^(F)they are holy, and scatter the fire some distance away. ³⁸ The censers of ^(G)these men who sinned ^[a]against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the Lord, therefore they are holy; ^(H)and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.” ³⁹ So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned up had presented, and they were hammered out as a covering on the altar, ⁴⁰ to be a ^[b]memorial to the children of Israel ^(I)that no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his companions, just as the Lord had said to him through Moses.

Complaints of the People

⁴¹ On the next day ^(J)all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” ⁴² Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly ^(K)the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting.

⁴⁴ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.”

And they fell on their faces.

⁴⁶ So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make ^[c]atonement for them; ^(L)for wrath has gone out from the Lord. The plague has begun.” ⁴⁷ Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ And he stood between the dead and the living; so ^(M)the plague was stopped. ⁴⁹ Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident. ⁵⁰ So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the plague had stopped.

The Budding of Aaron’s Rod

17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Speak to the children of Israel, and get from them a rod from each father’s house, all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses—twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod. ³ And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi. For there shall be one rod for the head of each father’s house. ⁴ Then you shall place them in the tabernacle of meeting before ^(N)the Testimony, ^(O)where I meet with you. ⁵ And it shall be that the rod of the man ^(P)whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, ^(Q)which they make against you.”

⁶ So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and each of their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. ⁷ And Moses placed the rods before the Lord in ^(R)the tabernacle of witness.

⁸ Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the ^(S)rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds. ⁹ Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the children of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod.

¹⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, “Bring ^(T)Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept ^(U)as a sign against the rebels, ^(V)that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die.” ¹¹ Thus did Moses; just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

¹² So the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Surely we die, we perish, we all perish! ^13 (W)Whoever even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord must die. Shall we all utterly die?”

Duties of Priests and Levites

18 Then the Lord said to Aaron: ^(X)“You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall ^(Y)bear the ^[d]iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood. ² Also bring with you your brethren of the ^(Z)tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be ^(AA)joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of ^[e]witness. ³ They shall attend to your ^[f]needs and ^(AB)all the needs of the tabernacle; ^(AC)but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, ^(AD)lest they die—they and you also. ⁴ They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; ^(AE)but an outsider shall not come near you. ⁵ And you shall attend to ^(AF)the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, ^(AG)that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel. ⁶ Behold, I Myself have ^(AH)taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; ^(AI)they are a gift to you, given by the Lord, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁷ Therefore ^(AJ)you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and ^(AK)behind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a ^(AL)gift for service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

Offerings for Support of the Priests

⁸ And the Lord spoke to Aaron: “Here, ^(AM)I Myself have also given you ^[g]charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them ^(AN)as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever. ⁹ This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every ^(AO)grain offering and every ^(AP)sin offering and every ^(AQ)trespass offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons.