1 N ow 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 action,

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, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, 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 T hey assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “ You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly 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 W hen Moses heard this, he fell on his face;

When Moses heard this, he bowed to the ground.

5 a nd he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself.

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 D o this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your company,

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

7 a nd 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. You have gone far enough, you 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 T hen Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi,

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

9 i s it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of 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 to 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 that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking for 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 T herefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord; but as for Aaron, who is he that you grumble 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 T hen Moses sent a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they 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 not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also lord it 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 I ndeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you 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 T hen Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “ Do not regard their offering! I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any 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 M oses said to Korah, “You and all your company be present before the Lord tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron.

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

17 E ach of you take his firepan and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty firepans; also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan.”

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 S o they each took his own censer and put fire on it, and laid incense on it; and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting, 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 T hus Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the Lord appeared to 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 T hen the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

21 “ Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.”

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

22 B ut they fell on their faces and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire 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 T hen the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Then the Lord said to Moses,

24 “ Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘ Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

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

25 T hen Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him,

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

26 a nd he spoke to the congregation, saying, “ Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, or you will be swept away in all their sin.”

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 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 their sons and their little ones.

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 M oses said, “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing.

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 death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the Lord has 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 brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned 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 s he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open;

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

32 a nd the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions.

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 S o they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.

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 ll Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us up!”

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

35 F ire also came forth from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.

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

36 T hen the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

The Lord said to Moses,

37 “ Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall take up the censers out of the midst of the blaze, for they are holy; and you scatter the burning coals abroad.

“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 A s for the censers of these men 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 they shall be for a sign to the sons 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 S o 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,

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 a s a reminder to the sons of Israel that no layman who is not of the descendants of Aaron should come near to burn incense before the Lord; so that he will not become like Korah and his company—just as the Lord had spoken to him through Moses. Murmuring and Plague

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

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 I t 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 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 T hen Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting,

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

44 a nd the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

And the Lord said to Moses,

45 “ Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces.

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

46 M oses 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 make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the Lord, the plague has 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 T hen Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made 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 H e took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked.

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

49 B ut those who died by the plague were 14, 700, besides those who died on account of Korah.

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

50 T hen Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.

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