Numbers 16
New American Standard Bible
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 men, 2 and they stood before Moses, [a]together with some of the sons of Israel, 250 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 group, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will make known who is His, and (H)who is holy, and will bring that one near to Himself; indeed, (I)the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. 6 Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and [d]your whole group, 7 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. [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 too small an honor for you that the God of Israel has singled you out from the congregation of Israel, (L)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 (M)seeking the priesthood as well? 11 Therefore you and your whole group are the ones gathered together (N)against the Lord; but as for Aaron, [f]who is he, that (O)you grumble against him?”
12 Then Moses sent [g]a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it [h]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 appoint yourself as master 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 (T)gouge out the eyes of [i]these men? We will not come up!”
15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “(U)Pay no attention to 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 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 [j]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 [k]it, and placed incense on [l]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 (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)so that I may consume them instantly.” 22 But they fell on their faces and said, “God, (Z)the God of the spirits of [m]humanity, (AA)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, ‘(AB)Get away from the areas around the [n]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, “(AC)Get away now from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, (AD)or you will be swept away in all their sin!” 27 So they moved away from the areas around the [o]tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, along with their wives, (AE)their sons, and their little ones. 28 Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that (AF)the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for it is not [p]my doing. 29 If these men die [q]the death of all mankind, or [r]if they suffer the (AG)fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But (AH)if the Lord [s]brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with everything that is theirs, and they (AI)descend alive into [t]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 (AJ)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, and (AK)all the people who belonged to Korah with all their possessions. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to [u]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 [v]outcry, for they said, “The earth might swallow us!” 35 (AL)Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the (AM)250 men who were offering the incense.
36 [w]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 [x]burning coals further away. 38 As for the censers of these [y]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 (AN)they shall [z]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 (AO)no [aa]layman, anyone who was not of the [ab]descendants of Aaron, would approach (AP)to burn incense before the Lord; then he would not become like Korah and his group—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 “(AS)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 (AT)make atonement for them, for (AU)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. (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 brought to a halt. 49 (AW)But those who died by the plague were 14,700 in number, besides those who (AX)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.
Footnotes
- Numbers 16:2 Lit and men from
- Numbers 16:2 Lit called ones of
- Numbers 16:3 Lit Much for you
- Numbers 16:6 Lit his
- Numbers 16:7 Lit Much for you
- Numbers 16:11 Lit what
- Numbers 16:12 Lit to call to
- Numbers 16:13 Lit a little thing
- Numbers 16:14 Lit those
- Numbers 16:17 Lit them
- Numbers 16:18 Lit them
- Numbers 16:18 Lit them
- Numbers 16:22 Lit all flesh
- Numbers 16:24 Lit residence
- Numbers 16:27 Lit dwelling place
- Numbers 16:28 Lit from my heart
- Numbers 16:29 Lit like the death
- Numbers 16:29 Lit the visitation of all men is visited upon them
- Numbers 16:30 Lit creates
- Numbers 16:30 I.e., the netherworld
- Numbers 16:33 I.e., the netherworld
- Numbers 16:34 Or voice
- Numbers 16:36 Ch 17:1 in Heb
- Numbers 16:37 Lit the fire
- Numbers 16:38 Lit sinners against their lives
- Numbers 16:38 Lit be for a
- Numbers 16:40 Lit stranger
- Numbers 16:40 Lit seed
- Numbers 16:40 Lit by the hand of
Numbers 16
Common English Bible
A challenge to the priesthood
16 Korah—Izhar’s son, Kohath’s grandson, and Levi’s great-grandson—with Dathan and Abiram, Eliab’s sons, and On, Peleth’s son, descendants of Reuben, 2 rose up against Moses, along with two hundred fifty Israelite men, leaders of the community, chosen by the assembly, men of reputation. 3 They assembled against Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You’ve gone too far, because the entire community is holy, every last one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”
4 When Moses heard this, he fell on his face. 5 He spoke to Korah and all his community, “In the morning the Lord will make known who is his, who is holy, and who is able to approach him. The one he chooses for himself is the one who will be able to approach him. 6 This is what must be done. Korah and your entire community: Take censers for yourselves. 7 Tomorrow put fire in them and place incense on them in the Lord’s presence. The man whom the Lord chooses, that one is holy. You Levites have gone too far!” 8 Moses said to Korah, “Listen, you Levites, 9 isn’t it enough for you that Israel’s God has separated you from the Israelite community to allow you to approach him, to perform the service of the Lord’s dwelling, and to serve before the community by ministering for them? 10 He has allowed you and all your fellow Levites with you to approach him. Yet you also seek the priesthood? 11 Thus you and your entire community have assembled against the Lord. But Aaron, what is he that you complain about him?”
Test of priesthood
12 Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, Eliab’s sons. But they said, “We won’t come up! 13 Isn’t it enough that you’ve brought us up from a land full of milk and honey to kill us in the desert so that you’d also dominate us? 14 Moreover, you haven’t brought us to a land full of milk and honey, nor given us the inheritance of field and vineyard. Would you also gouge out the eyes of these men? We won’t come up!”
15 Moses became very angry and he said to the Lord, “Pay no attention to their offering. I haven’t taken a single donkey from them, nor have I wronged any one of them.”
16 Moses said to Korah, “You and your entire community should appear before the Lord tomorrow, you, they, and Aaron. 17 Every person should take his censer, place incense on it, and present it before the Lord. Each person will carry his censer, two hundred fifty censers in all, including you and Aaron.” 18 Then every person took his censer, placed fire on it, put incense on it, and stood at the entrance of the meeting tent with Moses and Aaron. 19 Korah gathered the entire community with them to the entrance of the meeting tent.
Then the Lord’s glory appeared to the entire community. 20 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves from this community so that I may consume them in a moment.”
22 They fell on their faces and said, “God, the God of all living things. If one person sins, should you become angry with the entire community?”
23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “Speak to the community and say, ‘Withdraw from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’”
25 Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram. Israel’s elders followed him. 26 He spoke to the community: “Move away from the tents of these wicked men and don’t touch anything of theirs, lest you too be wiped out for all their sins.” 27 They withdrew from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Then Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents with their wives, children, and little ones. 28 Moses said, “By this you will know that the Lord sent me to do these deeds and that it wasn’t my own desire. 29 If all these people die a natural death, or if their fate be that of all humans, then the Lord hasn’t sent me. 30 But if the Lord performs an act of creation, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and everything that belongs to them, so that they descend alive to their graves, then you’ll know that these men disrespected the Lord.”
The rebels’ punishment
31 As soon as he finished speaking these words, the ground under them split open. 32 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, including every human that belonged to Korah and all their possessions. 33 They along with all their possessions descended alive to their graves, and the earth closed over them. They perished in the middle of the assembly. 34 All the Israelites who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us.” 35 Then fire went out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred fifty men offering incense.
The reminder of the censers
36 [a] The Lord spoke to Moses: 37 Tell Eleazar, Aaron the priest’s son, to raise the censers from the fire and scatter the ashes about, because they are holy. 38 Hammer the censers of those who sinned and lost their lives into thin plates for the altar. Since they presented them in the Lord’s presence, they had become holy. They will be a sign for the Israelites.
39 Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers presented by those who had been consumed by fire and hammered them into a covering for the altar, 40 just as the Lord instructed him through Moses. This was a reminder for the Israelites that no outsider who isn’t one of Aaron’s descendants should approach to burn incense in the Lord’s presence, so as not to be like Korah and his community.
41 On the next day the entire Israelite community complained to Moses and Aaron, “You killed the Lord’s people.” 42 When the community assembled against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the meeting tent. At that moment the cloud covered it, and the Lord’s glory appeared. 43 Moses and Aaron came to the front of the meeting tent, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses: 45 Get away from this community, so that I may consume them in an instant.
They fell on their faces, 46 and Moses said to Aaron, “Take the censer, put fire from the altar on it, place incense on it, go quickly to the community, and seek reconciliation for them. Indeed, the Lord’s anger has gone out. The plague has begun.” 47 Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the middle of the assembly, for the plague had already begun among the people. He burned incense and sought reconciliation for the people. 48 He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped. 49 Those who died from the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, in addition to those who died because of Korah. 50 Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the meeting tent once the plague stopped.
Footnotes
- Numbers 16:36 17:1 in Heb
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible