Book of Common Prayer

Parashah 38: Korach (Korah) 16:1–18:32

16 Now Korach the son of Yitz’har, the son of K’hat, the son of Levi, along with Datan and Aviram, the sons of Eli’av, and On, the son of Pelet, descendants of Re’uven, took men and ² rebelled against Moshe. Siding with them were 250 men of Isra’el, leaders of the community, key members of the council, men of reputation. ³ They assembled themselves against Moshe and Aharon and said to them, “You take too much on yourselves! After all, the entire community is holy, every one of them, and Adonai is among them. So why do you lift yourselves up above Adonai’s assembly?”

⁴ When Moshe heard this he fell on his face. ⁵ Then he said to Korach and his whole group, “In the morning, Adonai will show who are his and who is the holy person he will allow to approach him. Yes, he will bring whomever he chooses near to himself. ⁶ Do this: take censers, Korach and all your group; ⁷ put fire in them; and put incense in them before Adonai tomorrow. The one whom Adonai chooses will be the one who is holy! It is you, you sons of Levi, who are taking too much on yourselves!”

⁸ Then Moshe said to Korach, “Listen here, you sons of Levi! ⁹ Is it for you a mere trifle that the God of Isra’el has separated you from the community of Isra’el to bring you close to himself, so that you can do the work in the tabernacle of Adonai and stand before the community serving them? ¹⁰ He has brought you close and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you. Now you want the office of cohen too! ¹¹ That’s why you and your group have gathered together against Adonai! After all, what is Aharon that you complain against him?”

¹² Then Moshe sent to summon Datan and Aviram, the sons of Eli’av. But they replied, “We won’t come up! ¹³ Is it such a mere trifle, bringing us up from a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert, that now you arrogate to yourself the role of dictator over us? (ii) ¹⁴ You haven’t at all brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, and you haven’t put us in possession of fields and vineyards. Do you think you can gouge out these men’s eyes and blind them? We won’t come up!”

¹⁵ Moshe was very angry and said to Adonai, “Don’t accept their grain offering! I haven’t taken one donkey from them, I’ve done nothing wrong to any of them.” ¹⁶ Moshe said to Korach, “You and your group, be there before Adonai tomorrow — you, they and Aharon. ¹⁷ Each of you take his fire pan and put incense in it; every one of you, bring before Adonai his fire pan, 250 fire pans, you too, and Aharon — each one his fire pan.”

¹⁸ Each man took his fire pan, put fire in it, laid incense on it and stood at the entrance to the tent of meeting with Moshe and Aharon. ¹⁹ Korach assembled all the group who were against them at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then the glory of Adonai appeared to the whole assembly.

²¹ But now, quite apart from Torah, God’s way of making people righteous in his sight has been made clear — although the Torah and the Prophets give their witness to it as well — ²² and it is a righteousness that comes from God, through the faithfulness of Yeshua the Messiah, to all who continue trusting. For it makes no difference whether one is a Jew or a Gentile, ²³ since all have sinned and come short of earning God’s praise. ²⁴ By God’s grace, without earning it, all are granted the status of being considered righteous before him, through the act redeeming us from our enslavement to sin that was accomplished by the Messiah Yeshua. ²⁵ God put Yeshua forward as the kapparah for sin through his faithfulness in respect to his bloody sacrificial death. This vindicated God’s righteousness; because, in his forbearance, he had passed over [with neither punishment nor remission] the sins people had committed in the past; ²⁶ and it vindicates his righteousness in the present age by showing that he is righteous himself and is also the one who makes people righteous on the ground of Yeshua’s faithfulness.

²⁷ So what room is left for boasting? None at all! What kind of Torah excludes it? One that has to do with legalistic observance of rules? No, rather, a Torah that has to do with trusting. ²⁸ Therefore, we hold the view that a person comes to be considered righteous by God on the ground of trusting, which has nothing to do with legalistic observance of Torah commands.

²⁹ Or is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, he is indeed the God of the Gentiles; ³⁰ because, as you will admit, God is one.^[a] Therefore, he will consider righteous the circumcised on the ground of trusting and the uncircumcised through that same trusting. ³¹ Does it follow that we abolish Torah by this trusting? Heaven forbid! On the contrary, we confirm Torah.

¹³ Then children were brought to him so that he might lay his hands on them and pray for them, but the talmidim rebuked the people bringing them. ¹⁴ However, Yeshua said, “Let the children come to me, don’t stop them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵ Then, after laying his hands on them, he went on his way.

¹⁶ A man approached Yeshua and said, “Rabbi, what good thing should I do in order to have eternal life?” He said to him, ¹⁷ “Why are you asking me about good? There is One who is good! But if you want to obtain eternal life, observe the mitzvot.” ¹⁸ The man asked him, “Which ones?” and Yeshua said, “Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t give false testimony ^{[a] 19} honor father and mother ^[b] and love your neighbor as yourself.”^{[c] 20} The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; where do I still fall short?” ²¹ Yeshua said to him, “If you are serious about reaching the goal, go and sell your possessions, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!” ²² But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was wealthy.