Numbers 16
Legacy Standard Bible
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.
Footnotes
- Numbers 16:2 Lit and men from
- Numbers 16:2 Lit called ones of
- Numbers 16:3 Lit It is much for you
- Numbers 16:6 Lit his
- Numbers 16:7 Lit It is much for you
- Numbers 16:9 Or too little for you
- Numbers 16:11 Lit what
- Numbers 16:12 Lit to call
- Numbers 16:13 Lit a little thing
- Numbers 16:14 Lit bore out
- Numbers 16:14 Lit those
- Numbers 16:17 Lit them
- Numbers 16:18 Lit them
- Numbers 16:18 Lit them
- Numbers 16:29 Lit like the death
- Numbers 16:29 Lit the visitation of all men be visited upon them
- Numbers 16:34 Or voice
- Numbers 16:36 Ch 17:1 in Heb
- Numbers 16:37 Or place of burning
- Numbers 16:37 Lit the fire
- Numbers 16:38 Lit sinners against their lives
- Numbers 16:40 Or reminder
- Numbers 16:40 Lit stranger
- Numbers 16:45 Or Arise
Numbers 16
Revised Standard Version
Revolt of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram
16 Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abi′ram the sons of Eli′ab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, 2 took men; and they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men; 3 and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 4 When Moses heard it, he fell on his face; 5 and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show who is his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him; him whom he will choose he will cause to come near to him. 6 Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company; 7 put fire in them and put incense upon them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” 8 And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; 10 and that he has brought you near him, and all your brethren the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? 11 Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together; what is Aaron that you murmur against him?”
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abi′ram the sons of Eli′ab; and they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us? 14 Moreover you have not brought us into 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 And Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one ass from them, and I have not harmed one of them.” 16 And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, before the Lord, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow; 17 and let every one of you take his censer, and put incense upon it, and every one of you bring before the Lord his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.” 18 So every man took his censer, and they put fire in them and laid incense upon them, and they stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.
20 And the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” 22 And they fell on their faces, and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be angry with all the congregation?” 23 And the Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the congregation, Get away from about the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abi′ram.”
25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abi′ram; and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he said to the congregation, “Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” 27 So they got away from about the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abi′ram; and Dathan and Abi′ram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. 28 And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. 29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they are visited by the fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth, and swallows them up, with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”
31 And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split asunder; 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men that belonged to Korah and all their goods. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at their cry; for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” 35 And fire came forth from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men offering the incense.
36 [a] Then the Lord said to Moses, 37 “Tell Elea′zar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze; then scatter the fire far and wide. For they are holy, 38 the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives; so let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the Lord; therefore they are holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel.” 39 So Elea′zar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered; and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar, 40 to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that no one who is not a priest, who is not of the decendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the Lord, lest he become as Korah and as his company—as the Lord said to Elea′zar through Moses.
41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the people of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” 42 And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting; and behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord said to Moses, 45 “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and lay incense on it, and carry it quickly to the congregation, and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone forth from the Lord, the plague has begun.” 47 So Aaron took it as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and behold, the plague had already begun among the people; and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stopped. 49 Now those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. 50 And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.
Footnotes
- Numbers 16:36 Ch 17.1 in Heb
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