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Numbers 16
EasyEnglish Bible
Numbers 16
EasyEnglish Bible
Korah and other people turn against Moses
16 Then Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, decided to speak against Moses. Eliab's sons, Dathan and Abiram, and Peleth's son, On, who were descendants of Reuben, were with him. 2 Together with 250 leaders of the Israelites, they all turned against Moses. Those were famous men that the people had chosen as their leaders. 3 They all came to Moses and Aaron and they said, ‘All the Israelites are special. The Lord has chosen all of us and he is with us all. So you should not say that you are better than the rest of the Lord's people.’
4 When Moses heard that, he threw himself onto the ground. 5 Moses said to Korah and to all the other men, ‘Tomorrow the Lord will show us who is truly special to him. He will show us who really belongs to him. He will make the person that he chooses come near to him. 6 Now do this: Get some pots for yourselves, Korah and your group of friends. 7 Put fire and incense in them, to burn in front of the Lord tomorrow. Then the Lord will choose the man who is holy. You make yourselves too important, you descendants of Levi!’
8 Then Moses said to Korah, ‘Listen, you descendants of Levi. 9 The God of Israel has caused you Levites to be separate from all the other Israelites. He has brought you near to himself, to work in the Lord's Tent. He has chosen you to stand in front of all the people to serve them. But it seems that this is not enough for you. 10 He has brought you, Korah, and all the other descendants of Levi near to himself. But it seems that you want to be priests as well. 11 You are not only speaking bad words against Aaron. You and all your group are complaining against the Lord!’
12 Then Moses called Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, to come to him. But they said, ‘No, we will not come. 13 You have brought us out of a country where there is plenty of food and drink, enough for everyone. You have brought us here, where we will die in the desert. But it seems that that is not enough for you. It seems that you want to be our master as well! 14 You have certainly not brought us into a land where there is plenty of food and drink. You have not given to us fields and vineyards, for us and for our descendants. You cannot deceive all these men. We will not come up to meet with you!’
15 Moses was angry. He said to the Lord, ‘Do not accept what these men offer to you. I did not take anything from them, not even one donkey! I did not do a wrong thing to any of them.’
16 Moses said to Korah, ‘Tomorrow, you and your men must come to the Tent of Meeting. You must come to stand in front of the Lord. Aaron will be there too. 17 Each of you must take a pot and you must put incense in it. You must put the pots on the altar in front of the Lord. That will be 250 pots. You yourself must do the same thing, as well as Aaron.’ 18 So each man took a pot. He put incense in it, and fire to burn it. They stood with Moses and Aaron at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
19 Korah brought all his group of people to stand against Moses and Aaron at the door of the Tent of Meeting. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 20 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 ‘Stand away from these men so that I can kill them.’
22 But Moses and Aaron threw themselves on the ground. Their faces were touching the ground. They said, ‘You, our God, are the God who gives life to all people. When one man does a bad thing, will you be angry with all the people? Is that right?’
23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 ‘Tell the people to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’
25 Moses got up from the ground. He went to Dathan and Abiram. The leaders of the Israelites went with him. 26 Moses said to all the people, ‘Move away from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them. If you do not move away, God may destroy you together with them, because of all their sins.’
27 So the people moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were standing with their wives, babies and children at the doors of their tents.
28 Then Moses said to the people, ‘Now you will know that the Lord has chosen me to lead you. He has told me to do this. It was not my own idea. This is how you will know. 29 If these men die in a usual way, as all men will die one day, then the Lord did not choose me. 30 But if the Lord causes something new to happen to these men, you will know that they have turned against him. For example, a hole might appear in the ground so that these men fall into it. They might fall down into their own graves while they are still alive. If that happens to them and to all that belongs to them, then you will know that the Lord has punished them.’
31 When Moses finished speaking, a hole opened in the ground. 32 Like a big mouth, it ate those men, their families and everything that belonged to them. The earth covered Korah, all his group and everything that belonged to them. 33 They all went down into the deep grave while they were still alive. The ground closed over them and they died, no longer part of God's people. 34 When the other Israelites heard those men shout, they ran away quickly. They were saying, ‘Help! The ground might eat us too!’
35 Then the Lord sent fire down. It killed the 250 men who were offering the incense to God.
36 The Lord said to Moses, 37 ‘Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he must take the pots with incense out of the burning fire. That is because those pots are holy. Then you must throw away the coal over all the ground round that place. 38 Those men died because they did a bad thing. But the pots that they were holding are holy, because they were offering the incense to the Lord. So workers must use hammers to make the pots into thin metal. Then cover the altar with the metal. That will be like a sign to warn the Israelites.’ 39 So Eleazar took the 250 pots and he used the bronze metal to cover the altar. 40 Then the Israelites would remember not to do what Korah and his group did. Only people from the family of Aaron could burn incense on the Lord's altar. God would punish anyone else, like he punished Korah and his men. The Lord had given this command through Moses.
41 But on the next day, all the Israelites together complained against Moses and Aaron. They said, ‘You have killed the Lord's people!’ 42 When the people came together to stand against Moses and Aaron, they turned to look at the Tent of Meeting. The Lord's cloud covered the Tent and his glory appeared. 43 Moses and Aaron went to stand at the front of the Tent of Meeting.
44 The Lord said to Moses, 45 ‘Get away from the people so that I can destroy them immediately!’ Moses and Aaron threw themselves down so that their faces touched the ground. 46 Moses said to Aaron, ‘Pick up your pot. Take coals with fire from the altar and put incense with them in the pot. Then take it quickly among all the people. Remove their sin so that God will forgive them. Be quick! The Lord is so angry with the people that he is already punishing them with a bad disease!’
47 The bad disease was already killing some of the people. But Aaron did what Moses had told him to do. He took the pot of incense among the people to remove their sin. 48 In that way, he stood between the people who had died and those who were still living. The bad disease stopped killing people. 49 But 14,700 people died because of the disease, as well as the people who had died with Korah. 50 After the disease stopped, Aaron went back to Moses at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
Bamidbar 16
Orthodox Jewish Bible
Bamidbar 16
Orthodox Jewish Bible
16 Now Korach ben Yitzhar ben Kehat ben Levi, and Datan and Aviram, the Bnei Eliav, and On ben Pelet, Bnei Reuven, became insolent;
2 And they rose up before Moshe, with certain of the Bnei Yisroel, two hundred and fifty Nasi’ei Edah, chosen from the assembly, men of renown;
3 And they gathered themselves together against Moshe and against Aharon, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing Kol HaEdah are Kadoshim, every one of them, and Hashem is among them; why then lift ye up yourselves above the Kehal Hashem?
4 And when Moshe heard it, he fell upon his face;
5 And he spoke unto Korach and unto all his edah, saying, In the boker Hashem will show who are His, and who is the kadosh; and will cause him to come near unto Him: even him whom He hath chosen will He cause to come near unto Him.
6 This do: take you fire pans, Korach, and all his edah;
7 And put eish therein, put ketoret in them before Hashem tomorrow; it shall be that the man whom Hashem doth choose, he shall be haKadosh; ye take too much upon you, ye Bnei Levi.
8 And Moshe said unto Korach, Hear, now, ye Bnei Levi:
9 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that Elohei Yisroel hath separated you from the Adat Yisroel, to bring you near to Himself to do the Avodat Mishkan Hashem, and to stand before the Edah to minister unto them?
10 And He hath brought thee near to Him, and all thy brethren the Bnei Levi with thee; and seek ye the Kehunah also?
11 For which cause both thou and all thy edah are gathered together against Hashem; and what is Aharon, that ye murmur against him?
12 And Moshe sent to call Datan and Aviram, the Bnei Eliav, which said, We will not come up.
13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of an Eretz zavach cholov udevash, to kill us in the midbar, yet thou also keep trying to dominate us?
14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into an Eretz zavach cholov udevash, or given us nachalah of sadeh and kerem; wilt thou gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.
15 And Moshe was very angry, and said unto Hashem, Respect not thou their minchah; I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I wronged one of them.
16 And Moshe said unto Korach, Be thou and all thy edah before Hashem, thou, they, and Aharon, tomorrow;
17 And take every man his fire pan, put ketoret in them, and bring ye before Hashem every man his fire pan, 250 fire pans; thou also, and Aharon, each of you his fire pan.
18 And they took every man his fire pan and put eish in them and laid ketoret thereon, and stood in the entrance of the Ohel Mo’ed with Moshe and Aharon.
19 And Korach gathered kol haedah against them unto the entrance of the Ohel Mo’ed; and the Kavod Hashem appeared unto Kol HaEdah.
20 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe and unto Aharon, saying,
21 Separate yourselves from among this edah, that I may consume them in a moment.
22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, El Elohei HaRuchot L’Chol Basar, shall one man sin, and wilt Thou be angry with Kol HaEdah?
23 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,
24 Speak unto HaEdah, saying, Get you up away from the mishkan Korach, Datan, and Aviram.
25 And Moshe rose up and went unto Datan and Aviram; and the Ziknei Yisroel followed him.
26 And he spoke unto HaEdah, saying, Move back, now, from the tents of these anashim resha’im, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their chattot.
27 So they moved back from the mishkan Korach, Datan, and Aviram, on every side; Datan and Aviram came out, and stood in the entrance of their tents, their wives, their banim, and their little ones.
28 And Moshe said, Hereby ye shall know that Hashem hath sent me to do all these ma’asim; for I have not done them of mine own will.
29 If these men die the common death of kol haAdam, or if they be visited after the visitation of kol haAdam, then Hashem hath not sent me.
30 But if Hashem creates a new thing, and haadamah open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down chayyim into Sheol; then ye shall have da’as that these men have spurned Hashem.
31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these devarim, that haadamah split asunder that was under them:
32 And ha’aretz opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, their batim (houses), all the men that were of Korach, and all their possessions.
33 They, and all that were of them, went down chayyim into Sheol, and ha’aretz closed over them; and they perished from the midst of the Kahal.
34 And Kol Yisroel that were round about them fled at the cry of them, for they said, Lest ha’aretz swallow us up also.
35 And there came out from Hashem an eish, and consumed the 250 men that offered ketoret.
36 (17:1) And Hashem spoke unto Moshe saying,
37 (17:2) Speak unto Eleazar ben Aharon HaKohen that he take up the fire pans out of the burning, and scatter thou the eish yonder; for they are set apart as kodesh.
38 (17:3) The fire pans of these chatta’im against their own nefashot, let them make them hammered-out sheets for a covering of the Mizbe’ach: for they offered them before Hashem, therefore they became kadosh; and they shall be an ot unto the Bnei Yisroel.
39 (17:4) And Eleazar HaKohen took the bronze fire pans, wherewith they that were burned had offered; and they made hammered-out sheets for an overlay of the Mizbe’ach:
40 (17:5) To be a memorial reminder unto the Bnei Yisroel, that no zar, which is not of the zera Aharon, encroach to offer ketoret before Hashem; that he be not as Korach, and as his edah, as Hashem said to him by the hand of Moshe.
41 (17:6) But the next day Kol Adat Bnei Yisroel murmured against Moshe and against Aharon, saying, Ye have killed the Am Hashem.
42 (17:7) And it came to pass, when HaEdah was gathered against Moshe and against Aharon, that they looked toward the Ohel Mo’ed; and, hinei, the Anan covered it, and the Kavod Hashem appeared.
43 (17:8) And Moshe and Aharon came before the Ohel Mo’ed.
44 (17:9) And Hashem spoke unto Moshe saying,
45 (17:10) Get you away from among this edah, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
46 (17:11) And Moshe said unto Aharon, Take a fire pan, and put eish therein from off the Mizbe’ach, and put ketoret, and go quickly unto HaEdah, and make kapporah for them; for there is Ketzef (Wrath) gone out from Hashem; the plague is begun.
47 (17:12) And Aharon took as Moshe commanded, and ran into the midst of the Kahal; and, hinei, the plague was begun among HaAm: and he offered ketoret, and made kapporah for HaAm.
48 (17:13) And he stood between the mesim and the chayyim; and the plague was stopped.
49 (17:14) Now they that were the mesim in the maggefah (plague) were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, in addition to those who were mesim by reason of Korach.
50 (17:15) And Aharon returned unto Moshe unto the entrance of the Ohel Mo’ed; and the plague was stayed.
Numbers 16
New International Version
Numbers 16
New International Version
Korah, Dathan and Abiram
16 Korah(A) son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram(B), sons of Eliab,(C) and On son of Peleth—became insolent[a] 2 and rose up against Moses.(D) With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.(E) 3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron(F) and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy,(G) every one of them, and the Lord is with them.(H) Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”(I)
4 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.(J) 5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy,(K) and he will have that person come near him.(L) The man he chooses(M) he will cause to come near him. 6 You, Korah, and all your followers(N) are to do this: Take censers(O) 7 and tomorrow put burning coals(P) and incense(Q) in them before the Lord. The man the Lord chooses(R) will be the one who is holy.(S) You Levites have gone too far!”
8 Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites! 9 Isn’t it enough(T) for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?(U) 10 He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.(V) 11 It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble(W) against him?(X)”
12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram,(Y) the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come!(Z) 13 Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey(AA) to kill us in the wilderness?(AB) And now you also want to lord it over us!(AC) 14 Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey(AD) or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards.(AE) Do you want to treat these men like slaves[b]?(AF) No, we will not come!(AG)”
15 Then Moses became very angry(AH) and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey(AI) from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”
16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.(AJ) 17 Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before the Lord. You and Aaron are to present your censers also.(AK)” 18 So each of them took his censer,(AL) put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 19 When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them(AM) at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord(AN) appeared to the entire assembly. 20 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves(AO) from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”(AP)
22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown(AQ) and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things,(AR) will you be angry with the entire assembly(AS) when only one man sins?”(AT)
23 Then the Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”
25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel(AU) followed him. 26 He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men!(AV) Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away(AW) because of all their sins.(AX)” 27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.(AY) Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children(AZ) and little ones at the entrances to their tents.(BA)
28 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know(BB) that the Lord has sent me(BC) to do all these things and that it was not my idea: 29 If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me.(BD) 30 But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth(BE) and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead,(BF) then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.(BG)”
31 As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart(BH) 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them(BI) and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. 33 They went down alive into the realm of the dead,(BJ) with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. 34 At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”
35 And fire came out from the Lord(BK) and consumed(BL) the 250 men who were offering the incense.
36 The Lord said to Moses, 37 “Tell Eleazar(BM) son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers(BN) from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy— 38 the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives.(BO) Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar,(BP) for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign(BQ) to the Israelites.”
39 So Eleazar the priest(BR) collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death,(BS) and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, 40 as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense(BT) before the Lord,(BU) or he would become like Korah and his followers.(BV)
41 The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.
42 But when the assembly gathered in opposition(BW) to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord(BX) appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord said to Moses, 45 “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end(BY) to them at once.” And they fell facedown.
46 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer(BZ) and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly(CA) to make atonement(CB) for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord;(CC) the plague(CD) has started.” 47 So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people,(CE) but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. 48 He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.(CF) 49 But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.(CG) 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.[c]
Footnotes
- Numbers 16:1 Or Peleth—took men
- Numbers 16:14 Or to deceive these men; Hebrew Will you gouge out the eyes of these men
- Numbers 16:50 In Hebrew texts 16:36-50 is numbered 17:1-15.
Numbers 16
King James Version
Numbers 16
King James Version
16 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and 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 certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?
4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
5 And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the Lord will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.
6 This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
7 And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.
8 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
9 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?
10 And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?
11 For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:
13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?
14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
15 And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the Lord, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
16 And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:
17 And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.
18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.
19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation.
20 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
23 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of their's, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me.
30 But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord.
31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
35 And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
36 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.
38 The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the Lord, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
39 And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
40 To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the Lord; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the Lord said to him by the hand of Moses.
41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord.
42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
44 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
46 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun.
47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
50 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
Numbers 16
Modern English Version
Numbers 16
Modern English Version
Opposition to Moses and Aaron
16 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and 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 and men of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty chiefs of the assembly, famous in the assembly, well-known men. 3 They assembled against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. So why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”
4 And when Moses heard it, he fell on his face, 5 and he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, “In the morning the Lord will show who is His and who is holy, and He will bring him to come near to Him. Whom He has chosen He will bring near to Him. 6 Do this: Take censers, Korah and all his company; 7 put fire in them, and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow, and it will be that the man whom the Lord chooses, he will be holy. You take too much upon yourselves, sons of Levi.”
8 Moses said to Korah, “Listen, please, sons of Levi. 9 Does it seem a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the assembly of Israel to bring you near to Himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the assembly to minister to them? 10 And He has brought you near to Him, and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, with you, and you also seek the priesthood? 11 Therefore both you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord, and who is Aaron that you murmur against him?”
12 And Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, who said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land that flows with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness because you make yourself a prince over us? 14 Moreover you have not brought us into a land that flows 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 Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I hurt one of them.”
16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company be before the Lord, you and them and Aaron, tomorrow. 17 Let each man take his censer and put incense in it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers. Also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.” 18 Every man took his censer and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 Korah gathered all the assembly against them to the door of the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the assembly. 20 The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: 21 Separate yourselves from among this assembly, that I may consume them in a moment.
22 They fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, will one man sin and You will be angry with all the assembly?”
23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 24 Speak to the assembly, saying: Get up from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
25 Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 He spoke to the assembly, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away for all their sins.” 27 So they got up from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side, and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood in the opening of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their children.
28 Moses said, “By this you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, because I have not done them of my own mind. 29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they are visited after the visitation of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord makes a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will know that these men have despised the Lord.”
31 So it was, when he finished speaking all these words, that the ground that was under them split open. 32 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, and their houses, and all the men that belonged to Korah, and all their goods. 33 And they and all that belonged to them went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly. 34 All Israel that was around them fled at their cry because they said, “The earth will swallow us also.”
35 A fire went out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
36 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 37 Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze, for they are holy. Then scatter the fire far and wide. 38 As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their own lives, make them into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they presented them before the Lord and they are holy. They shall be a sign to the children of Israel.
39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering on the altar, 40 to be a memorial to the children of Israel, that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, shall approach to offer incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his company, as the Lord has said to him through Moses.
The People Complain
41 But the next day all the assembly of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.”
42 When the assembly was gathered against Moses and Aaron, they looked toward the tent of meeting. The cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 Moses and Aaron went before the tent of meeting. 44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Get up from among this assembly, that I may destroy them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces.
46 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from off the altar, and put in incense, and go quickly to the assembly, and make an atonement for them, because wrath has gone out from the Lord. The plague has begun.” 47 Aaron took it as Moses commanded and ran into the midst of the assembly, where the plague had begun among the people. He put in incense and made an atonement for the people. 48 He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. 49 Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those that died concerning the thing of Korah. 50 Aaron returned to Moses, to the door of the tent of meeting, and the plague was stopped.
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