Numbers 16
The Voice
16 Sometime later, a discontented contingent challenged Moses. Korah (Izhar’s son, Kohath’s grandson, and Levi’s great-grandson) together with the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram (Eliab’s sons) and On (Peleth’s son) 2 gathered another 250 Israelite men, all of them respectable members of the community, some even chosen leaders, and confronted Moses.
Korah and His Men (to Moses and Aaron): 3 You’ve taken this leadership way too far. We are all holy; indeed each individual is holy to our God. The Eternal One is present among the entire congregation. How can you presume to be better than any of us, the Eternal’s chosen community?
4 When Moses heard their complaint, he collapsed to the ground, again hoping to divert God’s anger.
Moses (to Korah and his men): 5 In the morning, the Eternal One will demonstrate exactly who is who among us—who belongs to the Eternal[a] as a holy servant whom He allows into His presence. He will indicate whom He chooses to approach Him. 6 All of you, take censers: Korah and your company. 7 Light them, put incense on the flame, and set them down in front of the Eternal tomorrow. The person whom He chooses will be the holy one. O Levites, you have taken this too far!
8 (to Korah) Listen, you Levites. 9 Isn’t it enough that the God of Israel has selected you specially, out of the entire Israelite congregation, to allow you to come close to the Eternal in the process of taking care of His very congregation tent and place of revelation? To be so distinguished before all of the other Israelites in your service? 10 The Eternal has granted you this privilege, Korah, you and all your fraternity of Levites. Yet you want the whole priesthood too? You should be ashamed. 11 This has led you to band together against the Eternal. But why should you be so hard and gripe against Aaron?
12 Bring the brothers Dathan and Abiram (Eliab’s sons) to me.
Dathan and Abiram: Forget it. We are not going to come running at your bidding. 13 You took us out of a place that was so rich—Egypt, flowing with milk and honey—in order to let us die in this desert wasteland, and now you’re actually trying to assert yourself as our ruler. 14 You haven’t brought us to a land flowing with milk and honey or delivered on your promise of fields and vineyards to call our own. What else will you do? Are you going to pluck out the eyes of these 250 men now? There’s no way we’re coming to you.
15 Now, Moses was furious.
Moses (to the Lord): Whatever You do, do not even look at the offerings from these people. I’ve never taken anything that belonged to them or hurt them in any way.
Moses responds with a justified and righteous anger. He demands that they be ignored because they’re full of themselves, and they are liars too.
16 (to Korah) You, get your unruly mob over here tomorrow. Assemble in this spot—before the Eternal One Himself—you and your people. Aaron will be there too. 17 Then let each person (all 250) take his censer, put the incense into it, and present it to the Eternal. You, too, Korah; and Aaron will do the same.
18 They all did this. They ignited the censers, put their incense inside, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the opening of the congregation tent where God would meet with them. 19 But Korah stirred up the people standing there against Moses and Aaron. The glory of the Eternal One was visible to all, 20 and then the Eternal spoke to Moses and Aaron.
Suddenly the brilliance of God’s glory overtakes the place. The people are used to the glory of God being reserved for Moses. But now all could experience it. This rare occurrence is again related to open rebellion against Moses. God makes it clear: His conduit to the people is Moses. They must have thought back on the experience at Hazeroth, when Miriam and Aaron chastised Moses for marrying a Cushite, and God also appeared (chapter 12).
Eternal One: 21 You two, break away from this crowd. Step aside so that I can devour them in a moment.
22 But Moses and Aaron fell down, bowing low before the glory of God.
Moses and Aaron: O God, God of the spirit of all human beings, will You really take out Your anger for one person’s wrongdoing on this large group?
23 The Eternal One told Moses,
Eternal One: 24 Well, then, tell the innocent people to step aside, to distance themselves from the places where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram live.
25 So Moses picked himself up and went over to Dathan and Abiram, with all Israel’s elders closely behind.
Moses (to the greater congregation): 26 Get away from the houses of these presumptuous people who have made the Lord so angry. Get away from them and from all their possessions so that you’re not destroyed along with them for their wrongdoing.
27 The people hurried to distance themselves from Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and from their tents. Then Dathan and Abiram, along with their wives and children, stepped out of their tents and stood in the openings.
Moses: 28 Watch now, and you’ll have proof that I’m not acting out of self-interest but was truly sent by the Eternal One to do everything I’ve done so far. 29 If these instigators die normally, of natural causes, then I am not sent by Him. 30 But if He does something completely extraordinary, if the ground underneath them opens up and swallows them whole along with everything they have (so that they go straight down into the land of death even while they’re still alive); then you can be absolutely sure that these men have willfully turned their backs on the Eternal One.
31 No sooner had Moses finished speaking than the earth split underneath them. 32 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them down—them and everything and everyone associated with Korah. 33 Then, just as suddenly, the ground closed up over them again, and so they perished, taken alive to the land of the dead. 34 Those who remained ran away, terrified.
Surviving Israelites: What if the earth swallows us up too?
35 A fire shot out from the Eternal One and incinerated the 250 men who were offering the incense on Korah’s behalf.
36 The Eternal One continued speaking to Moses.
Eternal One: 37-40 Tell Priest Aaron’s son, Eleazar, to pull the censers out of the smoldering pile and scatter the burning coals all around, as far as he can. Take the censers used by these men, at the cost of their lives, and hammer them down into sheets that can cover the altar. After all, the objects are now holy, having been presented to Me. They’ll also serve as a cautionary reminder for the Israelites that anyone who isn’t related to Aaron shouldn’t presume to approach Me with incense—or else he’ll end up like Korah and his men, just as I told you to warn would happen.
So Eleazar the priest hammered the bronze censers down into a covering for the altar. 41 Nevertheless, on the very next day, all of the Israelite people railed against Moses and Aaron.
Israelites: You murdered Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their families, those people of the Eternal One.
42-43 When the congregation gathered to attack them, Moses and Aaron headed for the congregation tent and stood in front of it. The cloud was there, and the brilliance of the Eternal’s presence was obvious to all. 44 There, the Eternal One spoke to Moses.
Eternal One: 45 Stay clear of this rebellious lot because I am going to devour them right now.
Moses and Aaron fell to the ground, hoping to abate God’s anger.
Moses (to Aaron): 46 Hurry, light your censer off of the altar’s flame, put incense on the flame, and bring it out into the midst of the congregation to cover their sins! The Eternal One’s anger has already headed into the crowd, carrying plague and destruction with it.
47 So Aaron rushed into the crowd with his sacred censer, even as people had already begun to suffer the plague. He stood there covering their sins with the incense smoke, 48 and where he stood, the plague stopped—dead people on one side, the living on the other. 49 Thus the plague ended as swiftly as it had begun, but a full 14,700 died that day, in addition to all those who died in the Korah affair. 50 Then Aaron walked back to join Moses in front of the congregation tent since the plague had stopped.
Footnotes
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.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.