Numbers 16-20

Living Bible

16 One day Korah (son of Izhar, grandson of Kohath, and a descendant of Levi) conspired with Dathan and Abiram (the sons of Eliab) and On (the son of Peleth), all three from the tribe of Reuben, ² to incite a rebellion against Moses. Two hundred and fifty popular leaders, all members of the Assembly, were involved.

³ They went to Moses and Aaron and said, “We have had enough of your presumption; you are no better than anyone else; everyone in Israel has been chosen of the Lord, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to put yourselves forward, claiming that we must obey you, and acting as though you were greater than anyone else among all these people of the Lord?”

⁴ When Moses heard what they were saying he fell face downward to the ground. ⁵ Then he said to Korah and to those who were with him, “In the morning the Lord will show you who are his, and who is holy, and whom he has chosen as his priest. ^6-7 Do this: You, Korah, and all those with you, take censers tomorrow and light them, and put incense upon them before the Lord, and we will find out whom the Lord has chosen.^[a] You are the presumptuous ones, you sons of Levi.”

^8-9 Then Moses spoke again to Korah: “Does it seem a small thing to you that the God of Israel has chosen you from among all the people of Israel to be near to himself as you work in the Tabernacle of Jehovah, and to stand before the people to minister to them? ¹⁰ Is it nothing to you that he has given this task to only you Levites? And now are you demanding the priesthood also? ^11-12 That is what you are really after! That is why you are revolting against Jehovah. And what has Aaron done, that you are dissatisfied with him?” Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram (the sons of Eliab), but they refused to come.

¹³ “Is it a small thing,” they mimicked,^[b] “that you brought us out of lovely Egypt to kill us here in this terrible wilderness, and that now you want to make yourself our king? ¹⁴ What’s more, you haven’t brought us into the wonderful country you promised, nor given us fields and vineyards. Whom are you trying to fool? We refuse to come.”

¹⁵ Then Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their sacrifices! I have never stolen so much as a donkey from them and have not hurt one of them.”

¹⁶ And Moses said to Korah, “Come here tomorrow before the Lord with all your friends; Aaron will be here too. ¹⁷ Be sure to bring your censers with incense on them; a censer for each man, 250 in all; and Aaron will also be here with his.”

¹⁸ So they did. They came with their censers and lit them and placed the incense on them, and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ Meanwhile, Korah had stirred up the entire nation against Moses and Aaron, and they all assembled to watch. Then the glory of Jehovah appeared to all the people, ²⁰ and Jehovah said to Moses and Aaron, ²¹ “Get away from these people so that I may instantly destroy them.”

²² But Moses and Aaron fell face downward to the ground before the Lord. “O God, the God of all mankind,” they pleaded, “must you be angry with all the people when one man sins?”

^23-24 And the Lord said to Moses, “Then tell the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

²⁵ So Moses rushed over to the tents of Dathan and Abiram, followed closely by the 250 Israeli leaders. ²⁶ “Quick!” he told the people, “get away from the tents of these wicked men, and don’t touch anything that belongs to them, lest you be included in their sins and be destroyed with them.^[c]”

²⁷ So all the people stood back from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents with their wives and sons and little ones.

²⁸ And Moses said, “By this you shall know that Jehovah has sent me to do all these things that I have done—for I have not done them on my own. ²⁹ If these men die a natural death or from some ordinary accident or disease, then Jehovah has not sent me. ³⁰ But if the Lord does a miracle and the ground opens up and swallows them and everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have despised the Lord.”

³¹ He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them, ³² and a great fissure swallowed them up, along with their tents and families and the friends who were standing with them, and everything they owned. ³³ So they went down alive into Sheol and the earth closed upon them, and they perished. ³⁴ All of the people of Israel fled at their screams, fearing that the earth would swallow them too. ³⁵ Then fire came from Jehovah and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense.

^36-37 And the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to pull those censers from the fire; for they are holy, dedicated to the Lord. He must also scatter the burning incense ³⁸ from the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives. He shall then beat the metal into a sheet as a covering for the altar, for these censers are holy because they were used before the Lord; and the altar sheet shall be a reminder to the people of Israel.”

³⁹ So Eleazar the priest took the 250 bronze censers and beat them out into a sheet of metal to cover the altar, ⁴⁰ to be a reminder to the people of Israel that no unauthorized person—no one who is not a descendant of Aaron—may come before the Lord to burn incense, lest the same thing happen to him as happened to Korah and his associates. Thus the Lord’s directions to Moses were carried out.

⁴¹ But the very next morning all the people began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people.”

⁴² Soon a great, sullen mob formed; suddenly, as they looked toward the Tabernacle, the Cloud appeared and the awesome glory of the Lord was seen. ^43-44 Moses and Aaron came and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵ “Get away from these people so that I can instantly destroy them.” But Moses and Aaron fell face downward to the earth before the Lord.

⁴⁶ And Moses said to Aaron, “Quick, take a censer and place fire in it from the altar; lay incense on it, and carry it quickly among the people and make atonement for them; for God’s anger has gone out among them—the plague has already begun.”

⁴⁷ Aaron did as Moses had told him to, and ran among the people, for the plague had indeed already begun; and he put on the incense and made atonement for them. ⁴⁸ And he stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was stopped, ⁴⁹ but not before 14,700 people had died (in addition to those who had died the previous day with Korah). ⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle; and so the plague was stopped.

17 ^1-3 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel that each of their tribal chiefs is to bring you a wooden rod with his name inscribed upon it. Aaron’s name is to be on the rod of the tribe of Levi. ⁴ Put these rods in the inner room of the Tabernacle where I meet with you, in front of the Ark. ⁵ I will use these rods to identify the man I have chosen: for buds will grow on his rod! Then at last this murmuring and complaining against you will stop!”

⁶ So Moses gave the instructions to the people, and each of the twelve chiefs (including Aaron) brought him a rod. ⁷ He put them before the Lord in the inner room of the Tabernacle, ⁸ and when he went in the next day, he found that Aaron’s rod, representing the tribe of Levi, had budded and was blossoming, and had ripe almonds hanging from it!

⁹ When Moses brought them out to show the others, they stared in disbelief! Then each man except Aaron claimed his rod. ¹⁰ The Lord told Moses to place Aaron’s rod permanently beside the Ark as a reminder of this rebellion. He was to bring it out and show it to the people again^[d] if there were any further complaints about Aaron’s authority; this would ward off further catastrophe to the people. ¹¹ So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.

^12-13 But the people of Israel only grumbled the more. “We are as good as dead,” they whined. “Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle dies. Must we all perish?”

18 The Lord now spoke to Aaron: “You and your sons and your family are responsible for any desecration of the sanctuary,” he said, “and will be held liable for any impropriety in your priestly work.

^2-3 “Your kinsmen, the tribe of Levi, are your assistants; but only you and your sons may perform the sacred duties in the Tabernacle itself. The Levites must be careful not to touch any of the sacred articles or the altar, lest I destroy both them and you. ⁴ No one who is not a member of the tribe of Levi shall assist you in any way. ⁵ Remember, only the priests are to perform the sacred duties within the sanctuary and at the altar. If you follow these instructions, the wrath of God will never again fall upon any of the people of Israel for violating this law. ⁶ I say it again—your kinsmen the Levites are your assistants for the work of the Tabernacle. They are a gift to you from the Lord. ⁷ But you and your sons, the priests, shall personally handle all the sacred service, including the altar and all that is within the veil, for the priesthood is your special gift of service. Anyone else who attempts to perform these duties shall die.”

⁸ The Lord gave these further instructions to Aaron: “I have given the priests all the gifts which are brought to the Lord by the people; all these offerings presented to the Lord by the gesture of waving them before the altar belong to you and your sons, by permanent law. ⁹ The grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings are yours, except for the sample presented to the Lord by burning upon the altar. All these are most holy offerings. ¹⁰ They are to be eaten only in a most holy place, and only by males. ¹¹ All other gifts presented to me by the gesture of waving them before the altar are for you and your families, sons and daughters alike. For all the members of your families may eat these unless anyone is ceremonially impure at the time.

¹² “Yours also are the first-of-the-harvest gifts the people bring as offerings to the Lord—the best of the olive oil, wine, grain, ¹³ and every other crop. Your families may eat these unless they are ceremonially defiled at the time. ^14-15 So everything that is dedicated to the Lord shall be yours, including the firstborn sons of the people of Israel, and the firstborn of their animals. ¹⁶ However, you may never accept the firstborn sons, nor the firstborn of any animals that I do not permit for food. Instead, there must be a payment of two and a half dollars made for each firstborn child. It is to be brought when he is one month old.

¹⁷ “However, the firstborn of cows, sheep, or goats may not be bought back; they must be sacrificed to the Lord.^[e] Their blood is to be sprinkled upon the altar, and their fat shall be burned as a fire offering; it is very pleasant to the Lord. ¹⁸ The meat of these animals shall be yours, including the breast and right thigh that are presented to the Lord by the gesture of waving before the altar. ¹⁹ Yes, I have given to you all of these ‘wave offerings’ brought by the people of Israel to the Lord; they are for you and your families as food; this is a permanent contract^[f] between the Lord and you and your descendants.

²⁰ “You priests may own no property nor have any other income, for I am all that you need.

²¹ “As for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, they shall be paid for their service with the tithes from the entire land of Israel.

²² “From now on, Israelites other than the priests and Levites shall not enter the sanctuary lest they be judged guilty and die. ²³ Only the Levites shall do the work there, and they shall be guilty if they fail. This is a permanent law among you, that the Levites shall own no property in Israel, ²⁴ for the people’s tithes, offered to the Lord by the gesture of waving before the altar, shall belong to the Levites; these are their inheritance, and so they have no need for property.”

^25-26 The Lord also said to Moses, “Tell the Levites to give to the Lord a tenth of the tithes they receive—a tithe of the tithe, to be presented to the Lord by the gesture of waving before the altar. ²⁷ The Lord will consider this as your first-of-the-harvest offering to him of grain and wine, as though it were from your own property. ^28-29 This tithe of the tithe shall be selected from the choicest part of the tithes you receive as the Lord’s portion, and shall be given to Aaron the priest. ³⁰ It shall be credited to you just as though it were from your own threshing floor and winepress. ³¹ Aaron and his sons and their families may eat it in their homes or anywhere they wish, for it is their compensation for their service in the Tabernacle. ³² You Levites will not be held guilty for accepting the Lord’s tithes if you then give the best tenth to the priests. But beware that you do not treat the holy gifts of the people of Israel as though they were common, lest you die.”

19 ^1-3 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Here is another of my laws: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, one that has never been yoked. Give her to Eleazar the priest and he shall take her outside the camp and someone shall kill her as he watches. ⁴ Eleazar shall take some of her blood upon his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tabernacle. ⁵ Then someone shall burn the heifer as he watches—her hide, meat, blood, and dung. ⁶ Eleazar shall take cedar wood and hyssop branches and scarlet thread, and throw them into the burning pile.

⁷ “Then he must wash his clothes, and bathe, and afterwards return to the camp and be ceremonially defiled until the evening. ⁸ And the one who burns the animal must wash his clothes and bathe, and he too shall be defiled until evening. ⁹ Then someone who is not ceremonially defiled shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and place them in some purified place outside the camp, where they shall be kept for the people of Israel as a source of water for the purification ceremonies, for removal of sin. ¹⁰ And the one who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must wash his clothes and be defiled until evening; this is a permanent law for the benefit of the people of Israel and any foreigners living among them.

¹¹ “Anyone who touches a dead human body shall be defiled for seven days, ¹² and must purify himself the third and seventh days with water run through the ashes of the red heifer^[g]; then he will be purified; but if he does not do this on the third day, he will continue to be defiled even after the seventh day. ¹³ Anyone who touches a dead person and does not purify himself in the manner specified has defiled the Tabernacle of the Lord, and shall be excommunicated from Israel. The cleansing water was not sprinkled upon him, so the defilement continues.

¹⁴ “When a man dies in a tent, these are the various regulations: Everyone who enters the tent, and those who are in it at the time, shall be defiled seven days. ¹⁵ Any container in the tent without a lid over it is defiled.

¹⁶ “If someone out in a field touches the corpse of someone who has been killed in battle or who has died in any other way, or if he even touches a bone or a grave, he shall be defiled seven days. ¹⁷ To become purified again, ashes from the red heifer sin offering^[h] are to be added to spring water in a kettle. ¹⁸ Then a person who is not defiled shall take hyssop branches and dip them into the water and sprinkle the water upon the tent and upon all the pots and pans in the tent, and upon anyone who has been defiled by being in the tent, or by touching a bone, or touching someone who has been killed or is otherwise dead, or has touched a grave. ¹⁹ This shall take place on the third and seventh days; then the defiled person must wash his clothes and bathe himself, and that evening he will be out from under the defilement.

²⁰ “But anyone who is defiled and doesn’t purify himself shall be excommunicated, for he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord, and the water to cleanse him has not been sprinkled upon him; so he remains defiled. ²¹ This is a permanent law. The man who sprinkles the water must afterwards wash his clothes; and anyone touching the water shall be defiled until evening. ²² And anything a defiled person touches shall be defiled until evening.”

20 The people of Israel arrived in the wilderness of Zin in April^[i] and camped at Kadesh, where Miriam died and was buried. ² There was not enough water to drink at that place, so the people again rebelled against Moses and Aaron. A great mob formed, ³ and they held a protest meeting.

“Would that we too had died with our dear brothers the Lord killed!” they shouted at Moses. ⁴ “You have deliberately brought us into this wilderness to get rid of us, along with our flocks and herds. ⁵ Why did you ever make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this evil place? Where is the fertile land of wonderful crops—the figs, vines, and pomegranates you told us about? Why, there isn’t even water enough to drink!”

⁶ Moses and Aaron turned away and went to the entrance of the Tabernacle, where they fell face downward before the Lord; and the glory of Jehovah appeared to them.

⁷ And he said to Moses, ⁸ “Get Aaron’s rod;^[j] then you and Aaron must summon the people. As they watch, speak to that rock over there and tell it to pour out its water! You will give them water from a rock, enough for all the people and all their cattle!”

⁹ So Moses did as instructed. He took the rod from the place where it was kept before the Lord; ¹⁰ then Moses and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock; and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels! Must we bring you water from this rock?”

¹¹ Then Moses lifted the rod and struck the rock twice, and water gushed out; and the people and their cattle drank.

¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe me^[k] and did not sanctify me in the eyes of the people of Israel, you shall not bring them into the land I have promised them!”

¹³ This place was named Meribah (meaning “Rebel Waters”), because it was where the people of Israel fought against Jehovah, and where he showed himself to be holy before them.

¹⁴ While Moses was at Kadesh he sent messengers to the king of Edom: “We are the descendants of your brother, Israel,”^[l] he declared. “You know our sad history, ¹⁵ how our ancestors went down to visit Egypt and stayed there so long, and became slaves of the Egyptians. ¹⁶ But when we cried to the Lord he heard us and sent an Angel who brought us out of Egypt, and now we are here at Kadesh, encamped on the borders of your land. ¹⁷ Please let us pass through your country. We will be careful not to go through your planted fields, nor through your vineyards; we won’t even drink water from your wells, but will stay on the main road and not leave it until we have crossed your border on the other side.”

¹⁸ But the king of Edom said, “Stay out! If you attempt to enter my land, I will meet you with an army!”

¹⁹ “But, sir,” protested the Israeli ambassadors, “we will stay on the main road and will not even drink your water unless we pay whatever you demand for it. We only want to pass through and nothing else.”

²⁰ But the king of Edom was adamant. “Stay out!” he warned, and, mobilizing his army, he marched to the frontier with a great force. ^21-22 Because Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their country, Israel turned back and journeyed from Kadesh to Mount Hor.

²³ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron at the border of the land of Edom, ²⁴ “The time has come for Aaron to die—for he shall not enter the land I have given the people of Israel, for the two of you rebelled against my instructions concerning the water at Meribah. ²⁵ Now take Aaron and his son Eleazar and lead them up onto Mount Hor. ²⁶ There you shall remove Aaron’s priestly garments from him and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron shall die there.”

²⁷ So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. The three^[m] of them went up together into Mount Hor as all the people watched. ²⁸ When they reached the summit, Moses removed the priestly garments from Aaron and put them on his son Eleazar; and Aaron died on the top of the mountain. Moses and Eleazar returned, ²⁹ and when the people were informed of Aaron’s death, they mourned for him for thirty days.