Laws for Canaan

15 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (A)Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land [a]where you are going to live, which I am giving you, and you make (B)an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to [b](C)fulfill a special vow, or as a [c]voluntary offering or at your (D)appointed times, to make a (E)soothing aroma to the Lord from the herd or from the flock, then (F)the one who presents his offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an [d]ephah of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a [e]hin of oil, and you shall prepare wine for the drink offering, a fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for (G)each lamb. Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil; and for the drink offering you shall offer a third of a hin of wine as a soothing aroma to the Lord. And when you prepare (H)a bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to [f]fulfill a special vow, or for peace offerings to the Lord, then you shall offer with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil; 10 and you shall offer as the drink offering half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the Lord.

11 ‘This is how it shall be done for each ox, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the goats. 12 According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do for each one according to their number. 13 Everyone who is a native shall do these things in this way, in presenting an offering by fire as a soothing aroma to the Lord.

Law for the Stranger

14 Now if a stranger resides among you, or one who may be among you throughout your generations, and he wants to make an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the Lord, just as you do so shall he do. 15 As for the assembly, there shall be (I)one statute for you and for the stranger who resides among you, a permanent statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. 16 There is to be (J)one law and one ordinance for you and for the stranger who resides with you.’”

17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where I am bringing you, 19 then it shall be, that when you eat from the [g](K)food of the land, you shall lift up an [h]offering to the Lord. 20 (L)Of the first of your [i]dough you shall lift up a loaf as an [j]offering; as (M)an [k]offering of the threshing floor, so you shall lift it up. 21 From the first of your [l]dough you shall give to the Lord an [m]offering throughout your generations.

22 ‘But when you (N)unintentionally do wrong and fail to [n]comply with all these commandments which the Lord has spoken to Moses, 23 that is, all that the Lord has commanded you [o]through Moses from the day that the Lord gave commandments and onward, throughout your generations, 24 then it shall be, if it is done (O)unintentionally, [p]without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one bull as a burnt offering, as a soothing aroma to the Lord, (P)with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat as a sin offering. 25 Then (Q)the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they will be forgiven; for it was an unintentional wrong, and they have brought their offering, an offering by fire to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their unintentional wrong. 26 So all the congregation of the sons of Israel will be forgiven, as well as the stranger who resides among them, for guilt was attributed to all the people through an (R)unintentional wrong.

27 ‘Also, if one person sins (S)unintentionally, then he shall offer a one-year-old female goat as a sin offering. 28 And (T)the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who goes astray by an unintentional sin, making atonement for him [q]so that he may be forgiven. 29 You shall have one law for the native among the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them, for one who does anything wrong unintentionally. 30 But the person who does wrong [r](U)defiantly, whether he is a native or a stranger, that one is blaspheming the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Since he has (V)despised the word of the Lord and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; (W)his [s]guilt will be on him.’”

Sabbath-breaking Punished

32 Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man (X)gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation; 34 and they placed him in custody, (Y)because it had not been decided what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must be put to death; (Z)all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” 36 So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him [t]to death with stones, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

37 The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, 38 “Speak to the sons of Israel and tell them that they shall make for themselves (AA)tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a [u]violet thread. 39 It shall be a tassel for you [v]to look at and (AB)remember all the commandments of the Lord, so that you will do them and not [w]follow your own heart and your own eyes, [x]which led you to prostitute yourselves, 40 so that you will remember and do all My commandments and (AC)be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God.”

Korah’s Rebellion

16 Now (AD)Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with (AE)Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men, and they stood before Moses, [y]together with some of the sons of Israel, 250 leaders of the congregation [z](AF)chosen in the assembly, men of renown. They assembled together (AG)against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “[aa](AH)You have gone far enough! For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and (AI)the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

When Moses heard this, (AJ)he fell on his face; and he spoke to Korah and all his group, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will make known who is His, and (AK)who is holy, and will bring that one near to Himself; indeed, (AL)the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and [ab]your whole group, and put fire in them, and place incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. [ac](AM)You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”

Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: (AN)Is it too small an honor for you that the God of Israel has singled you out from the congregation of Israel, (AO)to bring you near to Himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; 10 and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? But are you (AP)seeking the priesthood as well? 11 Therefore you and your whole group are the ones gathered together (AQ)against the Lord; but as for Aaron, [ad]who is he, that (AR)you grumble against him?”

12 Then Moses sent [ae]a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it [af]not enough that you have brought us up out of a (AS)land flowing with milk and honey (AT)to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also appoint yourself as master over us? 14 Indeed, you have not brought us (AU)into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of (AV)fields and vineyards. Would you (AW)gouge out the eyes of [ag]these men? We will not come up!”

15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “(AX)Pay no attention to their offering! (AY)I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.” 16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your group be present before the Lord tomorrow, you and they along with Aaron. 17 And each of you take his censer and put incense on [ah]it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, 250 censers; also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.” 18 So they took, each one his own censer, and put fire on [ai]it, and placed incense on [aj]it; and they stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. 19 So Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And (AZ)the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

20 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21 (BA)Separate yourselves from among this congregation, (BB)so that I may consume them instantly.” 22 But they fell on their faces and said, “God, (BC)the God of the spirits of [ak]humanity, (BD)when one person sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘(BE)Get away from the areas around the [al]tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’”

25 Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, 26 and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “(BF)Get away now from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, (BG)or you will be swept away in all their sin!” 27 So they moved away from the areas around the [am]tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, along with their wives, (BH)their sons, and their little ones. 28 Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that (BI)the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for it is not [an]my doing. 29 If these men die [ao]the death of all mankind, or [ap]if they suffer the (BJ)fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But (BK)if the Lord [aq]brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with everything that is theirs, and they (BL)descend alive into [ar]Sheol, then you will know that these men have been disrespectful to the Lord.”

31 And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32 and (BM)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, and (BN)all the people who belonged to Korah with all their possessions. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to [as]Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 Then all Israel who were around them fled at their [at]outcry, for they said, “The earth might swallow us!” 35 (BO)Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the (BP)250 men who were offering the incense.

36 [au]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37 “Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall pick up the censers from the midst of the burned area, because they are holy; and you are to scatter the [av]burning coals further away. 38 As for the censers of these [aw]men who have sinned at the cost of their own lives, have them made into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy; and (BQ)they shall [ax]serve as a sign to the sons of Israel.” 39 So the priest Eleazar took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as plating for the altar, 40 as a reminder to the sons of Israel so that (BR)no [ay]layman, anyone who was not of the [az]descendants of Aaron, would approach (BS)to burn incense before the Lord; then he would not become like Korah and his group—just as the Lord had spoken to him [ba]through Moses.

Murmuring and Plague

41 But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel (BT)grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lords people!” 42 It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and (BU)the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 (BV)Get away from among this congregation so that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put fire in it from the altar, and place incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and (BW)make atonement for them, for (BX)wrath has gone out from the Lord, the plague has begun!” 47 Then Aaron took it just as Moses had spoken, and he ran into the midst of the assembly; and behold, the plague had begun among the people. (BY)So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was brought to a halt. 49 (BZ)But those who died by the plague were 14,700 in number, besides those who (CA)died on account of Korah. 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been brought to a halt.

Aaron’s Staff Buds

17 [bb]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and obtain from them a staff for each father’s household: twelve staffs, from all their leaders for their fathers’ households. You shall write each man’s name on his staff, and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi; for there is to be one staff for the head of each of their fathers’ households. You shall then leave them in the tent of meeting in front of (CB)the testimony, where I meet with you. And it will come about that the staff of (CC)the man whom I choose will sprout. So I will relieve Myself of the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.” So Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a staff, one for each leader, for their fathers’ households, twelve staffs in all, with the staff of Aaron among their staffs. Then Moses left the staffs before the Lord in (CD)the tent of the testimony.

Now on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, (CE)Aaron’s staff for the house of Levi had sprouted and produced buds and bloomed with blossoms, and it yielded ripe almonds. Moses then brought out all the staffs from the presence of the Lord to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his staff. 10 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put the staff of Aaron (CF)back in front of the testimony [bc]to be kept as a sign against the [bd](CG)rebels, so that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me and they do not die.” 11 Moses did so; just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

12 Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “(CH)Behold, we are passing away, we are perishing, we are all perishing! 13 (CI)Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, must die. Are we to perish completely?”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 15:2 Lit of your dwellings
  2. Numbers 15:3 Or make a special votive offering
  3. Numbers 15:3 Or freewill offering
  4. Numbers 15:4 An ephah was about 7.4 gallons or 28 liters
  5. Numbers 15:4 A hin also was about 1 gallon or 3.8 liters
  6. Numbers 15:8 Or make a special votive offering
  7. Numbers 15:19 Lit bread
  8. Numbers 15:19 Or uplifted offering
  9. Numbers 15:20 Or coarse meal
  10. Numbers 15:20 Or uplifted offering
  11. Numbers 15:20 Or uplifted offering
  12. Numbers 15:21 Or coarse meal
  13. Numbers 15:21 Or uplifted offering
  14. Numbers 15:22 Lit perform all
  15. Numbers 15:23 Lit by the hand of
  16. Numbers 15:24 Lit away from the eyes of the congregation
  17. Numbers 15:28 Or and he shall
  18. Numbers 15:30 Lit with upraised hand
  19. Numbers 15:31 Or wrongdoing
  20. Numbers 15:36 Lit with stones and he died
  21. Numbers 15:38 Or bluish; LXX hyacinth in color, and so throughout the ch
  22. Numbers 15:39 Lit and you shall look at it
  23. Numbers 15:39 Lit seek
  24. Numbers 15:39 Lit after which you played
  25. Numbers 16:2 Lit and men from
  26. Numbers 16:2 Lit called ones of
  27. Numbers 16:3 Lit Much for you
  28. Numbers 16:6 Lit his
  29. Numbers 16:7 Lit Much for you
  30. Numbers 16:11 Lit what
  31. Numbers 16:12 Lit to call to
  32. Numbers 16:13 Lit a little thing
  33. Numbers 16:14 Lit those
  34. Numbers 16:17 Lit them
  35. Numbers 16:18 Lit them
  36. Numbers 16:18 Lit them
  37. Numbers 16:22 Lit all flesh
  38. Numbers 16:24 Lit residence
  39. Numbers 16:27 Lit dwelling place
  40. Numbers 16:28 Lit from my heart
  41. Numbers 16:29 Lit like the death
  42. Numbers 16:29 Lit the visitation of all men is visited upon them
  43. Numbers 16:30 Lit creates
  44. Numbers 16:30 I.e., the netherworld
  45. Numbers 16:33 I.e., the netherworld
  46. Numbers 16:34 Or voice
  47. Numbers 16:36 Ch 17:1 in Heb
  48. Numbers 16:37 Lit the fire
  49. Numbers 16:38 Lit sinners against their lives
  50. Numbers 16:38 Lit be for a
  51. Numbers 16:40 Lit stranger
  52. Numbers 16:40 Lit seed
  53. Numbers 16:40 Lit by the hand of
  54. Numbers 17:1 Ch 17:16 in Heb
  55. Numbers 17:10 Lit for preserving
  56. Numbers 17:10 Lit sons of rebellion

Supplementary Offerings

15 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘After you enter the land I am giving you(A) as a home and you present to the Lord food offerings from the herd or the flock,(B) as an aroma pleasing to the Lord(C)—whether burnt offerings(D) or sacrifices, for special vows or freewill offerings(E) or festival offerings(F) then the person who brings an offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering(G) of a tenth of an ephah[a] of the finest flour(H) mixed with a quarter of a hin[b] of olive oil. With each lamb(I) for the burnt offering or the sacrifice, prepare a quarter of a hin of wine(J) as a drink offering.(K)

“‘With a ram(L) prepare a grain offering(M) of two-tenths of an ephah[c](N) of the finest flour mixed with a third of a hin[d] of olive oil,(O) and a third of a hin of wine(P) as a drink offering.(Q) Offer it as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.(R)

“‘When you prepare a young bull(S) as a burnt offering or sacrifice, for a special vow(T) or a fellowship offering(U) to the Lord, bring with the bull a grain offering(V) of three-tenths of an ephah[e](W) of the finest flour mixed with half a hin[f] of olive oil, 10 and also bring half a hin of wine(X) as a drink offering.(Y) This will be a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.(Z) 11 Each bull or ram, each lamb or young goat, is to be prepared in this manner. 12 Do this for each one, for as many as you prepare.(AA)

13 “‘Everyone who is native-born(AB) must do these things in this way when they present a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.(AC) 14 For the generations to come,(AD) whenever a foreigner(AE) or anyone else living among you presents a food(AF) offering(AG) as an aroma pleasing to the Lord, they must do exactly as you do. 15 The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.(AH) You and the foreigner shall be the same before the Lord: 16 The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.(AI)’”

17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land to which I am taking you(AJ) 19 and you eat the food of the land,(AK) present a portion as an offering to the Lord.(AL) 20 Present a loaf from the first of your ground meal(AM) and present it as an offering from the threshing floor.(AN) 21 Throughout the generations to come(AO) you are to give this offering to the Lord from the first of your ground meal.(AP)

Offerings for Unintentional Sins

22 “‘Now if you as a community unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands the Lord gave Moses(AQ) 23 any of the Lord’s commands to you through him, from the day the Lord gave them and continuing through the generations to come(AR) 24 and if this is done unintentionally(AS) without the community being aware of it,(AT) then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering(AU) as an aroma pleasing to the Lord,(AV) along with its prescribed grain offering(AW) and drink offering,(AX) and a male goat for a sin offering.[g](AY) 25 The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven,(AZ) for it was not intentional(BA) and they have presented to the Lord for their wrong a food offering(BB) and a sin offering.(BC) 26 The whole Israelite community and the foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, because all the people were involved in the unintentional wrong.(BD)

27 “‘But if just one person sins unintentionally,(BE) that person must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering.(BF) 28 The priest is to make atonement(BG) before the Lord for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made, that person will be forgiven.(BH) 29 One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you.(BI)

30 “‘But anyone who sins defiantly,(BJ) whether native-born or foreigner,(BK) blasphemes the Lord(BL) and must be cut off from the people of Israel.(BM) 31 Because they have despised(BN) the Lord’s word and broken his commands,(BO) they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.(BP)’”

The Sabbath-Breaker Put to Death

32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness,(BQ) a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.(BR) 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him.(BS) 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die.(BT) The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.(BU) 36 So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him(BV) to death,(BW) as the Lord commanded Moses.(BX)

Tassels on Garments

37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come(BY) you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments,(BZ) with a blue cord on each tassel. 39 You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember(CA) all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves(CB) by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts(CC) and eyes. 40 Then you will remember to obey all my commands(CD) and will be consecrated to your God.(CE) 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God.(CF) I am the Lord your God.(CG)’”

Korah, Dathan and Abiram

16 Korah(CH) son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram(CI), sons of Eliab,(CJ) and On son of Peleth—became insolent[h] and rose up against Moses.(CK) With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.(CL) They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron(CM) and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy,(CN) every one of them, and the Lord is with them.(CO) Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”(CP)

When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.(CQ) Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy,(CR) and he will have that person come near him.(CS) The man he chooses(CT) he will cause to come near him. You, Korah, and all your followers(CU) are to do this: Take censers(CV) and tomorrow put burning coals(CW) and incense(CX) in them before the Lord. The man the Lord chooses(CY) will be the one who is holy.(CZ) You Levites have gone too far!”

Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites! Isn’t it enough(DA) for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?(DB) 10 He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.(DC) 11 It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble(DD) against him?(DE)

12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram,(DF) the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come!(DG) 13 Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey(DH) to kill us in the wilderness?(DI) And now you also want to lord it over us!(DJ) 14 Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey(DK) or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards.(DL) Do you want to treat these men like slaves[i]?(DM) No, we will not come!(DN)

15 Then Moses became very angry(DO) and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey(DP) from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”

16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.(DQ) 17 Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before the Lord. You and Aaron are to present your censers also.(DR) 18 So each of them took his censer,(DS) put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 19 When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them(DT) at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord(DU) appeared to the entire assembly. 20 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves(DV) from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”(DW)

22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown(DX) and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things,(DY) will you be angry with the entire assembly(DZ) when only one man sins?”(EA)

23 Then the Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel(EB) followed him. 26 He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men!(EC) Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away(ED) because of all their sins.(EE) 27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.(EF) Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children(EG) and little ones at the entrances to their tents.(EH)

28 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know(EI) that the Lord has sent me(EJ) to do all these things and that it was not my idea: 29 If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me.(EK) 30 But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth(EL) and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead,(EM) then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.(EN)

31 As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart(EO) 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them(EP) and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. 33 They went down alive into the realm of the dead,(EQ) with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. 34 At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”

35 And fire came out from the Lord(ER) and consumed(ES) the 250 men who were offering the incense.

36 The Lord said to Moses, 37 “Tell Eleazar(ET) son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers(EU) from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy— 38 the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives.(EV) Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar,(EW) for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign(EX) to the Israelites.”

39 So Eleazar the priest(EY) collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death,(EZ) and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, 40 as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense(FA) before the Lord,(FB) or he would become like Korah and his followers.(FC)

41 The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.

42 But when the assembly gathered in opposition(FD) to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord(FE) appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord said to Moses, 45 “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end(FF) to them at once.” And they fell facedown.

46 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer(FG) and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly(FH) to make atonement(FI) for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord;(FJ) the plague(FK) has started.” 47 So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people,(FL) but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. 48 He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.(FM) 49 But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.(FN) 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.[j]

The Budding of Aaron’s Staff

17 [k]The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs(FO) from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes.(FP) Write the name of each man on his staff. On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name,(FQ) for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. Place them in the tent of meeting(FR) in front of the ark of the covenant law,(FS) where I meet with you.(FT) The staff belonging to the man I choose(FU) will sprout,(FV) and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling(FW) against you by the Israelites.”

So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron’s staff was among them. Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law.(FX)

The next day Moses entered the tent(FY) and saw that Aaron’s staff,(FZ) which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.(GA) Then Moses brought out all the staffs(GB) from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each of the leaders took his own staff.

10 The Lord said to Moses, “Put back Aaron’s staff(GC) in front of the ark of the covenant law, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious.(GD) This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.” 11 Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.

12 The Israelites said to Moses, “We will die! We are lost, we are all lost!(GE) 13 Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die.(GF) Are we all going to die?”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 15:4 That is, probably about 3 1/2 pounds or about 1.6 kilograms
  2. Numbers 15:4 That is, about 1 quart or about 1 liter; also in verse 5
  3. Numbers 15:6 That is, probably about 7 pounds or about 3.2 kilograms
  4. Numbers 15:6 That is, about 1 1/3 quarts or about 1.3 liters; also in verse 7
  5. Numbers 15:9 That is, probably about 11 pounds or about 5 kilograms
  6. Numbers 15:9 That is, about 2 quarts or about 1.9 liters; also in verse 10
  7. Numbers 15:24 Or purification offering; also in verses 25 and 27
  8. Numbers 16:1 Or Peleth—took men
  9. Numbers 16:14 Or to deceive these men; Hebrew Will you gouge out the eyes of these men
  10. Numbers 16:50 In Hebrew texts 16:36-50 is numbered 17:1-15.
  11. Numbers 17:1 In Hebrew texts 17:1-13 is numbered 17:16-28.