Numbers 16
16
1 Then, behold, Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and also On the son of Peleth, of the sons of Ruben,
2 rose up against Moses, with two hundred fifty others of the sons of Israel, leading men of the assembly, and who, at the time of a council, would be called by name.
3 And when they had stood against Moses and Aaron, they said: "Let it be sufficient for you that the entire multitude is of holy ones, and that the Lord is among them. Why do you elevate yourselves above the people of the Lord?"
4 When Moses had heard this, he fell prone on his face.
5 And speaking to Korah, and to the entire multitude, he said: "In the morning, the Lord will cause it to be known who belongs to him, and which holy ones he will join to himself. And whomever he will choose, they shall be close to him.
6 Therefore, do this: Each one of you, Korah and all your associates, take your censer,
7 and drawing fire into it tomorrow, place incense upon it before the Lord. And whomever he will choose, the same shall be holy. You sons of Levi have been raised up greatly."
8 And he said again to Korah: "Listen, sons of Levi.
9 Is it a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has separated you from all the people, and has joined you to himself, so that you would serve him in the rituals of the tabernacle, and stand before gatherings of the people, and minister to him?
10 Was the reason that he caused you and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, to approach him, so that you would even claim for yourselves the priesthood too,
11 and so that your entire group would stand against the Lord? For what is Aaron that you should murmur against him?"
12 Therefore, Moses sent to call for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, who responded: "We will not come.
13 Is it a small matter to you, that you have led us away from a land that was flowing with milk and honey, so as to kill us in the desert, unless you could also be a ruler over us?
14 You have led us, it is true, to a land that flows with streams of milk and honey, and you have given us possession of fields and vineyards. But will you also tear out our eyes? We will not come."
15 And Moses, being very angry, said to the Lord: "Do not look with favor on their sacrifices. You know that I have not accepted from them, at any time, so much as a young donkey, nor have I afflicted any of them."
16 And he said to Korah: "You and your congregation, stand alone before the Lord, and apart from Aaron, tomorrow.
17 Let each one of you take censers, and place incense in them, offering to the Lord two hundred fifty censers. Let Aaron also hold his censer."
18 When they had done this, Moses and Aaron stood up,
19 and, having crowded the entire multitude close to them at the door of the tabernacle, the glory of the Lord appeared to them all.
20 And the Lord, speaking to Moses and Aaron, said:
21 "Separate yourselves from the midst of this congregation, so that I may suddenly destroy them."
22 But they fell prone on their faces, and they said, "O most strong One, the God of the spirits of all flesh, should your anger rage against all, for the sin of one?"
23 And the Lord said to Moses:
24 "Instruct the entire people to separate from the tents of Korah, and Dathan, and Abiram."
25 And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram. And the elders of Israel followed him,
26 and he said to the crowd, "Withdraw from the tabernacles of these impious men, and touch nothing which pertains to them, lest you become involved in their sins."
27 And when they had withdrawn from their tents all around, Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their pavilions, with their wives and children, and with all their associates.
28 And Moses said: "By this shall you know that the Lord has sent me to do all that you discern, and that I have not brought these things out of my own heart:
29 If these men pass away by the common death of men, or if they will be visited by a scourge, of a kind by which others are often visited, then the Lord did not send me.
30 But if the Lord accomplishes something new, so that the earth opens its mouth and swallows them whole, along with everything that belongs to them, and they descend alive into the underworld, then you shall know that they have blasphemed the Lord."
31 Therefore, as soon as he had ceased to speak, the earth broke open under their feet.
32 And opening its mouth, it devoured them with their tabernacles and their entire substance.
33 And they descended alive, the ground closing around them, into the underworld, and they perished from the midst of the mulititude.
34 Yet truly, all of Israel, which was standing all around, took flight at the clamor of those who were perishing, saying, "Lest perhaps the earth may swallow us whole also."
35 Then, too, a fire, going forth from the Lord, put to death the two hundred fifty men who were offering the incense.
36 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
37 "Instruct Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to take up the censers which lie in the burning, and to scatter the fire to one side and another, because they were sanctified
38 in the deaths of these sinners. And let him form them into plates, and affix them to the altar, because incense had been offered in them to the Lord, and they were sanctified, and so that the sons of Israel may discern in them a sign and a memorial."
39 Therefore, Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, by which those whom the burning devoured had made an offering, and he formed them into plates, affixing them to the altar,
40 so that the sons of Israel would have, thereafter, something to admonish them, lest any stranger, or anyone who is not of the offspring of Aaron, might approach to offer incense to the Lord, and lest he endure what happened to Korah, and to all his congregation, when the Lord spoke to Moses.
41 Then, the following day, the entire multitude of the sons of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying: "You have put to death the people of the Lord."
42 And when there arose a sedition, and the tumult increased,
43 Moses and Aaron fled to the tabernacle of the covenant. But after they had entered it, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
44 And the Lord said to Moses:
45 "Withdraw from the midst of this multitude, and I will destroy them immediately." And while they were lying on the ground,
46 Moses said to Aaron: "Take the censer, and draw fire into it from the altar; place incense upon it, and continue on, quickly, to the people, to pray for them. For already wrath has gone forth from the Lord, and the scourge rages."
47 When Aaron had done this, and he ran into the midst of the multitude, which the burning fire was now destroying, and he offered the incense.
48 And standing between the dead and the living, he prayed for the people, and the scourge ceased.
49 But the number of those who were struck down was fourteen thousand men, and seven hundred, aside from those who had perished in the sedition of Korah.
50 And Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, after the destruction quieted.
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Numbers 16
16
The Rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram
1-2 #
Jude 1.11
Korah son of Izhar, from the Levite clan of Kohath, rebelled against the leadership of Moses. He was joined by three members of the tribe of Reuben — Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth — and by 250 other Israelites, well-known leaders chosen by the community. 3They assembled before Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! All the members of the community belong to the LORD, and the LORD is with all of us. Why, then, Moses, do you set yourself above the LORD's community?”
4When Moses heard this, he threw himself on the ground and prayed. 5Then he said to Korah and his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will show us who belongs to him; he will let the one who belongs to him, that is, the one he has chosen, approach him at the altar. 6-7Tomorrow morning you and your followers take firepans, put live coals and incense on them, and take them to the altar. Then we will see which of us the LORD has chosen. You Levites are the ones who have gone too far!”
8Moses continued to speak to Korah. “Listen, you Levites! 9Do you consider it a small matter that the God of Israel has set you apart from the rest of the community, so that you can approach him, perform your service in the LORD's Tent, and minister to the community and serve them? 10He has let you and all the other Levites have this honour — and now you are trying to get the priesthood too! 11When you complain against Aaron, it is really against the LORD that you and your followers are rebelling.”
12Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, but they said, “We will not come! 13Isn't it enough that you have brought us out of the fertile land of Egypt to kill us here in the wilderness? Do you also have to lord it over us? 14You certainly have not brought us into a fertile land or given us fields and vineyards as our possession, and now you are trying to deceive us. We will not come!”
15Moses was angry and said to the LORD, “Do not accept any offerings these men bring. I have not wronged any of them; I have not even taken one of their donkeys.”
16Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow you and your 250 followers must come to the Tent of the LORD's presence; Aaron will also be there. 17Each of you will take his firepan, put incense on it, and then present it at the altar.” 18So every man took his firepan, put live coals and incense on it, and stood at the entrance of the Tent with Moses and Aaron. 19Then Korah gathered the whole community, and they stood facing Moses and Aaron at the entrance of the Tent. Suddenly the dazzling light of the LORD's presence appeared to the whole community, 20and the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 21“Stand back from these people, and I will destroy them immediately.”
22But Moses and Aaron bowed down with their faces to the ground and said, “O God, you are the source of all life. When one person sins, do you get angry with the whole community?”
23The LORD said to Moses, 24“Tell the people to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25Then Moses, accompanied by the leaders of Israel, went to Dathan and Abiram. 26He said to the people, “Stand away from the tents of these wicked men and don't touch anything that belongs to them. Otherwise, you will be wiped out with them for all their sins.” 27So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing at the entrance of their tents, with their wives and children. 28Moses said to the people, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it is not by my own choice that I have done them. 29If these men die a natural death without some punishment from God, then the LORD did not send me. 30But if the LORD does something unheard of, and the earth opens up and swallows them with all they own, so that they go down alive to the world of the dead, you will know that these men have rejected the LORD.”
31As soon as he had finished speaking, the ground under Dathan and Abiram split open 32and swallowed them and their families, together with all of Korah's followers and their possessions. 33So they went down alive to the world of the dead, with their possessions. The earth closed over them, and they vanished. 34All the people of Israel who were there fled when they heard their cry. They shouted, “Run! The earth might swallow us too!”
35Then the LORD sent a fire that blazed out and burnt up the 250 men who had presented the incense.
The Firepans
36Then the LORD said to Moses, 37“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the bronze firepans from the remains of the men who have been burnt, and scatter the coals from the firepans somewhere else, because the firepans are holy. 38They became holy when they were presented at the LORD's altar. So take the firepans of these men who were put to death for their sin, beat them into thin plates, and make a covering for the altar. It will be a warning to the people of Israel.” 39So Eleazar the priest took the firepans and had them beaten into thin plates to make a covering for the altar. 40This was a warning to the Israelites that no one who was not a descendant of Aaron should come to the altar to burn incense for the LORD. Otherwise he would be destroyed like Korah and his men. All this was done as the LORD had commanded Eleazar through Moses.
Aaron Saves the People
41The next day the whole community complained against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have killed some of the LORD's people.” 42After they had all gathered to protest to Moses and Aaron, they turned towards the Tent and saw that the cloud was covering it and that the dazzling light of the LORD's presence had appeared. 43Moses and Aaron went and stood in front of the Tent, 44and the LORD said to Moses, 45“Stand back from these people, and I will destroy them on the spot!”
The two of them bowed down with their faces to the ground, 46and Moses said to Aaron, “Take your firepan, put live coals from the altar in it, and put some incense on the coals. Then hurry with it to the people and perform the ritual of purification for them. Hurry! The LORD's anger has already broken out and an epidemic has already begun.” 47Aaron obeyed, took his firepan and ran into the middle of the assembled people. When he saw that the plague had already begun, he put the incense on the coals and performed the ritual of purification for the people. 48This stopped the plague, and he was left standing between the living and the dead. 49The number of people who died was 14,700, not counting those who died in Korah's rebellion. 50When the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tent.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.