EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Numbers 16:3
3They 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.’
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
1Then 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. 2Together with 250 leaders of the Israelites, they all turned against Moses. Those were famous men that the people had chosen as their leaders. 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.’ 4When Moses heard that, he threw himself onto the ground. 5Moses 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.
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
Words taken from the KJV.
- And they gathered themselves togetherקָהַלqâhal · to gatherH6950
- against Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- and against Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- too muchרַבrab · manyH7227
- upon you, seeing all the congregationעֵדָה‛êdâh · congregationH5712
- holyקָדוֹשׁqâdôsh qâdôsh · holyH6918
- every one of them, and the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- amongתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
- them: wherefore then lift ye upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: exaltH5375
- yourselves above the congregationקָהָלqâhâl · assemblyH6951
Cross-references for Numbers 16:3
- Numbers 16:11You are not only speaking bad words against Aaron. You and all your group are complaining against the Lord!’
- Numbers 12:1Moses had married a woman who was a descendant of Cush. Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because he had married that woman.
- Numbers 14:1Then all the people started to weep loudly. And they cried all night.
- Psalms 106:16The people became jealous of Moses, and Aaron, the Lord's special priest.
- Acts 7:39But our ancestors would not obey Moses. They did not accept him as their leader. They wanted to go back to Egypt.
- Exodus 19:6You will be my priests who serve in my kingdom. You will be a nation that is special to me.” These are the words that you must speak to the Israelites.’
- Ezra 9:2They have married some of the foreign people's daughters. They have let their sons do the same thing. In this way, God's holy people have become mixed with the foreign people who live near to them. Our own leaders and officers have led the way in these bad things.’
- Isaiah 1:11The Lord says, ‘All your sacrifices are not important to me. I have received too many sacrifices that you have burned as gifts to me. I have received too many sheep and fat animals. I do not want any more blood from bulls, goats and lambs that you have offered to me as sacrifices. They do not give me any pleasure.
- Jeremiah 7:3This is what the Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says: Change the way that you live. Do things that are right. If you change, I will let you continue to live here.
- Matthew 3:9Do not say to yourselves, “We are in the family of Abraham. God will surely not punish us.” Listen! God can take these stones and make children for Abraham out of them!
- Romans 2:28Not everyone who seems to be a Jew is really a Jew who belongs to God. God does not accept a man just because someone has circumcised that man's body.
- Numbers 14:14Then they will tell the people who live in this land about it. They know that you, Lord, are among your people. They know that you meet with your people. They know that your cloud stays over them. They know that you lead them as a pillar of cloud during the day and as a pillar of fire during the night.
- Numbers 35:34You must not make the land where you live become unclean. It is the land where I also live. That is because I, the Lord, live among the Israelites.’
- Exodus 29:45I will live among the Israelites and I will be their God.
- Psalms 68:17God has millions of chariots. The Lord has come from Sinai mountain to his own holy place.
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
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