Numbers 16

¹Numbers 16:1. Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted²Numbers 16:2. a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly.³Numbers 16:3. They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”⁴Numbers 16:4. When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.⁵Numbers 16:5. Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one He chooses He will bring near to Himself.⁶Numbers 16:6. You, Korah, and all your followers are to do as follows: Take censers,⁷Numbers 16:7. and tomorrow you are to place fire and incense in them in the presence of the LORD. Then the man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. It is you sons of Levi who have taken too much upon yourselves!”⁸Numbers 16:8. Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you sons of Levi!⁹Numbers 16:9. Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel and brought you near to Himself to perform the work at the LORD’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them?¹⁰Numbers 16:10. He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.¹¹Numbers 16:11. Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the LORD! As for Aaron, who is he that you should grumble against him?”¹²Numbers 16:12. Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come!¹³Numbers 16:13. Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also appoint yourself as ruler over us?¹⁴Numbers 16:14. Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!”¹⁵Numbers 16:15. Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”¹⁶Numbers 16:16. And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.¹⁷Numbers 16:17. Each man is to take his censer, place incense in it, and present it before the LORD—250 censers. You and Aaron are to present your censers as well.”¹⁸Numbers 16:18. So each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.¹⁹Numbers 16:19. When Korah had gathered his whole assembly against them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole congregation.²⁰Numbers 16:20. And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,²¹Numbers 16:21. “Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.”²²Numbers 16:22. But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”²³Numbers 16:23. Then the LORD said to Moses,²⁴Numbers 16:24. “Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”²⁵Numbers 16:25. So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.²⁶Numbers 16:26. And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”²⁷Numbers 16:27. So they moved away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram had come out and stood at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children and infants.²⁸Numbers 16:28. Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things, for it was not my own doing:²⁹Numbers 16:29. If these men die a natural death, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me.³⁰Numbers 16:30. But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.”³¹Numbers 16:31. As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open,³²Numbers 16:32. and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions.³³Numbers 16:33. They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.³⁴Numbers 16:34. At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!”³⁵Numbers 16:35. And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.³⁶Numbers 16:36. Then the LORD said to Moses,³⁷Numbers 16:37. “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the censers from the flames and to scatter the coals far away, because the censers are holy.³⁸Numbers 16:38. As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.”³⁹Numbers 16:39. So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar,⁴⁰Numbers 16:40. just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his followers.⁴¹Numbers 16:41. The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!”⁴²Numbers 16:42. But when the congregation gathered against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the Tent of Meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared.⁴³Numbers 16:43. Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting,⁴⁴Numbers 16:44. and the LORD said to Moses,⁴⁵Numbers 16:45. “Get away from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” And Moses and Aaron fell facedown.⁴⁶Numbers 16:46. Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has begun.”⁴⁷Numbers 16:47. So Aaron took the censer as Moses had ordered and ran into the midst of the assembly. And seeing that the plague had begun among the people, he offered the incense and made atonement for the people.⁴⁸Numbers 16:48. He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted.⁴⁹Numbers 16:49. But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah.⁵⁰Numbers 16:50. Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, since the plague had been halted.