Numbers 16
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New American Standard Bible 1995New International Version
1Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action,1Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites--Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth--became insolent
2and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown.2and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.
3They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?"3They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly?"
4When Moses heard this, he fell on his face;4When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.
5and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, "Tomorrow morning the LORD will show who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself.5Then he said to Korah and all his followers: "In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him.
6"Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your company,6You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers
7and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of the LORD tomorrow; and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the one who is holy. You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!"7and tomorrow put burning coals and incense in them before the LORD. The man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!"
8Then Moses said to Korah, "Hear now, you sons of Levi,8Moses also said to Korah, "Now listen, you Levites!
9is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of 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 to them;9Isn't it enough 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?
10and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking for the priesthood also?10He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.
11"Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the LORD; but as for Aaron, who is he that you grumble against him?"11It is against the LORD that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?"
12Then Moses sent a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, "We will not come up.12Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, "We will not come!
13"Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us?13Isn't it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you also want to lord it over us!
14"Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!"14Moreover, you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to treat these men like slaves? No, we will not come!"
15Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, "Do not regard their offering! I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them."15Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, "Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them."
16Moses said to Korah, "You and all your company be present before the LORD tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron.16Moses said to Korah, "You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow--you and they and Aaron.
17"Each of you take his firepan and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the LORD, two hundred and fifty firepans; also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan."17Each 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."
18So they each took his own censer and put fire on it, and laid incense on it; and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron.18So each of them took his censer, put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
19Thus Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation.19When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire assembly.
20Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,20The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
21"Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly."21"Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once."
22But they fell on their faces and said, "O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?"22But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?"
23Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,23Then the LORD said to Moses,
24"Speak to the congregation, saying, 'Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.'"24"Say to the assembly, 'Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.'"
25Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him,25Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26and he spoke to the congregation, saying, "Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, or you will be swept away in all their sin."26He warned the assembly, "Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins."
27So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and their sons and their little ones.27So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents.
28Moses said, "By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing.28Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea:
29"If these men die the death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me.29If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me.
30"But if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD."30But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt."
31As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open;31As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart
32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions.32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions.
33So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.33They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.
34All Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, "The earth may swallow us up!"34At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, "The earth is going to swallow us too!"
35Fire also came forth from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.35And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
36Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,36The LORD said to Moses,
37"Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall take up the censers out of the midst of the blaze, for they are holy; and you scatter the burning coals abroad.37"Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy--
38"As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered sheets for a plating of the altar, since they did present them before the LORD and they are holy; and they shall be for a sign to the sons of Israel."38the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the LORD and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites."
39So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as a plating for the altar,39So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar,
40as a reminder to the sons of Israel that no layman who is not of the descendants of Aaron should come near to burn incense before the LORD; so that he will not become like Korah and his company-- just as the LORD had spoken to him through Moses.40as 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 before the LORD, or he would become like Korah and his followers.
41But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You are the ones who have caused the death of the LORD'S people."41The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. "You have killed the LORD's people," they said.
42It 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 the glory of the LORD appeared.42But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared.
43Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting,43Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting,
44and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,44and the LORD said to Moses,
45"Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly." Then they fell on their faces.45"Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." And they fell facedown.
46Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the LORD, the plague has begun!"46Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has started."
47Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people.47So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them.
48He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked.48He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.
49But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah.49But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.
50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.
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Numbers 15
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