Numbers 16
16
Some Leaders Turn Against Moses
1Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On turned against Moses. (Korah was the son of Izhar. Izhar was the son of Kohath, and Kohath was the son of Levi. Dathan and Abiram were brothers, the sons of Eliab. And On was the son of Peleth. Dathan, Abiram, and On were descendants of Reuben.) 2These four men gathered 250 other men from Israel together and came against Moses. They were leaders who had been chosen by the people. All the people knew them. 3They came as a group to speak against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have gone too far—you are wrong! All the Israelites are holy—the Lord still lives among them. You are making yourselves more important than the rest of the Lord’s people.”
4When Moses heard this, he bowed his face to the ground to show he was not being proud. 5Then Moses said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who belongs to him. He will show who is holy, and he will bring that man near to him. He will choose him and bring that man near to him. 6So Korah, you and all your followers should do this: 7Tomorrow put fire and incense in some special pans. Then bring those pans before the Lord. He will choose the man who is holy. You Levites have gone too far—you are wrong!”
8Moses also said to Korah, “You Levites, listen to me. 9You should be happy that the God of Israel chose you to be different from the rest of the Israelites. He lets you come near to him to do the special work in the Lord’s Holy Tent to help the Israelites worship him. Isn’t that enough? 10He brought you Levites near to him to help the priests, but now you are trying to become priests also. 11You and your followers have joined together and turned against the Lord! Did Aaron do anything wrong? No, so why are you complaining against Aaron?”
12Then Moses called Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But the two men said, “We will not come! 13You have brought us out of a land filled with many good things.#16:13 land … things Literally, “land flowing with milk and honey.” You brought us to the desert to kill us. And now you want to show that you have even more power over us. 14Why should we follow you? You did not bring us into the new land filled with many good things. You did not give us the land God promised. You did not give us the fields or the vineyards. Will you make these men your slaves? No! We will not come.”
15So Moses became very angry. He said to the Lord, “I never did anything wrong to these people. I never took anything from them—not even a donkey! Don’t accept their gifts!”
16Then Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers will stand before the Lord tomorrow. Aaron will also be there with you and your followers. 17Each of you must bring a pan, put incense in it, and present it to the Lord. There will be 250 pans for the leaders and one pan for you and one pan for Aaron.”
18So each man got a pan and put burning incense in it. Then they stood at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Moses and Aaron also stood there. 19Korah also gathered all the people together at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Then the Glory of the Lord appeared to everyone there.
20The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21“Move away from these men! I want to destroy them now!”
22But Moses and Aaron bowed to the ground and cried out, “God, you know what people are thinking.#16:22 God, … thinking Literally, “God, the God of the spirits of all people.” Please don’t be angry with all these people. Only one man really sinned.”
23Then the Lord said to Moses, 24“Tell the people to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25Moses stood and went to Dathan and Abiram. All the elders of Israel followed him. 26Moses warned the people, “Move away from the tents of these evil men. Don’t touch anything that belongs to them! If you do, you will be destroyed because of their sins.”
27So the men moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram went to their tents. They stood outside of their tents with their wives, children, and little babies.
28Then Moses said, “I will show you proof that the Lord sent me to do all the things I told you. I will show you that all these things were not my own idea. 29These men will die, but if they die in a normal way—the way people always die—then that will show that the Lord did not really send me. 30But if the Lord causes them to die in a different way, then you will know that these men have sinned against the Lord. This is the proof: The earth will open and swallow them. They will go down to their grave still alive. And everything that belongs to these men will go down with them.”
31When Moses finished saying these things, the ground under the men opened. 32It was as if the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them. All of Korah’s men, their families, and everything they owned went down into the earth. 33They went down into their grave alive. Everything they owned went with them. Then the earth closed over them. They were finished—gone from the camp!
34The Israelites heard the cries of the men being destroyed. So they all ran in different directions and said, “The earth will swallow us too!”
35Then a fire came from the Lord and destroyed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
36The Lord said to Moses, 37-38“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to get all the incense pans from the fire. Tell him to scatter the coals and ashes. These men sinned against me, and their sin cost them their lives. But the incense pans are still holy. The pans became holy when people gave them to the Lord. Hammer the pans into flat sheets. Use the metal sheets to cover the altar. This will be a warning to all the Israelites.”
39So Eleazar the priest gathered together all the bronze pans that the men had brought. These men were all burned up, but the pans were still there. Then Eleazar told some men to hammer the pans into flat metal. Then he put the metal sheets on the altar. 40He did this the way the Lord commanded him through Moses. This was a sign to help the Israelites remember that only someone from the family of Aaron should burn incense before the Lord. Any other person who burns incense before the Lord will die like Korah and his followers.
Aaron Saves the People
41The next day all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron. They said, “You killed the Lord’s people.”
42Moses and Aaron were standing at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. The people gathered together at that place to complain against Moses and Aaron. But when they looked toward the Meeting Tent, the cloud covered it and the Glory of the Lord appeared there. 43Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Meeting Tent.
44The Lord said to Moses, 45“Move away from these people so that I can destroy them now.” So Moses and Aaron bowed with their faces to the ground.
46Then Moses said to Aaron, “Get your bronze pan and some fire from the altar. Then put incense in it. Hurry to the people and do the things that will make them pure. The Lord is angry with them. The trouble has already started.”
47-48So Aaron got the incense and the fire, and he ran to the middle of the people. But the sickness had already started among them. So Aaron stood between the dead and those who were still alive. He did what Moses said to remove their sin, and the sickness stopped there. 49But 14,700 people died from that sickness—and that is not counting the people who died because of Korah. 50So the terrible sickness was stopped, and Aaron went back to Moses at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Numbers 16
16
Korah’s Rebellion
1One 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. 2They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly. 3They 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?”
4When Moses heard what they were saying, he fell face down on the ground. 5Then he said to Korah and his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show us who belongs to him#16:5 Greek version reads God has visited and knows those who are his. Compare 2 Tim 2:19. and who is holy. The Lord will allow only those whom he selects to enter his own presence. 6Korah, you and all your followers must prepare your incense burners. 7Light 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!”
8Then Moses spoke again to Korah: “Now listen, you Levites! 9Does 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? 10Korah, he has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites. Are you now demanding the priesthood as well? 11The Lord is the one you and your followers are really revolting against! For who is Aaron that you are complaining about him?”
12Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they replied, “We refuse to come before you! 13Isn’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? 14What’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?#16:14 Hebrew Are you trying to put out the eyes of these men? We will not come.”
15Then 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.” 16And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers must come here tomorrow and present yourselves before the Lord. Aaron will also be here. 17You 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.”
18So 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#16:18 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting; also in 16:19, 42, 43, 50. with Moses and Aaron. 19Meanwhile, 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, 20and the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21“Get away from all these people so that I may instantly destroy them!”
22But 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?”
23And the Lord said to Moses, 24“Then tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25So 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.” 27So 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.
28And 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. 29If these men die a natural death, or if nothing unusual happens, then the Lord has not sent me. 30But 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,#16:30 Hebrew into Sheol; also in 16:33. then you will know that these men have shown contempt for the Lord.”
31He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them. 32The 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. 33So 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. 34All the people around them fled when they heard their screams. “The earth will swallow us, too!” they cried. 35Then fire blazed forth from the Lord and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense.
36 # 16:36 Verses 16:36-50 are numbered 17:1-15 in Hebrew text. 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. 38Take 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.”
39So 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. 40This 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.
41But the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!” 42As 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.
43Moses and Aaron came and stood in front of the Tabernacle, 44and 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.
46And 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.#16:46 Or to make atonement for them. The Lord’s anger is blazing against them—the plague has already begun.”
47Aaron 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#16:47 Or and made atonement for. the people. 48He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped. 49But 14,700 people died in that plague, in addition to those who had died in the affair involving Korah. 50Then because the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle.
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