The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation ^[a]lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept ^[b]that night. ² And all the sons of Israel ^(A)grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “^(B)Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! ³ And why is Yahweh bringing us into this land, ^(C)to fall by the sword? ^(D)Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, “^(E)Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”

^5 (F)Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. ⁶ And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; ⁷ and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “^(G)The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. ^8 (H)If Yahweh is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—^(I)a land which flows with milk and honey. ⁹ But as for you, only ^(J)do not rebel against Yahweh; and do not ^(K)fear the people of the land, for they are our ^[c]bread. Their ^[d]protection has been removed from them, and Yahweh is with us; do not fear them.” ^10 (L)But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then ^(M)the glory of Yahweh appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

Moses Prays for the People

^11 (N)Yahweh said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will ^(O)they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have done in their midst? ¹² I will strike them with ^[e](P)pestilence and dispossess them, and I ^(Q)will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

^13 (R)But Moses said to Yahweh, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your power You brought up this people from their midst, ¹⁴ and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O Yahweh, are in the midst of this people, for ^(S)You, O Yahweh, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ Now if You put this people to death as one man, ^(T)then the nations who have heard of Your fame will ^[f]say, ¹⁶ ‘Because Yahweh ^(U)was not able to bring this people into the land which He swore to them, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ So now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have ^[g]declared, ¹⁸ ‘^(V)Yahweh is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but ^(W)He will by no means clear the guilty, ^(X)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children ^[h]to the third and the fourth generations.’ ^19 (Y)Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

Evil Complainers

²⁰ So Yahweh said, “^(Z)I have pardoned them according to your word; ²¹ but indeed, ^(AA)as I live, ^[i](AB)all the earth will be filled with the glory of Yahweh. ²² Surely ^(AC)all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I have done in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet ^(AD)have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, ^23 (AE)shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. ²⁴ But My servant Caleb, ^(AF)because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, ^[j](AG)I will bring into the land ^[k]which he entered, and his seed shall take possession of it. ^25 (AH)Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the ^[l]Red Sea.”

²⁶ Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²⁷ “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are ^(AI)grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are ^[m]making against Me. ²⁸ Say to them, ‘^(AJ)As I live,’ declares Yahweh, ‘just as ^(AK)you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you; ^29 (AL)your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all ^(AM)your ^[n]numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. ³⁰ Surely you shall not come into the land in which I ^[o]swore to make you dwell, ^(AN)except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. ^31 (AO)Your little ones, however, who you said would become plunder—I will bring them in, so that they will know the land which you have rejected. ^32 (AP)But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. ³³ And your sons shall be shepherds for ^(AQ)forty years in the wilderness, and they will ^[p]suffer for your ^[q]unfaithfulness, until your corpses come to an end in the wilderness. ³⁴ According to the ^(AR)number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your ^[r]guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. ^35 (AS)I, Yahweh, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall come to an end, and there they will die.’”

^36 (AT)As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, ³⁷ even ^(AU)those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a ^(AV)plague before Yahweh. ³⁸ But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

Israel Struck Down

³⁹ Then Moses spoke ^(AW)these words to all the sons of Israel, and ^(AX)the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ^[s]ridge of the hill country, saying, “^(AY)Here we are; we will go up to the place which Yahweh has promised because we have indeed sinned.” ⁴¹ But Moses said, “^(AZ)Why then do you trespass against the ^[t]command of Yahweh, when it will not succeed? ^42 (BA)Do not go up, for Yahweh is not among you, so that you are not ^[u]defeated before your enemies. ⁴³ For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned back from following Yahweh. And Yahweh will not be with you.” ⁴⁴ But they went up heedlessly to the ^[v]ridge of the hill country; neither ^(BB)the ark of the covenant of Yahweh nor Moses moved from the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down as far as ^(BC)Hormah.

Korah Rises Up Against Moses

16 Now ^(A)Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with ^(B)Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took others, ² and they rose up before Moses, ^[a]together with some of the sons of Israel, 250 leaders of the congregation, ^[b](C)those called upon by the assembly, men of renown. ³ Then they assembled together ^(D)against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “^[c](E)You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and ^(F)Yahweh is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of Yahweh?”

⁴ And Moses heard this and ^(G)fell on his face; ⁵ and he spoke to Korah and all his congregation, saying, “Tomorrow morning Yahweh will show who is His, and ^(H)who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even ^(I)the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. ⁶ Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all ^[d]your congregation, ⁷ and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of Yahweh tomorrow; and the man whom Yahweh chooses shall be the one who is holy. ^[e](J)You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”

⁸ Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi, ^9 (K)is it ^[f]not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, ^(L)to bring you near to Himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of Yahweh, 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? And are you ^(M)seeking for the priesthood also? ¹¹ Therefore you and all your congregation are gathered together ^(N)against Yahweh; but as for Aaron, ^[g]who is he that ^(O)you grumble against him?”

¹² Then Moses sent ^[h]a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. ¹³ Is it ^[i]not enough that you have brought us up out of a ^(P)land flowing with milk and honey ^(Q)to put us to death in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us? ¹⁴ Indeed, you have not brought us ^(R)into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of ^(S)fields and vineyards. Would you ^[j](T)put out the eyes of ^[k]these men? We will not come up!”

¹⁵ Then Moses became very angry and said to Yahweh, “^(U)Do not regard their offering! ^(V)I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.” ¹⁶ And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your congregation be present before Yahweh tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron. ¹⁷ And each of you take his firepan and put incense on ^[l]it, and each of you bring his censer near before Yahweh, 250 firepans; also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan.” ¹⁸ So they each took his own censer and put fire on ^[m]it, and laid incense on ^[n]it; and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ Thus Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And ^(W)the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²¹ “^(X)Separate yourselves from among this congregation, ^(Y)that I may consume them instantly.” ²² But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, ^(Z)God of the spirits of all flesh, ^(AA)when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

²³ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘^(AB)Get back from around the dwellings 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, “^(AC)Turn aside now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, ^(AD)lest you be swept away in all their sin.” ²⁷ So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; but Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and ^(AE)their sons and their little ones. ²⁸ And Moses said, “By this you shall know that ^(AF)Yahweh has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not from my heart. ²⁹ If these men die ^[o]the death of all men or ^[p]if they suffer the ^(AG)fate of all men, then Yahweh has not sent me. ³⁰ But ^(AH)if Yahweh creates an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they ^(AI)go down to Sheol alive, then you will know that these men have spurned Yahweh.”

³¹ And it happened that as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; ³² and ^(AJ)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and ^(AK)all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. ³³ So they and all that belonged to them went down to Sheol alive; 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 ^[q]outcry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” ^35 (AL)Fire also came forth from Yahweh and consumed the ^(AM)250 men who were bringing near the incense.

^36 [r]Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷ “Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall take up the censers out of the midst of the ^[s]blaze, and you scatter ^[t]the burning coals abroad; for they are holy. ³⁸ As for the censers of these ^[u]men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, make them into hammered sheets for a plating of the altar, since they brought them near before Yahweh, and they are holy; and ^(AN)they shall be for a sign to the sons of Israel.” ³⁹ So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had brought near, and they hammered them out as a plating for the altar, ⁴⁰ as a ^[v]memorial to the sons of Israel that ^(AO)no ^[w]outsider who is not of the seed of Aaron should come near ^(AP)to burn incense before Yahweh; so that he will not become like Korah and his congregation—just as Yahweh had spoken to him by the hand of Moses.

Grumbling and Plague

⁴¹ But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel ^(AQ)grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the people of Yahweh.” 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 ^(AR)the glory of Yahweh appeared. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴ and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “^[x](AS)Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. ⁴⁶ And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and ^(AT)make atonement for them, for ^(AU)wrath has gone forth from Yahweh, the plague has begun!” ⁴⁷ Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. ^(AV)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 checked. ^49 (AW)But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who ^(AX)died on account of Korah. ⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.

Aaron’s Rod Buds

17 ^[y]Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, and get from them a rod for each father’s household: twelve rods from all their leaders according to their fathers’ households. You shall write each name on his rod, ³ and write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi; for there is one rod for the head of each of their fathers’ households. ⁴ You shall then deposit them in the tent of meeting in front of ^(AY)the testimony, where I meet with you. ⁵ And it will come about that the rod of ^(AZ)the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I will rid Myself of the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.” ⁶ Moses therefore spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ households, twelve rods, with the rod of Aaron among their rods. ⁷ So Moses deposited the rods before Yahweh in ^(BA)the tent of the testimony.

⁸ Now it happened on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, ^(BB)the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced flowers, and it bore ripe almonds. ⁹ Moses then brought out all the rods from the presence of Yahweh to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod. ¹⁰ But Yahweh said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron ^(BC)before the testimony ^[z]to be kept as a sign against the ^[aa](BD)rebels, that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they will not die.” ¹¹ Thus Moses did; just as Yahweh had commanded him, so he did.

¹² Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “^(BE)Behold, we are breathing our last breath, we are perishing, we are all perishing! ^13 (BF)Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of Yahweh, must die. Are we to breathe our utter last?”