Numbers 16:1-50
16 ** And Korah the son of Ishar the son of Kehath the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben,
2 rose before Moses, and certain men of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty of them, princes of congregation, men summoned to meetings, men of reputation,
3 and assembled round Moses and Aaron and said to them “You have gone far enough; for all the congregation are all holy and have Jehovah among them, how come you to be lording it over Jehovah’s assembly?”
4 And Moses heard it and threw himself on his face,
5 and told Korah and all his company “At morning Jehovah will make known the one that belongs to him, and the holy one, the one he admits near him; and the one he chooses he will admit near him.
6 Do this: take firepans, Korah and all his company,
7 and put fire in them and lay incense on them before Jehovah tomorrow, and the man Jehovah chooses is the holy one—you have gone far enough, sons of Levi.”
8 And Moses said to Korah “Listen, sons of Levi:
9 is it too little for you that the God of Israel has set you apart from the congregation of Israel, admitting you near him to do the work of Jehovah’s tabernacle and to stand before the congregation to officiate for them,
10 and has admitted you near, you and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you, and you are trying for priesthood too?
11 * so it is against Jehovah you and all your company have combined: what is Aaron that you complain of him?”
12 And Moses sent to summon Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said “We will not go up;
13 is it too little that you have brought us up out of a country that runs milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, that you should lord it over us too?
14 Neither have you brought us into a country that runs milk and honey and given us an estate of fields and vineyards; will you gouge out these men’s eyes? we will not go up.”
15 And Moses was very angry and said to Jehovah “Do not look toward their offering: I have never carried off one donkey from them nor wronged any one of them.”
16 And Moses said to Korah “You and all your company, be before Jehovah, you and they and Aaron, tomorrow;
17 and take a firepan each and put incense on them, and present a firepan each before Jehovah, two hundred and fifty firepans, and you and Aaron a firepan each.”
18 * And they took a firepan each and put fire on them and laid incense on them, and stood at the door of the Tent of Meeting, they and Moses and Aaron;
19 and Korah assembled to them all the congregation at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
And Jehovah’s glory appeared to all the congregation; and
20 Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying
21 “Separate yourselves from among this company and let me destroy them in a moment.”
22 * And they threw themselves on their faces and said “No, God of Spirits of all mortals! shall one man sin and you be incensed against all the congregation?”
23 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying
24 “Tell the congregation, Move away from around the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 And Moses went off to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 And he told the congregation “Stand clear of these wicked men’s tents and do not touch anything that belongs to them, for fear you should be swept away in all their sins.”
27 And they moved away from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram on all sides. And Dathan and Abiram had come out and taken their stand at their tent doors, and their wives and their sons and their children.
28 And Moses said “By this you shall know that Jehovah has sent me to do these things, that it is not out of my own head:
29 if these die a death like that of all mankind and are visited with the visitation of all mankind, Jehovah has not sent me;
30 but if Jehovah creates a special fate and the ground gapes and swallows them and everything that belongs to them and they go down alive to the world below, you will know that these men have been treating Jehovah with contempt.”
31 And as he finished uttering all these words the ground under them split
32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their families and all persons that belonged to Korah and all chattels,
33 and they went down, they and all that belonged to them, alive to the world below, and the earth covered them over; and they were lost from among the assembly.
34 And all Israel on all sides of them ran at the noise they made, because they thought “The earth might swallow us up.”
35 And fire came out from Jehovah’s presence and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that were offering the incense.
36 And Jehovah spoke to Moses,
37 saying “Tell Priest Aaron’s son Eleazar to take up the firepans out of the burning, and shake out the fire further off, because these sinners’
38 firepans are made sacred by the extinction of their lives; and they shall make them into beaten plates for a sheathing for the altar, because they presented them before Jehovah and they were made sacred; and it shall be a token to the sons of Israel.”
39 And Priest Eleazar took the bronze firepans that the burned men had presented, and they beat them out into a sheathing for the altar,
40 a reminder for the sons of Israel, in order that no outsider who is not of Aaron’s blood may present himself to burn incense before Jehovah and become like Korah and his company; as Jehovah through Moses had told him to.
41 And all the congregation of the sons of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron next day “You have been causing the death of Jehovah’s people.”
42 And when the congregation assembled round Moses and Aaron they turned toward the Tent of Meeting and found that the cloud had covered it and Jehovah’s glory had appeared.
43 And Moses and Aaron came in front of the Tent of Meeting,
44 and Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying
45 “Up with you from among this company and let me exterminate them in a moment.” And they threw themselves on their faces,
46 and Moses said to Aaron “Take your firepan and put fire off the altar on it and go right to the congregation and purge them, because the wrath has gone out from before Jehovah, the calamity has begun.”
47 And Aaron took what Moses told him to and ran among the assembly, and found that the calamity had begun among the people; and he put on the incense and purged the people
48 and stood between the dead and the living, and the deaths were shut off.
49 And of those who died in the plague there were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides those who had died in connection with Korah’s affair.
50 And Aaron came back to the door of the Tent of Meeting to Moses, and the deaths had been shut off.
Footnotes
^ 16:1 Susp.
^ 16:1-2 Codd. took and rose
^ 16:11 Codd. it is you and all your company that have combined against Jehovah
^ 16:18 Var. laid incense on it
^ 16:22 Codd.* said “Deity, God
