The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation ^[a]lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept ^[b]that night. ² 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 Why is the Lord 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 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 the Lord 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 Only ^(J)do not rebel against the Lord; and do not ^(K)fear the people of the land, for they will be our ^[c]prey. Their ^[d]protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” ^10 (L)But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then ^(M)the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

Moses Pleads for the People

^11 (N)The Lord 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 performed in their midst? ¹² I will smite 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 the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength 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 Lord, are in the midst of this people, for ^(S)You, O Lord, 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 slay this people as one man, ^(T)then the nations who have heard of Your fame will ^[f]say, ¹⁶ ‘Because the Lord ^(U)could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have ^[g]declared, ¹⁸ ‘^(V)The Lord 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.”

The Lord Pardons and Rebukes

²⁰ So the Lord 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 the Lord. ²² Surely ^(AC)all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed 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 ^[l]descendants 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 ^[m]Red Sea.”

²⁶ The Lord 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 ^[n]making against Me. ²⁸ Say to them, ‘^(AJ)As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘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 ^[o]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 ^[p]swore to settle you, ^(AN)except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. ^31 (AO)Your children, however, whom you said would become a prey—I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. ^32 (AP)But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. ³³ Your sons shall be shepherds for ^(AQ)forty years in the wilderness, and they will ^[q]suffer for your ^[r]unfaithfulness, until your corpses ^[s]lie 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 ^[t]guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. ^35 (AS)I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, 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 the Lord. 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 Repulsed

³⁹ When Moses spoke ^(AW)these words to all the sons of Israel, ^(AX)the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ^[u]ridge of the hill country, saying, “^(AY)Here we are; ^[v]we have indeed sinned, but we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised.” ⁴¹ But Moses said, “^(AZ)Why then are you transgressing the ^[w]commandment of the Lord, when it will not succeed? ^42 (BA)Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. 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 the Lord. And the Lord will not be with you.” ⁴⁴ But they went up heedlessly to the ^[x]ridge of the hill country; neither ^(BB)the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses left 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’s Rebellion

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 action, ² and they rose up before Moses, ^[a]together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, ^[b](C)chosen in the assembly, men of renown. ³ 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)the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

⁴ When Moses heard this, ^(G)he fell on his face; ⁵ and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord 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 company, ⁷ and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord 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 do 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? And are you ^(M)seeking for the priesthood also? ¹¹ Therefore you and all your company are gathered together ^(N)against the Lord; 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 have us die 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 the Lord, “^(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 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company be present before the Lord tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron. ¹⁷ Each of you take his firepan and put incense on ^[l]it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty 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 the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ Then the Lord 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 the Lord 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)Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, ^(AD)or you will be swept away in all their sin.” ²⁷ So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; and 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 Moses said, “By this you shall know that ^(AF)the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not ^[o]my doing. ²⁹ If these men die ^[p]the death of all men or ^[q]if they suffer the ^(AG)fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But ^(AH)if the Lord ^[r]brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they ^(AI)descend alive into ^[s]Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the Lord.”

³¹ 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 alive to ^[t]Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. ³⁴ All Israel who were around them fled at their ^[u]outcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us up!” ^35 (AL)Fire also came forth from the Lord and consumed the ^(AM)two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.

^36 [v]Then the Lord 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 ^[w]blaze, for they are holy; and you scatter the ^[x]burning coals abroad. ³⁸ As for the censers of these ^[y]men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered sheets for a plating of the altar, since they did present them before the Lord 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 offered, and they hammered them out as a plating for the altar, ⁴⁰ as a ^[z]reminder to the sons of Israel that ^(AO)no ^[aa]layman who is not of the ^[ab]descendants of Aaron should come near ^(AP)to burn incense before the Lord; so that he will not become like Korah and his company—just as the Lord had spoken to him ^[ac]through Moses.

Murmuring 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 Lord’s 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 ^(AR)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 “^[ad](AS)Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. ⁴⁶ 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 the Lord, 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 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 ^[ae]Then the Lord 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 It will come about that the rod of ^(AZ)the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I will lessen from upon Myself 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 the Lord in ^(BA)the tent of the testimony.

⁸ Now 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 blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. ⁹ Moses then brought out all the rods from the presence of the Lord to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod. ¹⁰ But the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron ^(BC)before the testimony ^[af]to be kept as a sign against the ^[ag](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 the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

¹² Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “^(BE)Behold, we perish, we are dying, we are all dying! ^13 (BF)Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, must die. Are we to perish completely?”