Rebellion Against Moses and Aaron

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 men; ² and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, ^(C)representatives of the congregation, men of renown. ^3 (D)They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You ^[a]take too much upon yourselves, for ^(E)all the congregation is holy, every one of them, ^(F)and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

⁴ So when Moses heard it, he ^(G)fell on his face; ⁵ and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is ^(H)His and who is ^(I)holy,^[b] and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to ^(J)come near to Him. ⁶ Do this: Take censers, Korah and all your company; ⁷ put fire in them and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the Lord chooses is the holy one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!”

⁸ Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: ⁹ Is it ^(K)a small thing to you that the God of Israel has ^(L)separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to serve them; ¹⁰ and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also? ¹¹ Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord. ^(M)And what is Aaron that you complain against him?”

¹² And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up! ¹³ Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of ^(N)a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should ^(O)keep acting like a prince over us? ¹⁴ Moreover ^(P)you have not brought us into ^(Q)a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”

¹⁵ Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, ^(R)“Do not ^[c]respect their offering. ^(S)I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I hurt one of them.”

¹⁶ And Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow, you and all your company be present ^(T)before the Lord—you and they, as well as Aaron. ¹⁷ Let each take his censer and put incense in it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers; both you and Aaron, each with his censer.” ¹⁸ So every man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the tabernacle of meeting with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then ^(U)the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ^21 (V)“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may ^(W)consume them in a moment.”

²² Then they ^(X)fell^[d] on their faces, and said, “O God, ^(Y)the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the ^(Z)congregation?”

²³ So the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ”

²⁵ Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶ And he spoke to the congregation, saying, ^(AA)“Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.” ²⁷ So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little ^(AB)children.

²⁸ And Moses said: ^(AC)“By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them ^(AD)of my own will. ²⁹ If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are ^(AE)visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But if the Lord creates ^(AF)a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they ^(AG)go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.”

^31 (AH)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 ^(AI)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 ^(AJ)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 ^(AK)they are holy, and scatter the fire some distance away. ³⁸ The censers of ^(AL)these men who sinned ^[e]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; ^(AM)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 ^[f]memorial to the children of Israel ^(AN)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 ^(AO)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 ^(AP)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 ^[g]atonement for them; ^(AQ)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 ^(AR)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 ^(AS)the Testimony, ^(AT)where I meet with you. ⁵ And it shall be that the rod of the man ^(AU)whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, ^(AV)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 ^(AW)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 ^(AX)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 ^(AY)Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept ^(AZ)as a sign against the rebels, ^(BA)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 (BB)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: ^(BC)“You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall ^(BD)bear the ^[h]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 ^(BE)tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be ^(BF)joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of ^[i]witness. ³ They shall attend to your ^[j]needs and ^(BG)all the needs of the tabernacle; ^(BH)but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, ^(BI)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; ^(BJ)but an outsider shall not come near you. ⁵ And you shall attend to ^(BK)the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, ^(BL)that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel. ⁶ Behold, I Myself have ^(BM)taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; ^(BN)they are a gift to you, given by the Lord, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁷ Therefore ^(BO)you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and ^(BP)behind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a ^(BQ)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, ^(BR)I Myself have also given you ^[k]charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them ^(BS)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 ^(BT)grain offering and every ^(BU)sin offering and every ^(BV)trespass offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons. ^10 (BW)In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you.

¹¹ “This also is yours: ^(BX)the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. ^(BY)Everyone who is ^[l]clean in your house may eat it.

^12 (BZ)“All the ^[m]best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, ^(CA)their firstfruits which they offer to the Lord, I have given them to you. ¹³ Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, ^(CB)which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

^14 (CC)“Every ^[n]devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.

¹⁵ “Everything that first opens ^(CD)the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the Lord, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless ^(CE)the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. ¹⁶ And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, ^(CF)according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is ^(CG)twenty gerahs. ^17 (CH)But the firstborn of a cow, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. ^(CI)You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. ¹⁸ And their flesh shall be yours, just as the ^(CJ)wave^[o] breast and the right thigh are yours.

¹⁹ “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; ^(CK)it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you.”

²⁰ Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You shall have ^(CL)no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; ^(CM)I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.

Tithes for Support of the Levites

²¹ “Behold, ^(CN)I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as ^[p]an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, ^(CO)the work of the tabernacle of meeting. ^22 (CP)Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, ^(CQ)lest they bear sin and die. ²³ But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. ²⁴ For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites ^[q]as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ ”

The Tithe of the Levites

²⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, ^(CR)a tenth of the tithe. ²⁷ And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the ^(CS)threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. ²⁸ Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the Lord from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the Lord’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. ²⁹ Of all your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the Lord, from all the ^[r]best of them, the consecrated part of them.’ ³⁰ Therefore you shall say to them: ‘When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress. ³¹ You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is ^(CT)your ^[s]reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting. ³² And you shall ^(CU)bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not ^(CV)profane the holy gifts of the children of Israel, lest you die.’ ”