Numbers 16
16
1And Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, taketh both Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben,
2and they rise up before Moses, with men of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty, princes of the company, called of the convention, men of name,
3and they are assembled against Moses and against Aaron, and say unto them, ‘Enough of you! for all the company — all of them [are] holy, and in their midst [is] Jehovah; and wherefore do ye lift yourselves up above the assembly of Jehovah?’
4And Moses heareth, and falleth on his face,
5and he speaketh unto Korah, and unto all his company, saying, ‘Morning! — and Jehovah is knowing those who are his, and him who is holy, and hath brought near unto Him; even him whom He doth fix on He bringeth near unto Him.
6This do: take to yourselves censers, Korah, and all his company,
7and put in them fire, and put on them perfume, before Jehovah to-morrow, and it hath been, the man whom Jehovah chooseth, he [is] the holy one; — enough of you, sons of Levi.’
8And Moses saith unto Korah, ‘Hear ye, I pray you, sons of Levi;
9is it little to you that the God of Israel hath separated you from the company of Israel to bring you near unto Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of Jehovah, and to stand before the company to serve them? —
10yea, He doth bring thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee — and ye have sought also the priesthood!
11Therefore, thou and all thy company who are met [are] against Jehovah; and Aaron, what [is] he, that ye murmur against him?’
12And Moses sendeth to call for Dathan and for Abiram sons of Eliab, and they say, ‘We do not come up;
13is it little that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to put us to death in a wilderness that thou also certainly makest thyself prince over us?
14Yea, unto a land flowing with milk and honey thou hast not brought us in, nor dost thou give to us an inheritance of field and vineyard; the eyes of these men dost thou pick out? we do not come up.’
15And it is very displeasing to Moses, and he saith unto Jehovah, ‘Turn not Thou unto their present; not one ass from them have I taken, nor have I afflicted one of them.’
16And Moses saith unto Korah, ‘Thou and all thy company, be ye before Jehovah, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow;
17and take ye each his censer, and ye have put on them perfume, and brought near before Jehovah, each his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; and thou and Aaron, each his censer.’
18And they take each his censer, and put on them fire, and lay on them perfume, and they stand at the opening of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron.
19And Korah assembleth against them all the company unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and the honour of Jehovah is seen by all the company.
20And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
21‘Be ye separated from the midst of this company, and I consume them in a moment;’
22and they fall on their faces, and say, ‘God, God of the spirits of all flesh — the one man sinneth, and against all the company Thou art wroth!’
23And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
24‘Speak unto the company, saying, Go ye up from round about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’
25And Moses riseth, and goeth unto Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel go after him,
26and he speaketh unto the company, saying, ‘Turn aside, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and come not against anything that they have, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.’
27And they go up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, from round about, and Dathan, and Abiram have come out, standing at the opening of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their infants.
28And Moses saith, ‘By this ye do know that Jehovah hath sent me to do all these works, that [they are] not from my own heart;
29if according to the death of all men these die — or the charge of all men is charged upon them — Jehovah hath not sent me;
30and if a strange thing Jehovah do, and the ground hath opened her mouth and swallowed them, and all that they have, and they have gone down alive to Sheol — then ye have known that these men have despised Jehovah.’
31And it cometh to pass at his finishing speaking all these words, that the ground which [is] under them cleaveth,
32and the earth openeth her mouth, and swalloweth them, and their houses, and all the men who [are] for Korah, and all the goods,
33and they go down, they, and all that they have, alive to Sheol, and the earth closeth over them, and they perish from the midst of the assembly;
34and all Israel who [are] round about them have fled at their voice, for they said, ‘Lest the earth swallow us;’
35and fire hath come out from Jehovah, and consumeth the two hundred and fifty men bringing near the perfume.
36And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
37‘Say unto Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, and he lifteth up the censers from the midst of the burning, and the fire scatter thou yonder, for they have been hallowed,
38[even] the censers of these sinners against their own souls; and they have made them spread-out plates, a covering for the altar, for they have brought them near before Jehovah, and they are hallowed; and they are become a sign to the sons of Israel.’
39And Eleazar the priest taketh the brazen censers which they who are burnt had brought near, and they spread them out, a covering for the altar —
40a memorial to the sons of Israel, so that a stranger who is not of the seed of Aaron doth not draw near to make a perfume before Jehovah, and is not as Korah, and as his company, — as Jehovah hath spoken by the hand of Moses to him.
41And all the company of the sons of Israel murmur, on the morrow, against Moses and against Aaron, saying, ‘Ye — ye have put to death the people of Jehovah.’
42And it cometh to pass, in the company being assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they turn towards the tent of meeting, and lo, the cloud hath covered it, and the honour of Jehovah is seen;
43and Moses cometh — Aaron also — unto the front of the tent of meeting.
44And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
45‘Get you up from the midst of this company, and I consume them in a moment;’ and they fall on their faces,
46and Moses saith unto Aaron, ‘Take the censer, and put on it fire from off the altar, and place perfume, and go, hasten unto the company, and make atonement for them, for the wrath hath gone out from the presence of Jehovah — the plague hath begun.’
47And Aaron taketh as Moses hath spoken, and runneth unto the midst of the assembly, and lo, the plague hath begun among the people; and he giveth the perfume, and maketh atonement for the people,
48and standeth between the dead and the living, and the plague is restrained;
49and those who die by the plague are fourteen thousand and seven hundred, apart from those who die for the matter of Korah;
50and Aaron turneth back unto Moses, unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and the plague hath been restrained.
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Numbers 16: YLT98
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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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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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