1 N ow Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:

Now 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, caused trouble.

2 a nd they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:

They came in front of Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel. They had chosen 250 leaders of the people of Israel, well-known men.

3 a nd 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 ?

They all gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all the people are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. So why do you honor yourselves more than the people of the Lord?”

4 A nd when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:

When Moses heard this, he bowed to the ground.

5 a nd he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the Lord will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.

He said to Korah and all who were with him, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His, and who is holy. He will have him come near to Him. He will bring near to Himself the one whom He will choose.

6 T his do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;

Do this, Korah and all who are with you. Take pots for burning special perfume.

7 a nd put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.

Put fire in them, and put special perfume upon them before the Lord tomorrow. The man whom the Lord chooses will be the one who is holy. You have gone too far, you sons of Levi!”

8 A nd Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:

Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi.

9 s eemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?

Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has set you apart from the rest of the people of Israel? He has brought you near to Himself. He has you do the work around the meeting tent of the Lord. And He has you stand in front of the people to care for them.

10 A nd he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?

He has brought you near to Him, Korah, and all your brothers who are the sons of Levi, with you. Would you try to be the religious leaders also?

11 F or which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?

So you and all who are with you are gathered together against the Lord. But as for Aaron, who is he that you complain against him?”

12 A nd Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:

Then Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come up.

13 i s it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?

Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the desert? Must you make yourself a ruler over us also?

14 M oreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.

More than this, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey. You have not given us any land with fields and grape vines. Would you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”

15 A nd Moses was very wroth, and said unto the Lord, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.

Moses became very angry. He said to the Lord, “Do not respect their gift! I have not taken one donkey from them. And I have not hurt one of them.”

16 A nd Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:

Then Moses said to Korah, “You and all who are with you be before the Lord tomorrow, you and they, and Aaron.

17 a nd take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.

Each of you take his fire pot and put special perfume on it. And each of you bring his fire pot before the Lord, 250 fire pots. Let both you and Aaron bring his fire pot also.”

18 A nd they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.

So each man took his fire pot and put fire in it and put special perfume on it. And they stood at the door of the meeting tent with Moses and Aaron.

19 A nd Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation.

Korah gathered together all the people against them at the door of the meeting tent. And the shining-greatness of the Lord was seen by all the people.

20 A nd the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

21 S eparate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.

“Go away from these people, so I may destroy them at once.”

22 A nd they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?

But they fell on their faces, and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with all the people?”

23 A nd the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

Then the Lord said to Moses,

24 S peak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

“Say to the people, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

25 A nd Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.

Then Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the leaders of Israel following him.

26 A nd he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.

And he said to the people, “Go away now from the tents of these sinful men. Touch nothing that belongs to them, or you will be destroyed because of all their sin.”

27 S o they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.

So they went away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.

28 A nd Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.

Moses said, “By this you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works. For this is not my doing.

29 I f these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me.

If these men die in the same way all men die, or if what happens to everyone happens to them, then the Lord has not sent me.

30 B ut if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord.

But the Lord will do something new. The ground will open its mouth and take them with all that belongs to them. And they will go down alive into the place of the dead. Then you will understand that these men have turned against the Lord.”

31 A nd it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:

As soon as he stopped speaking, the ground under them opened up.

32 a nd the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.

The earth opened its mouth and took them and all those of their house, and all Korah’s men and all that belonged to them.

33 T hey, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

They and all that belonged to them went down alive to the place of the dead, and the earth closed over them. They were destroyed from among the people.

34 A nd all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.

And all Israel who were around them ran away at their cry. For they said, “The earth may take us too!”

35 A nd there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

Then fire came from the Lord and destroyed the 250 men who had brought the special perfume.

36 A nd the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

The Lord said to Moses,

37 S peak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.

“Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the religious leader to take the fire pots out of the fire. For they are holy. Then spread the burning pieces far apart.

38 T he censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the Lord, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.

Let the fire pots of these men who have sinned and lost their lives be made into beaten plates to cover the altar. For they did bring them to the Lord and they are holy. They will be something special for the people of Israel to see.”

39 A nd Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:

So Eleazar the religious leader took the brass fire pots which the men who were burned had brought. And they beat them into plates to cover the altar.

40 t o be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the Lord; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the Lord said to him by the hand of Moses.

They were to make the people of Israel remember that no man who is not a religious leader and a son of Aaron should come to burn special perfume before the Lord. Or he might become like Korah and those who were with him, as the Lord said to Eleazar through Moses. The People Complain

41 B ut on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord.

But on the next day all the people of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord’s people.”

42 A nd it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.

When the people had gathered against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the meeting tent. There the cloud covered it and they saw the shining-greatness of the Lord.

43 A nd Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.

Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the meeting tent.

44 A nd the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

And the Lord said to Moses,

45 G et you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.

“Get away from these people, so I may destroy them at once.” Then they fell on their faces.

46 A nd Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun.

Moses said to Aaron, “Take your fire pot and put fire in it from the altar, and lay special perfume on it. Then be quick to bring it to the people and pay for their sin. For anger has gone out from the Lord. The disease has come!”

47 A nd Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.

So Aaron took it as Moses said, and ran to the people. The disease had already come upon them. He put on the special perfume and paid for the sin of the people.

48 A nd he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.

He stood between the dead and the living, and the disease was stopped.

49 N ow they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.

But 14, 700 people died by the disease, as well as those who died because of Korah.

50 A nd Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.

Then Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the meeting tent, for the disease had been stopped.