Chapter 16

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, took men: ²and they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown; ³and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take too much on you, seeing all the congregation are holy, everyone of them, and Yahweh is among them: why then lift yourselves up above the assembly of Yahweh? ⁴When Moses heard it, he fell on his face: ⁵and he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, In the morning Yahweh will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him: even him whom he shall choose he will cause to come near to him. ⁶This do: take you censers, Korah, and all his company; ⁷and put fire in them, and put incense on them before Yahweh tomorrow: and it shall be that the man whom Yahweh does choose, he shall be holy: you take too much on you, you sons of Levi. ⁸Moses said to Korah, Hear now, you sons of Levi: ⁹seems it but a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tent of Yahweh, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; ¹⁰and that he has brought you near, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? and seek you the priesthood also? ¹¹Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against Yahweh: and Aaron, what is he who you murmur against him? ¹²Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, We won’t come up: ¹³is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must needs make yourself also a prince over us? ¹⁴Moreover you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: will you put out the eyes of these men? we won’t come up. ¹⁵Moses was very angry, and said to Yahweh, “Don’t respect their offering: I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them.” ¹⁶Moses said to Korah, You and all your company go before Yahweh, you, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow: ¹⁷and take every man his censer, and put incense on them, and bring you before Yahweh every man his censer, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer. ¹⁸They took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood at the door of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹Korah assembled all the congregation against them to the door of the tent of meeting: and the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the congregation. ²⁰Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ²¹Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. ²²They fell on their faces, and said, God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation? ²³Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴Speak to the congregation, saying, Get away from around the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. ²⁵Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶He spoke to the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins. ²⁷So they got them up from the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little ones. ²⁸Moses said, Hereby you shall know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of my own mind. ²⁹If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then Yahweh hasn’t sent me. ³⁰But if Yahweh make a new thing, and the ground open its mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain to them, and they go down alive into Sheol; then you shall understand that these men have despised Yahweh. ³¹It happened, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground split apart that was under them; ³²and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who appertained to Korah, and all their goods. ³³So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into Sheol: and the earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly. ³⁴All Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them; for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up. ³⁵Fire came forth from Yahweh, and devoured the two hundred fifty men who offered the incense. ³⁶Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter you the fire yonder; for they are holy, ³⁸even the censers of these sinners against their own lives; and let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before Yahweh; therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel. ³⁹Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers, which those who were burnt had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar, ⁴⁰to be a memorial to the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger, who isn’t of the seed of Aaron, comes near to burn incense before Yahweh; that he not be as Korah, and as his company: as Yahweh spoke to him by Moses. ⁴¹But on the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, You have killed the people of Yahweh. ⁴²It happened, when the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting: and behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of Yahweh appeared. ⁴³Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting. ⁴⁴Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. They fell on their faces. ⁴⁶Moses said to Aaron, Take your censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and lay incense thereon, and carry it quickly to the congregation, and make atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from Yahweh; the plague is begun. ⁴⁷Aaron took as Moses spoke, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. ⁴⁹Now those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides those who died about the matter of Korah. ⁵⁰Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the tent of meeting: and the plague was stayed.