Numbers 16

Korah’s Rebellion

1Now 1Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with 2Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action, 2and they rose up before Moses, 3together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, 45chosen in the assembly, men of renown. 3They assembled together 6against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “78You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and 9the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

4When Moses heard this, 10he fell on his face; 5and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His, and 11who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even 12the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. 6Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all 13your company, 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. 1415You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”

8Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi, 916is it 17not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, 18to 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; 10and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you 19seeking for the priesthood also? 11Therefore you and all your company are gathered together 20against the Lord; but as for Aaron, 21who is he that 22you grumble against him?”

12Then Moses sent 23a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. 13Is it 24not enough that you have brought us up out of a 25land flowing with milk and honey 26to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us? 14Indeed, you have not brought us 27into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of 28fields and vineyards. Would you 2930put out the eyes of 31these men? We will not come up!”

15Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “32Do not regard their offering! 33I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to 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. 17Each of you take his firepan and put incense on 34it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty firepans; also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan.” 18So they each took his own censer and put fire on 35it, and laid incense on 36it; and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. 19Thus Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And 37the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

20Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21“38Separate yourselves from among this congregation, 39that I may consume them instantly.” 22But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, 40God of the spirits of all flesh, 41when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

23Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24“Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘42Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

25Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, 26and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “43Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, 44or you will be swept away in all their sin.” 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 45their sons and their little ones. 28Moses said, “By this you shall know that 46the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not 47my doing. 29If these men die 48the death of all men or 49if they suffer the 50fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. 30But 51if the Lord 52brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they 53descend alive into 54Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the Lord.”

31As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32and 55the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and 56all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. 33So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to 57Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34All Israel who were around them fled at their 58outcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us up!” 3559Fire also came forth from the Lord and consumed the 60two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.

3661Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37“Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall take up the censers out of the midst of the 62blaze, for they are holy; and you scatter the 63burning coals abroad. 38As for the censers of these 64men 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 65they shall be for a sign to the sons of Israel.” 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, 40as a 66reminder to the sons of Israel that 67no 68layman who is not of the 69descendants of Aaron should come near 70to burn incense before the Lord; so that he will not become like Korah and his company--just as the Lord had spoken to him 71through Moses.

Murmuring and Plague

41But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel 72grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord’s people.” 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 73the glory of the Lord appeared. 43Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45“7475Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. 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 76make atonement for them, for 77wrath has gone forth from the Lord, the plague has begun!” 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. 78So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. 4979But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who 80died on account of Korah. 50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.