Numbers 16
New Living Translation
Korah’s Rebellion
16 One day Korah son of Izhar, a descendant of Kohath son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben. 2 They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly. 3 They united against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have gone too far! The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the Lord, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the Lord’s people?”
4 When Moses heard what they were saying, he fell face down on the ground. 5 Then he said to Korah and his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show us who belongs to him[a] and who is holy. The Lord will allow only those whom he selects to enter his own presence. 6 Korah, you and all your followers must prepare your incense burners. 7 Light fires in them tomorrow, and burn incense before the Lord. Then we will see whom the Lord chooses as his holy one. You Levites are the ones who have gone too far!”
8 Then Moses spoke again to Korah: “Now listen, you Levites! 9 Does it seem insignificant to you that the God of Israel has chosen you from among all the community of Israel to be near him so you can serve in the Lord’s Tabernacle and stand before the people to minister to them? 10 Korah, he has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites. Are you now demanding the priesthood as well? 11 The Lord is the one you and your followers are really revolting against! For who is Aaron that you are complaining about him?”
12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they replied, “We refuse to come before you! 13 Isn’t it enough that you brought us out of Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us here in this wilderness, and that you now treat us like your subjects? 14 What’s more, you haven’t brought us into another land flowing with milk and honey. You haven’t given us a new homeland with fields and vineyards. Are you trying to fool these men?[b] We will not come.”
15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their grain offerings! I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, and I have never hurt a single one of them.” 16 And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers must come here tomorrow and present yourselves before the Lord. Aaron will also be here. 17 You and each of your 250 followers must prepare an incense burner and put incense on it, so you can all present them before the Lord. Aaron will also bring his incense burner.”
18 So each of these men prepared an incense burner, lit the fire, and placed incense on it. Then they all stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle[c] with Moses and Aaron. 19 Meanwhile, Korah had stirred up the entire community against Moses and Aaron, and they all gathered at the Tabernacle entrance. Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to the whole community, 20 and the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Get away from all these people so that I may instantly destroy them!”
22 But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground. “O God,” they pleaded, “you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Must you be angry with all the people when only one man sins?”
23 And the Lord said to Moses, 24 “Then tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 So Moses got up and rushed over to the tents of Dathan and Abiram, followed by the elders of Israel. 26 “Quick!” he told the people. “Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and don’t touch anything that belongs to them. If you do, you will be destroyed for their sins.” 27 So all the people stood back from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Then Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, together with their wives and children and little ones.
28 And Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things that I have done—for I have not done them on my own. 29 If these men die a natural death, or if nothing unusual happens, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord does something entirely new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and all their belongings, and they go down alive into the grave,[d] then you will know that these men have shown contempt for the Lord.”
31 He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them. 32 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the men, along with their households and all their followers who were standing with them, and everything they owned. 33 So they went down alive into the grave, along with all their belongings. The earth closed over them, and they all vanished from among the people of Israel. 34 All the people around them fled when they heard their screams. “The earth will swallow us, too!” they cried. 35 Then fire blazed forth from the Lord and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense.
36 [e]And the Lord said to Moses, 37 “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pull all the incense burners from the fire, for they are holy. Also tell him to scatter the burning coals. 38 Take the incense burners of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and hammer the metal into a thin sheet to overlay the altar. Since these burners were used in the Lord’s presence, they have become holy. Let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel.”
39 So Eleazar the priest collected the 250 bronze incense burners that had been used by the men who died in the fire, and the bronze was hammered into a thin sheet to overlay the altar. 40 This would warn the Israelites that no unauthorized person—no one who was not a descendant of Aaron—should ever enter the Lord’s presence to burn incense. If anyone did, the same thing would happen to him as happened to Korah and his followers. So the Lord’s instructions to Moses were carried out.
41 But the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!” 42 As the community gathered to protest against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tabernacle and saw that the cloud had covered it, and the glorious presence of the Lord appeared.
43 Moses and Aaron came and stood in front of the Tabernacle, 44 and the Lord said to Moses, 45 “Get away from all these people so that I can instantly destroy them!” But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground.
46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Quick, take an incense burner and place burning coals on it from the altar. Lay incense on it, and carry it out among the people to purify them and make them right with the Lord.[f] The Lord’s anger is blazing against them—the plague has already begun.”
47 Aaron did as Moses told him and ran out among the people. The plague had already begun to strike down the people, but Aaron burned the incense and purified[g] the people. 48 He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped. 49 But 14,700 people died in that plague, in addition to those who had died in the affair involving Korah. 50 Then because the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 16:5 Greek version reads God has visited and knows those who are his. Compare 2 Tim 2:19.
- 16:14 Hebrew Are you trying to put out the eyes of these men?
- 16:18 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting; also in 16:19, 42, 43, 50.
- 16:30 Hebrew into Sheol; also in 16:33.
- 16:36 Verses 16:36-50 are numbered 17:1-15 in Hebrew text.
- 16:46 Or to make atonement for them.
- 16:47 Or and made atonement for.
Numbers 16
International Standard Version
The Rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram
16 Now Izhar’s son Korah, the grandson of Kohath, a descendant of Levi, along with Eliab’s sons Dathan and Abiram, and Peleth’s son On, a descendant of Reuben, took charge 2 of a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 community leaders, Israelis who were famous men and representatives from the assembly. 3 They gathered together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have appropriated too much for yourselves from the entire congregation, since all of them are holy, and the Lord is among them, too. Why do you exalt yourselves over the Lord’s assembly?”
4 When Moses heard this, he fell on his face. 5 Then he addressed Korah and his entire company, “In the morning, may the Lord reveal who belongs to him and who is holy. May he cause that person[a] to approach him. May he cause to approach him the one whom he has chosen. 6 Korah, you and your entire company are to bring censers 7 and put fire and incense in them in the Lord’s presence tomorrow. It will be that the man whom the Lord chooses will be holy. You’re taking too much for yourselves, you descendants of Levi.”
8 Moses also told Korah, “Listen now, you descendants of Levi! 9 Is it such an insignificant thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelis to draw you to himself, appointing you to do the work of the tent of the Lord and to stand before the community to minister to them? 10 He brought you near, along with all of your relatives, the descendants of Levi. Are you also seeking the priesthood? 11 Therefore you and your group have conspired against the Lord and Aaron. What is it that causes you to complain against him?”
12 So Moses sent for Eliab’s sons Dathan and Abiram, but they responded, “We’re not coming. 13 Is it such an insignificant thing that you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness? Now you’re trying to make yourself be a prince and rule over us, aren’t you? 14 You still haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you really think that you can make these men look the other way?[b] We won’t go up.”
15 Moses was very angry, so he told the Lord, “Please don’t accept their offering. I haven’t taken even one donkey from them nor have I hurt even one of them.”
16 Then Moses told Korah, “You and your entire company are to present yourselves in the Lord’s presence tomorrow—you, they, and Aaron. 17 Each man is to take a censer, put incense on it, and bring it into the Lord’s presence, each man with his censer, for a total of 250 censers. You and Aaron are each to bring his own censer.”
18 So each man took his censer, put fire coals inside of it, placed incense in it, and then stood at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, accompanied by Moses and Aaron. 19 When Korah had assembled the entire community in opposition to Moses and Aaron[c] at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the entire community.
God Vindicates Moses and Aaron
20 Then the Lord told Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves from among this community, and I’ll destroy them in a moment.”
22 Then they fell on their faces and said, “God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, will you be angry at the entire congregation on account of one man’s sin?”
23 Then the Lord instructed Moses, 24 “Tell the community to move away from where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram are living.”
25 So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 Then he told the community, “Move away from the camps of these wicked men and don’t touch anything that belongs to them. That way you won’t be destroyed along with all their sins.” 27 So they all moved away from the entire area where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were living.
Now Korah, Dathan, and Abiram stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, sons, and little children. 28 Then Moses said, “This is how you’ll know that the Lord has sent me to do all these awesome works—they’re not coming merely from me.[d] 29 If these people die a death similar to all other human beings, or if they are punished with a punishment common to other men, then the Lord didn’t send me. 30 But if the Lord creates something new,[e] so that the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and everything that belongs to them and they all descend directly to Sheol[f] while still alive, then you’ll know that these men have spurned the Lord.”
God Executes Korah’s Families
31 Just as he finished saying all these things, the ground under them split open. 32 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, all their households, everyone who was affiliated with Korah, and all of their property. 33 So they and all that belonged to them descended alive to Sheol.[g] Then the earth closed over them. That’s how they were annihilated from the assembly.
34 Then all of the Israelis who were around them ran away when they heard them crying, “…so the ground won’t swallow us up, too.” 35 After this, fire came from the Lord and incinerated the 250 men who offered the incense.
The Censers Used for the Altar
36 [h] Then the Lord instructed Moses, 37 “Tell Aaron’s son Eleazar the priest to take out the censers out of the flames[i] and scatter the coals far away, since they are holy. 38 As for the censers of those rebels who died, fasten them into beaten plates to line the altar. Since they brought them into the Lord’s presence, they’re holy. They are to become a reminder[j] to the Israelis.”
39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers that had been burned and beat them into metal plates for the altar, 40 to serve as a memorial to the Israelis, a reminder that no unauthorized person, who isn’t a descendant of Aaron, is to attempt[k] to burn[l] incense in the Lord’s presence, so that he may not become like Korah and his group, just as the Lord had spoken by the authority[m] of Moses.
The Israelis Continue to Complain
41 Nevertheless, the very next day, the whole congregation of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, “You’ve killed the Lord’s people!”
42 When the community gathered together against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tent of Meeting. All of a sudden, a cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron entered the Tent of Meeting.
44 The Lord told Moses, 45 “Leave this community, so I can annihilate them in a moment.”
But they fell upon their faces. 46 Then Moses told Aaron. “Take the censer, put fire on it from the altar, and burn some incense. Then walk quickly to the congregation and atone for them, because wrath has already come out from the Lord—the plague has begun.”
47 So Aaron took the censer,[n] just as Moses had spoken, and ran out to the center of the assembly, where a plague had begun among the people. He set the incense on fire and atoned for the people. 48 He stood between the dead and the living and restrained the plague. 49 Those who died due to the plague numbered 14,700, not counting those who died due to the matter with Korah.
50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting after the slaughter had been restrained.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 16:5 Lit. him
- Numbers 16:14 Lit. men blind
- Numbers 16:19 Lit. to them
- Numbers 16:28 Lit. not of my heart
- Numbers 16:30 Lit. creates a creation
- Numbers 16:30 I.e. the realm of the dead
- Numbers 16:33 I.e. the realm of the dead
- Numbers 16:36 This v. is 17:1 in MT, 16:37 is 17:2, and so through 16:50.
- Numbers 16:37 Lit. from between burning
- Numbers 16:38 Lit. sign
- Numbers 16:40 Lit. to come near
- Numbers 16:40 Lit. to sacrifice
- Numbers 16:40 Lit. by the hand
- Numbers 16:47 The Heb. lacks the censer
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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