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Numbers 16-17
New American Standard Bible

Korah’s Rebellion

16 Now (A)Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with (B)Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men, 2 and they stood before Moses, [a]together with some of the sons of Israel, 250 leaders of the congregation [b](C)chosen in the assembly, men of renown. 3 They assembled together (D)against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “[c](E)You have gone far enough! For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and (F)the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

4 When Moses heard this, (G)he fell on his face; 5 and he spoke to Korah and all his group, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will make known who is His, and (H)who is holy, and will bring that one near to Himself; indeed, (I)the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. 6 Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and [d]your whole group, 7 and put fire in them, and place incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. [e](J)You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”

8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 (K)Is it too small an honor for you that the God of Israel has singled you out from the congregation of Israel, (L)to bring you near to Himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; 10 and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? But are you (M)seeking the priesthood as well? 11 Therefore you and your whole group are the ones gathered together (N)against the Lord; but as for Aaron, [f]who is he, that (O)you grumble against him?”

12 Then Moses sent [g]a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it [h]not enough that you have brought us up out of a (P)land flowing with milk and honey (Q)to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also appoint yourself as master over us? 14 Indeed, you have not brought us (R)into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of (S)fields and vineyards. Would you (T)gouge out the eyes of [i]these men? We will not come up!”

15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “(U)Pay no attention to their offering! (V)I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.” 16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your group be present before the Lord tomorrow, you and they along with Aaron. 17 And each of you take his censer and put incense on [j]it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, 250 censers; also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.” 18 So they took, each one his own censer, and put fire on [k]it, and placed incense on [l]it; and they stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. 19 So Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And (W)the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

20 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21 “(X)Separate yourselves from among this congregation, (Y)so that I may consume them instantly.” 22 But they fell on their faces and said, “God, (Z)the God of the spirits of [m]humanity, (AA)when one person sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘(AB)Get away from the areas around the [n]tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’”

25 Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, 26 and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “(AC)Get away now from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, (AD)or you will be swept away in all their sin!” 27 So they moved away from the areas around the [o]tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, along with their wives, (AE)their sons, and their little ones. 28 Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that (AF)the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for it is not [p]my doing. 29 If these men die [q]the death of all mankind, or [r]if they suffer the (AG)fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But (AH)if the Lord [s]brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with everything that is theirs, and they (AI)descend alive into [t]Sheol, then you will know that these men have been disrespectful to the Lord.”

31 And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32 and (AJ)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, and (AK)all the people who belonged to Korah with all their possessions. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to [u]Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 Then all Israel who were around them fled at their [v]outcry, for they said, “The earth might swallow us!” 35 (AL)Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the (AM)250 men who were offering the incense.

36 [w]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37 “Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall pick up the censers from the midst of the burned area, because they are holy; and you are to scatter the [x]burning coals further away. 38 As for the censers of these [y]men who have sinned at the cost of their own lives, have them made into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy; and (AN)they shall [z]serve as a sign to the sons of Israel.” 39 So the priest Eleazar took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as plating for the altar, 40 as a reminder to the sons of Israel so that (AO)no [aa]layman, anyone who was not of the [ab]descendants of Aaron, would approach (AP)to burn incense before the Lord; then he would not become like Korah and his group—just as the Lord had spoken to him [ac]through Moses.

Murmuring and Plague

41 But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel (AQ)grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord’s people!” 42 It 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 (AR)the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “(AS)Get away from among this congregation so that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put fire in it from the altar, and place incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and (AT)make atonement for them, for (AU)wrath has gone out from the Lord, the plague has begun!” 47 Then Aaron took it just as Moses had spoken, and he ran into the midst of the assembly; and behold, the plague had begun among the people. (AV)So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was brought to a halt. 49 (AW)But those who died by the plague were 14,700 in number, besides those who (AX)died on account of Korah. 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been brought to a halt.

Aaron’s Staff Buds

17 [ad]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and obtain from them a staff for each father’s household: twelve staffs, from all their leaders for their fathers’ households. You shall write each man’s name on his staff, 3 and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi; for there is to be one staff for the head of each of their fathers’ households. 4 You shall then leave them in the tent of meeting in front of (AY)the testimony, where I meet with you. 5 And it will come about that the staff of (AZ)the man whom I choose will sprout. So I will relieve Myself of the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.” 6 So Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a staff, one for each leader, for their fathers’ households, twelve staffs in all, with the staff of Aaron among their staffs. 7 Then Moses left the staffs before the Lord in (BA)the tent of the testimony.

8 Now on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, (BB)Aaron’s staff for the house of Levi had sprouted and produced buds and bloomed with blossoms, and it yielded ripe almonds. 9 Moses then brought out all the staffs from the presence of the Lord to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his staff. 10 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put the staff of Aaron (BC)back in front of the testimony [ae]to be kept as a sign against the [af](BD)rebels, so that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me and they do not die.” 11 Moses did so; just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

12 Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “(BE)Behold, we are passing away, we are perishing, we are all perishing! 13 (BF)Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, must die. Are we to perish completely?”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 16:2 Lit and men from
  2. Numbers 16:2 Lit called ones of
  3. Numbers 16:3 Lit Much for you
  4. Numbers 16:6 Lit his
  5. Numbers 16:7 Lit Much for you
  6. Numbers 16:11 Lit what
  7. Numbers 16:12 Lit to call to
  8. Numbers 16:13 Lit a little thing
  9. Numbers 16:14 Lit those
  10. Numbers 16:17 Lit them
  11. Numbers 16:18 Lit them
  12. Numbers 16:18 Lit them
  13. Numbers 16:22 Lit all flesh
  14. Numbers 16:24 Lit residence
  15. Numbers 16:27 Lit dwelling place
  16. Numbers 16:28 Lit from my heart
  17. Numbers 16:29 Lit like the death
  18. Numbers 16:29 Lit the visitation of all men is visited upon them
  19. Numbers 16:30 Lit creates
  20. Numbers 16:30 I.e., the netherworld
  21. Numbers 16:33 I.e., the netherworld
  22. Numbers 16:34 Or voice
  23. Numbers 16:36 Ch 17:1 in Heb
  24. Numbers 16:37 Lit the fire
  25. Numbers 16:38 Lit sinners against their lives
  26. Numbers 16:38 Lit be for a
  27. Numbers 16:40 Lit stranger
  28. Numbers 16:40 Lit seed
  29. Numbers 16:40 Lit by the hand of
  30. Numbers 17:1 Ch 17:16 in Heb
  31. Numbers 17:10 Lit for preserving
  32. Numbers 17:10 Lit sons of rebellion
Listen to Numbers 16-17
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Numbers 16-17
New International Version

Korah, Dathan and Abiram

16 Korah(A) son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram(B), sons of Eliab,(C) and On son of Peleth—became insolent[a] 2 and rose up against Moses.(D) With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.(E) 3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron(F) and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy,(G) every one of them, and the Lord is with them.(H) Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”(I)

4 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.(J) 5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy,(K) and he will have that person come near him.(L) The man he chooses(M) he will cause to come near him. 6 You, Korah, and all your followers(N) are to do this: Take censers(O) 7 and tomorrow put burning coals(P) and incense(Q) in them before the Lord. The man the Lord chooses(R) will be the one who is holy.(S) You Levites have gone too far!”

8 Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites! 9 Isn’t it enough(T) for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?(U) 10 He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.(V) 11 It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble(W) against him?(X)”

12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram,(Y) the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come!(Z) 13 Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey(AA) to kill us in the wilderness?(AB) And now you also want to lord it over us!(AC) 14 Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey(AD) or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards.(AE) Do you want to treat these men like slaves[b]?(AF) No, we will not come!(AG)”

15 Then Moses became very angry(AH) and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey(AI) from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”

16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.(AJ) 17 Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before the Lord. You and Aaron are to present your censers also.(AK)” 18 So each of them took his censer,(AL) put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 19 When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them(AM) at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord(AN) appeared to the entire assembly. 20 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves(AO) from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”(AP)

22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown(AQ) and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things,(AR) will you be angry with the entire assembly(AS) when only one man sins?”(AT)

23 Then the Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel(AU) followed him. 26 He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men!(AV) Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away(AW) because of all their sins.(AX)” 27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.(AY) Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children(AZ) and little ones at the entrances to their tents.(BA)

28 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know(BB) that the Lord has sent me(BC) to do all these things and that it was not my idea: 29 If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me.(BD) 30 But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth(BE) and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead,(BF) then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.(BG)”

31 As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart(BH) 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them(BI) and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. 33 They went down alive into the realm of the dead,(BJ) with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. 34 At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”

35 And fire came out from the Lord(BK) and consumed(BL) the 250 men who were offering the incense.

36 The Lord said to Moses, 37 “Tell Eleazar(BM) son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers(BN) from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy— 38 the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives.(BO) Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar,(BP) for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign(BQ) to the Israelites.”

39 So Eleazar the priest(BR) collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death,(BS) and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, 40 as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense(BT) before the Lord,(BU) or he would become like Korah and his followers.(BV)

41 The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.

42 But when the assembly gathered in opposition(BW) to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord(BX) appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord said to Moses, 45 “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end(BY) to them at once.” And they fell facedown.

46 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer(BZ) and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly(CA) to make atonement(CB) for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord;(CC) the plague(CD) has started.” 47 So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people,(CE) but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. 48 He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.(CF) 49 But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.(CG) 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.[c]

The Budding of Aaron’s Staff

17 [d]The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs(CH) from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes.(CI) Write the name of each man on his staff. 3 On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name,(CJ) for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. 4 Place them in the tent of meeting(CK) in front of the ark of the covenant law,(CL) where I meet with you.(CM) 5 The staff belonging to the man I choose(CN) will sprout,(CO) and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling(CP) against you by the Israelites.”

6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron’s staff was among them. 7 Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law.(CQ)

8 The next day Moses entered the tent(CR) and saw that Aaron’s staff,(CS) which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.(CT) 9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs(CU) from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each of the leaders took his own staff.

10 The Lord said to Moses, “Put back Aaron’s staff(CV) in front of the ark of the covenant law, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious.(CW) This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.” 11 Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.

12 The Israelites said to Moses, “We will die! We are lost, we are all lost!(CX) 13 Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die.(CY) Are we all going to die?”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 16:1 Or Peleth—took men
  2. Numbers 16:14 Or to deceive these men; Hebrew Will you gouge out the eyes of these men
  3. Numbers 16:50 In Hebrew texts 16:36-50 is numbered 17:1-15.
  4. Numbers 17:1 In Hebrew texts 17:1-13 is numbered 17:16-28.
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