American Standard Version
Numbers 16:3
3and they assembled 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 Jehovah is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of Jehovah?
Numbers 16:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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?
- New International Version (NIV)They 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?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”
Context of Numbers 16:3
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, tookmen: 2and they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown; and they assembled 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 Jehovah is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of Jehovah? 4And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: 5and he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, In the morning Jehovah will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he shall choose will he cause to come near unto him.
Read all of Numbers 16Numbers 16:3 word by word
וַיִּֽקָּהֲל֞וּ עַל־מֹשֶׁ֣ה וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֲלֵהֶם֮ רַב־לָכֶם֒ כִּ֤י כָל־הָֽעֵדָה֙ כֻּלָּ֣ם קְדֹשִׁ֔ים וּבְתוֹכָ֖ם יְהוָ֑ה וּמַדּ֥וּעַ תִּֽתְנַשְּׂא֖וּ עַל־קְהַ֥ל יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
- assembledקָהַלqâhal · to gatherH6950
- Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- takeנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
- muchרַבrab · manyH7227
- congregationעֵדָה‛êdâh · congregationH5712
- holyקָדוֹשׁqâdôsh qâdôsh · holyH6918
- oneקָדוֹשׁqâdôsh qâdôsh · holyH6918
- assemblyקָהָלqâhâl · assemblyH6951
Cross-references for Numbers 16:3
- Numbers 16:11Therefore thou and all thy company are gathered together against Jehovah: and Aaron, what is he that ye murmur against him?
- Numbers 12:1And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married; for he had married a Cushite woman.
- Numbers 14:1And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
- Psalms 106:16They envied Moses also in the camp, AndAaron the saint of Jehovah.
- Acts 7:39to whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him from them, and turned back in their hearts unto Egypt,
- Exodus 19:6and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
- Ezra 9:2For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the peoples of the lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.
- Isaiah 1:11What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah: I have had enough of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.
- Jeremiah 7:3Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.
- Matthew 3:9and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
- Romans 2:28For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh:
- Numbers 14:14and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that thou Jehovah art in the midst of this people; for thou Jehovah art seen face to face, and thy cloud standeth over them, and thou goest before them, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night.
- Numbers 35:34And thou shalt not defile the land which ye inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell: for I, Jehovah, dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.
- Exodus 29:45And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
- Psalms 68:17The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands upon thousands: The Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the sanctuary.
Commentaries on Numbers 16:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Ye take too much upon you - The original is simply לכם רב rab lachem, too much for you. The spirit of this saying appears to me to be the following: - "Holy offices are not equally distributed: you arrogate to yourselves the most important ones, as if your superior holiness entitled you alone to them; whereas all the congregation are holy, and have an equal right with you to be employed in the most holy services." Moses retorts this saying Numbers 16:7…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3All the congregation are holy - Compare the marginal reference. Korah‘s object was not to abolish the distinction between the Levites and the people, but to win priestly dignity for himself and his kinsmen Numbers 16:10. This ultimate design is masked for the present in order to win support from the Reubenites by putting forward claims to spiritual equality on behalf of every Israelite.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The rebels "envied Moses, as well as Aaron" (Psalm 106:16). They claimed Moses and Aaron had overstepped their authority because all Israelites were God's chosen people (Exodus 19:6). Their protest for equality against Moses and Aaron's authority probably intended to replace it with their own.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron--The assemblage seems to have been composed of the whole band of conspirators; and they grounded their complaint on the fact that the whole people, being separated to the divine service (Ex 19:6), were equally qualified to present offerings on the altar, and that God, being graciously, present among them by the tabernacle and the cloud, evinced His readiness to receive sacrifices from…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 16:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries