16 Then Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, decided to speak against Moses. Eliab's sons, Dathan and Abiram, and Peleth's son, On, who were descendants of Reuben, were with him. 2 Together with 250 leaders of the Israelites, they all turned against Moses. Those were famous men that the people had chosen as their leaders. 3 They all came to Moses and Aaron and they said, ‘All the Israelites are special. The Lord has chosen all of us and he is with us all. So you should not say that you are better than the rest of the Lord 's people.’
4 When Moses heard that, he threw himself onto the ground. 5 Moses said to Korah and to all the other men, ‘Tomorrow the Lord will show us who is truly special to him. He will show us who really belongs to him. He will make the person that he chooses come near to him. 6 Now do this: Get some pots for yourselves, Korah and your group of friends. 7 Put fire and incense in them, to burn in front of the Lord tomorrow. Then the Lord will choose the man who is holy. You make yourselves too important, you descendants of Levi!’
8 Then Moses said to Korah, ‘Listen, you descendants of Levi. 9 The God of Israel has caused you Levites to be separate from all the other Israelites. He has brought you near to himself, to work in the Lord 's Tent. He has chosen you to stand in front of all the people to serve them. But it seems that this is not enough for you. 10 He has brought you, Korah, and all the other descendants of Levi near to himself. But it seems that you want to be priests as well. 11 You are not only speaking bad words against Aaron. You and all your group are complaining against the Lord !’
12 Then Moses called Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, to come to him. But they said, ‘No, we will not come. 13 You have brought us out of a country where there is plenty of food and drink, enough for everyone. You have brought us here, where we will die in the desert. But it seems that that is not enough for you. It seems that you want to be our master as well! 14 You have certainly not brought us into a land where there is plenty of food and drink. You have not given to us fields and vineyards, for us and for our descendants. You cannot deceive all these men. We will not come up to meet with you!’
15 Moses was angry. He said to the Lord , ‘Do not accept what these men offer to you. I did not take anything from them, not even one donkey! I did not do a wrong thing to any of them.’
16 Moses said to Korah, ‘Tomorrow, you and your men must come to the Tent of Meeting. You must come to stand in front of the Lord . Aaron will be there too. 17 Each of you must take a pot and you must put incense in it. You must put the pots on the altar in front of the Lord . That will be 250 pots. You yourself must do the same thing, as well as Aaron.’ 18 So each man took a pot. He put incense in it, and fire to burn it. They stood with Moses and Aaron at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
19 Korah brought all his group of people to stand against Moses and Aaron at the door of the Tent of Meeting. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 20 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 ‘Stand away from these men so that I can kill them.’
22 But Moses and Aaron threw themselves on the ground. Their faces were touching the ground. They said, ‘You, our God, are the God who gives life to all people. When one man does a bad thing, will you be angry with all the people? Is that right?’
23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 ‘Tell the people to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’
25 Moses got up from the ground. He went to Dathan and Abiram. The leaders of the Israelites went with him. 26 Moses said to all the people, ‘Move away from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them. If you do not move away, God may destroy you together with them, because of all their sins.’
27 So the people moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were standing with their wives, babies and children at the doors of their tents.
28 Then Moses said to the people, ‘Now you will know that the Lord has chosen me to lead you. He has told me to do this. It was not my own idea. This is how you will know. 29 If these men die in a usual way, as all men will die one day, then the Lord did not choose me. 30 But if the Lord causes something new to happen to these men, you will know that they have turned against him. For example, a hole might appear in the ground so that these men fall into it. They might fall down into their own graves while they are still alive. If that happens to them and to all that belongs to them, then you will know that the Lord has punished them.’
31 When Moses finished speaking, a hole opened in the ground. 32 Like a big mouth, it ate those men, their families and everything that belonged to them. The earth covered Korah, all his group and everything that belonged to them. 33 They all went down into the deep grave while they were still alive. The ground closed over them and they died, no longer part of God's people. 34 When the other Israelites heard those men shout, they ran away quickly. They were saying, ‘Help! The ground might eat us too!’
35 Then the Lord sent fire down. It killed the 250 men who were offering the incense to God.
36 The Lord said to Moses, 37 ‘Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he must take the pots with incense out of the burning fire. That is because those pots are holy. Then you must throw away the coal over all the ground round that place. 38 Those men died because they did a bad thing. But the pots that they were holding are holy, because they were offering the incense to the Lord . So workers must use hammers to make the pots into thin metal. Then cover the altar with the metal. That will be like a sign to warn the Israelites.’ 39 So Eleazar took the 250 pots and he used the bronze metal to cover the altar. 40 Then the Israelites would remember not to do what Korah and his group did. Only people from the family of Aaron could burn incense on the Lord 's altar. God would punish anyone else, like he punished Korah and his men. The Lord had given this command through Moses.
41 But on the next day, all the Israelites together complained against Moses and Aaron. They said, ‘You have killed the Lord 's people!’ 42 When the people came together to stand against Moses and Aaron, they turned to look at the Tent of Meeting. The Lord 's cloud covered the Tent and his glory appeared. 43 Moses and Aaron went to stand at the front of the Tent of Meeting.
44 The Lord said to Moses, 45 ‘Get away from the people so that I can destroy them immediately!’ Moses and Aaron threw themselves down so that their faces touched the ground. 46 Moses said to Aaron, ‘Pick up your pot. Take coals with fire from the altar and put incense with them in the pot. Then take it quickly among all the people. Remove their sin so that God will forgive them. Be quick! The Lord is so angry with the people that he is already punishing them with a bad disease!’
47 The bad disease was already killing some of the people. But Aaron did what Moses had told him to do. He took the pot of incense among the people to remove their sin. 48 In that way, he stood between the people who had died and those who were still living. The bad disease stopped killing people. 49 But 14,700 people died because of the disease, as well as the people who had died with Korah. 50 After the disease stopped, Aaron went back to Moses at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
16 Korah, 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.) 2 These 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. 3 They 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.”
4 When Moses heard this, he bowed his face to the ground to show he was not being proud. 5 Then 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. 6 So Korah, you and all your followers should do this: 7 Tomorrow 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!”
8 Moses also said to Korah, “You Levites, listen to me. 9 You 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? 10 He brought you Levites near to him to help the priests, but now you are trying to become priests also. 11 You and your followers have joined together and turned against the Lord ! Did Aaron do anything wrong? No, so why are you complaining against Aaron?”
12 Then Moses called Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But the two men said, “We will not come! 13 You have brought us out of a land filled with many good things. [ a ] You brought us to the desert to kill us. And now you want to show that you have even more power over us. 14 Why 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.”
15 So 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!”
16 Then 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. 17 Each 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.”
18 So 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. 19 Korah also gathered all the people together at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Then the Glory of the Lord appeared to everyone there.
20 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Move away from these men! I want to destroy them now!”
22 But Moses and Aaron bowed to the ground and cried out, “God, you know what people are thinking. [ b ] Please don’t be angry with all these people. Only one man really sinned.”
23 Then the Lord said to Moses, 24 “Tell the people to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 Moses stood and went to Dathan and Abiram. All the elders of Israel followed him. 26 Moses 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.”
27 So 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.
28 Then 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. 29 These 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. 30 But 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.”
31 When Moses finished saying these things, the ground under the men opened. 32 It 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. 33 They 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!
34 The Israelites heard the cries of the men being destroyed. So they all ran in different directions and said, “The earth will swallow us too!”
35 Then a fire came from the Lord and destroyed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
36 The 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.”
39 So 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. 40 He 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.
41 The next day all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron. They said, “You killed the Lord ’s people.”
42 Moses 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. 43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Meeting Tent.
44 The 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.
46 Then 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.”
47-48 So 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. 49 But 14,700 people died from that sickness—and that is not counting the people who died because of Korah. 50 So the terrible sickness was stopped, and Aaron went back to Moses at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.
16 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord ?
4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
5 And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the Lord will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.
6 This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
7 And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.
8 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
9 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord , and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?
10 And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?
11 For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord : and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:
13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?
14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
15 And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the Lord , Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
16 And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord , thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:
17 And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.
18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.
19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation.
20 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
23 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of their's, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me.
30 But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord .
31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
35 And there came out a fire from the Lord , and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
36 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.
38 The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the Lord , therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
39 And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
40 To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the Lord ; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the Lord said to him by the hand of Moses.
41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord .
42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
44 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
46 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the Lord ; the plague is begun.
47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
50 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
16 Now ( A ) Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with ( B ) Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men , 2 and they stood before Moses, [ a ] together with some of the sons of Israel, 250 leaders of the congregation [ b ] ( C ) chosen in the assembly, men of renown. 3 They assembled together ( D ) against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “ [ c ] ( E ) You have gone far enough! For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and ( F ) the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord ?”
4 When Moses heard this , ( G ) he fell on his face; 5 and he spoke to Korah and all his group, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will make known who is His, and ( H ) who is holy, and will bring that one near to Himself; indeed, ( I ) the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. 6 Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and [ d ] your whole group, 7 and put fire in them, and place incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. [ e ] ( J ) You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”
8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 ( K ) Is it too small an honor for you that the God of Israel has singled you out from the congregation of Israel, ( L ) to bring you near to Himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the Lord , and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; 10 and that He has brought you near, Korah , and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? But are you ( M ) seeking the priesthood as well? 11 Therefore you and your whole group are the ones gathered together ( N ) against the Lord ; but as for Aaron, [ f ] who is he, that ( O ) you grumble against him?”
12 Then Moses sent [ g ] a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it [ h ] not enough that you have brought us up out of a ( P ) land flowing with milk and honey ( Q ) to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also appoint yourself as master over us? 14 Indeed, you have not brought us ( R ) into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of ( S ) fields and vineyards. Would you ( T ) gouge out the eyes of [ i ] these men? We will not come up!”
15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord , “ ( U ) Pay no attention to their offering! ( V ) I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.” 16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your group be present before the Lord tomorrow, you and they along with Aaron. 17 And each of you take his censer and put incense on [ j ] it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord , 250 censers; also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.” 18 So they took, each one his own censer, and put fire on [ k ] it, and placed incense on [ l ] it; and they stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. 19 So Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And ( W ) the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.
20 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21 “ ( X ) Separate yourselves from among this congregation, ( Y ) so that I may consume them instantly.” 22 But they fell on their faces and said, “God, ( Z ) the God of the spirits of [ m ] humanity, ( AA ) when one person sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘ ( AB ) Get away from the areas around the [ n ] tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’”
25 Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, 26 and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “ ( AC ) Get away now from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, ( AD ) or you will be swept away in all their sin!” 27 So they moved away from the areas around the [ o ] tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, along with their wives, ( AE ) their sons, and their little ones. 28 Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that ( AF ) the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for it is not [ p ] my doing. 29 If these men die [ q ] the death of all mankind, or [ r ] if they suffer the ( AG ) fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But ( AH ) if the Lord [ s ] brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with everything that is theirs, and they ( AI ) descend alive into [ t ] Sheol, then you will know that these men have been disrespectful to the Lord .”
31 And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32 and ( AJ ) the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, and ( AK ) all the people who belonged to Korah with all their possessions. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to [ u ] Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 Then all Israel who were around them fled at their [ v ] outcry, for they said, “The earth might swallow us!” 35 ( AL ) Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the ( AM ) 250 men who were offering the incense.
36 [ w ] Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37 “Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall pick up the censers from the midst of the burned area, because they are holy; and you are to scatter the [ x ] burning coals further away. 38 As for the censers of these [ y ] men who have sinned at the cost of their own lives, have them made into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy; and ( AN ) they shall [ z ] serve as a sign to the sons of Israel.” 39 So the priest Eleazar took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as plating for the altar, 40 as a reminder to the sons of Israel so that ( AO ) no [ aa ] layman, anyone who was not of the [ ab ] descendants of Aaron, would approach ( AP ) to burn incense before the Lord ; then he would not become like Korah and his group—just as the Lord had spoken to him [ ac ] through Moses.
41 But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel ( AQ ) grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord ’ s people!” 42 It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and ( AR ) the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “ ( AS ) Get away from among this congregation so that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put fire in it from the altar, and place incense on it ; then bring it quickly to the congregation and ( AT ) make atonement for them, for ( AU ) wrath has gone out from the Lord , the plague has begun!” 47 Then Aaron took it just as Moses had spoken, and he ran into the midst of the assembly; and behold, the plague had begun among the people. ( AV ) So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was brought to a halt. 49 ( AW ) But those who died by the plague were 14,700 in number , besides those who ( AX ) died on account of Korah. 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been brought to a halt.
16 Korah ( A ) son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram ( B ) , sons of Eliab, ( C ) and On son of Peleth—became insolent [ a ] 2 and rose up against Moses. ( D ) With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. ( E ) 3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron ( F ) and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, ( G ) every one of them, and the Lord is with them. ( H ) Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord ’s assembly?” ( I )
4 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. ( J ) 5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy, ( K ) and he will have that person come near him. ( L ) The man he chooses ( M ) he will cause to come near him. 6 You, Korah, and all your followers ( N ) are to do this: Take censers ( O ) 7 and tomorrow put burning coals ( P ) and incense ( Q ) in them before the Lord . The man the Lord chooses ( R ) will be the one who is holy. ( S ) You Levites have gone too far!”
8 Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites! 9 Isn’t it enough ( T ) for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord ’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them? ( U ) 10 He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too. ( V ) 11 It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble ( W ) against him? ( X ) ”
12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, ( Y ) the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come! ( Z ) 13 Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey ( AA ) to kill us in the wilderness? ( AB ) And now you also want to lord it over us! ( AC ) 14 Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey ( AD ) or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. ( AE ) Do you want to treat these men like slaves [ b ] ? ( AF ) No, we will not come! ( AG ) ”
15 Then Moses became very angry ( AH ) and said to the Lord , “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey ( AI ) from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”
16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you and they and Aaron. ( AJ ) 17 Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before the Lord . You and Aaron are to present your censers also. ( AK ) ” 18 So each of them took his censer, ( AL ) put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 19 When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them ( AM ) at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord ( AN ) appeared to the entire assembly. 20 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves ( AO ) from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” ( AP )
22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown ( AQ ) and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, ( AR ) will you be angry with the entire assembly ( AS ) when only one man sins?” ( AT )
23 Then the Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”
25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel ( AU ) followed him. 26 He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men! ( AV ) Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away ( AW ) because of all their sins. ( AX ) ” 27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. ( AY ) Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children ( AZ ) and little ones at the entrances to their tents. ( BA )
28 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know ( BB ) that the Lord has sent me ( BC ) to do all these things and that it was not my idea: 29 If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. ( BD ) 30 But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth ( BE ) and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, ( BF ) then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt. ( BG ) ”
31 As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart ( BH ) 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them ( BI ) and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. 33 They went down alive into the realm of the dead, ( BJ ) with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. 34 At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”
35 And fire came out from the Lord ( BK ) and consumed ( BL ) the 250 men who were offering the incense.
36 The Lord said to Moses, 37 “Tell Eleazar ( BM ) son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers ( BN ) from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy— 38 the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. ( BO ) Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, ( BP ) for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign ( BQ ) to the Israelites.”
39 So Eleazar the priest ( BR ) collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death, ( BS ) and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, 40 as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense ( BT ) before the Lord , ( BU ) or he would become like Korah and his followers. ( BV )
41 The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord ’s people,” they said.
42 But when the assembly gathered in opposition ( BW ) to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord ( BX ) appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord said to Moses, 45 “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end ( BY ) to them at once.” And they fell facedown.
46 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer ( BZ ) and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly ( CA ) to make atonement ( CB ) for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord ; ( CC ) the plague ( CD ) has started.” 47 So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, ( CE ) but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. 48 He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. ( CF ) 49 But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. ( CG ) 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped. [ c ]
