Korah, Dathan, and Abiram Lead a Rebellion
1-2 Korah son of Izhar was a Levite from the Kohathite clan. One day he called together Dathan, Abiram, and On from the Reuben tribe, and the four of them decided to rebel against Moses. So they asked 250 respected Israelite leaders for their support, and together they went to Moses 3 and Aaron and said, “Why do you think you're so much better than everyone else? We're part of the Lord's holy people, and he's with all of us. What makes you think you're the only ones in charge?”
4 When Moses heard this, he knelt down to pray. 5 Then he said to Korah and his followers:
Tomorrow morning the Lord will show us the person he has chosen to be his priest, and that man will faithfully serve him.
6-7 Korah, here is what you and your followers must do: Get some fire pans, fill them with coals and incense, and place them near the sacred tent. And the man the Lord chooses will be his priest. Korah, this time you Levites have gone too far!
8-9 You know that the God of Israel has chosen you Levites from all Israel to serve him by being in charge of the sacred tent and by helping the community to worship in the proper way. What more do you want? 10 The Lord has given you a special responsibility, and now, Korah, you think you should also be his priest. 11 You and your followers have rebelled against the Lord, not against Aaron.
12 Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, but they sent back this message: “We won't come! 13 It's bad enough that you took us from our rich farmland in Egypt to let us die here in the desert. Now you also want to boss us around! 14 You keep promising us rich farmlands with fertile fields and vineyards—but where are they? Stop trying to trick these people. No, we won't come to see you.”
15 Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, “Don't listen to these men! I haven't done anything wrong to them. I haven't taken as much as a donkey.”
16 Then he said to Korah, “Tomorrow you and your followers must go with Aaron to the Lord's sacred tent. 17 Each of you take along your fire pan with incense in it and offer the incense to the Lord.”
18 The next day the men placed incense and coals in their fire pans and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the sacred tent. 19 Meanwhile, Korah had convinced the rest of the Israelites to rebel against their two leaders.
When that happened, the Lord appeared in all his glory 20 and said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Get away from the rest of the Israelites so I can kill them at once!”
22 But the two men bowed down and prayed, “Our God, you gave these people life. Why would you punish everyone here when only one man has sinned?”
23 The Lord answered Moses, 24 “Tell the people to stay away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 Moses walked over to Dathan and Abiram, and the other leaders of Israel followed. 26 Then Moses warned the people, “Get away from the tents of these sinful men! Don't touch anything that belongs to them or you'll be wiped out.” 27 So everyone moved away from those tents, except Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their families.
28 Moses said to the crowd, “The Lord has chosen me and told me to do these things—it wasn't my idea. And here's how you will know: 29 If these men die a natural death, it means the Lord hasn't chosen me. 30 But suppose the Lord does something that has never been done before. For example, what if a huge crack appears in the ground, and these men and their families fall into it and are buried alive, together with everything they own? Then you will know they have turned their backs on the Lord!”
31 As soon as Moses said this, the ground under the men opened up 32-33 and swallowed them alive, together with their families and everything they owned. Then the ground closed back up, and they were gone.
34 The rest of the Israelites heard their screams, so they ran off, shouting, “We don't want that to happen to us!”
35 Suddenly the Lord sent a fire that burned up the 250 men who had offered incense to him.
36 Then the Lord said to Moses, 37 “Tell Aaron's son Eleazar to take the fire pans from the smoldering fire and scatter the coals. The pans are now sacred, 38 because they were used for offering incense to me. Have them hammered into a thin layer of bronze as a covering for the altar. Those men died because of their sin, and now their fire pans will become a warning for the rest of the community.”
39 Eleazar collected the pans and had them hammered into a thin layer of bronze as a covering for the altar, 40 just as the Lord had told Moses. The pans were a warning to the Israelites that only Aaron's descendants would be allowed to offer incense to the Lord. Anyone else who tried to would be punished like Korah and his followers.
The Israelites Rebel and Are Punished
41 The next day the people of Israel again complained against Moses and Aaron, “The two of you killed some of the Lord's people!”
42 As the people crowded around them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the sacred tent, and the Lord appeared in his glory in the cloud covering the tent. 43 So Moses and Aaron walked to the front of the tent, 44 where the Lord said to them, 45 “Stand back! I am going to wipe out these Israelites once and for all.”
They immediately bowed down and prayed. 46 Then Moses told Aaron, “Grab your fire pan and fill it with hot coals from the altar. Put incense in it, then quickly take it to where the people are and offer it to the Lord, so they can be forgiven. The Lord is very angry, and people have already started dying!”
47-48 Aaron did exactly what he had been told. He ran over to the crowd of people and stood between the dead bodies and the people who were still alive. He placed the incense on the pan, then offered it to the Lord and asked him to forgive the people's sin. The disease immediately stopped spreading, and no one else died from it. 49 But 14,700 Israelites were dead, not counting those who had died with Korah and his followers.
50 Aaron walked back and stood with Moses at the sacred tent.
1 Nowe Korah the sonne of Izhar, the sonne of Kohath, the sonne of Leui went apart with Dathan, and Abiram the sonnes of Eliab, and On the sonne of Peleth, the sonnes of Reuben: 2 And they rose vp against Moses, with certaine of the children of Israel, two hundreth and fiftie captaines of the assemblie, famous in the Congregation, and men of renoume, 3 Who gathered themselues together against Moses, and against Aaron, and sayde vnto them, Ye take too much vpon you, seeing all the Congregation is holie, euery one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherfore then lift ye your selues aboue the Congregation of the Lord? 4 But when Moses heard it, hee fell vpon his face, 5 And spake to Korah and vnto all his companie, saying, To morow the Lord will shew who is his, and who is holy, and who ought to approche neere vnto him: and whom he hath chosen, hee will cause to come neere to him. 6 This doe therefore, Take you censers, both Korah, and all his companie, 7 And put fire therein, and put incense in the before the Lord to morowe: and the man whome the Lord doeth chuse, the same shalbe holie: ye take too much vpon you, ye sonnes of Leui. 8 Againe Moses saide vnto Korah, Heare, I pray you, ye sonnes of Leui. 9 Seemeth it a small thing vnto you that the God of Israel hath separated you from the multitude of Israel, to take you neere to himselfe, to doe the seruice of the Tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the Congregation and to minister vnto them? 10 He hath also taken thee to him, and all thy brethren the sonnes of Leui with thee, and seeke ye the office of the Priest also? 11 For which cause, thou, and all thy companie are gathered together against the Lord: and what is Aaron, that ye murmure against him? 12 And Moses sent to call Dathan, and Abiram the sonnes of Eliab: who answered, We will not come vp. 13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought vs out of a lande that floweth with milke and honie, to kill vs in the wildernesse, except thou make thy selfe lord and ruler ouer vs also? 14 Also thou hast not brought vs vnto a land that floweth with milke and honie, neither giuen vs inheritance of fieldes and vineyardes: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come vp. 15 Then Moses waxed verie angry, and saide vnto the Lord, Looke not vnto their offring: I haue not taken so much as an asse from them, neither haue I hurt any of them. 16 And Moses said vnto Korah, Bee thou and al thy companie before the Lord: both thou, they, and Aaron to morowe: 17 And take euery man his censor, and put incense in them, and bring ye euery man his censor before the Lord, two hundreth and fiftie censors: thou also and Aaron, euery one his censor. 18 So they tooke euery man his censor, and put fire in them, and laide incense thereon, and stoode in the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation with Moses and Aaron. 19 And Korah gathered all the multitude against them vnto the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation: then the glorie of the Lord appeared vnto all the Congregation. 20 And the Lord spake vnto Moses and to Aaron, saying, 21 Separate your selues from among this Cogregation, that I may consume them at once. 22 And they fell vpon their faces and saide, O God the God of the spirits, of all fleshe, hath not one man onely sinned, and wilt thou bee wroth with all the Congregation? 23 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying, 24 Speake vnto the Congregation and say, Get you away from about the Tabernacle of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. 25 Then Moses rose vp, and went vnto Dathan and Abiram, and the Elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he spake vnto the Congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tentes of these wicked men, and touche nothing of theirs, lest ye perish in all their sinnes. 27 So they gate them away from the Tabernacle of Korah, Dathan and Abiram on euerie side: and Dathan, and Abiram came out and stood in the doore of their tentes with their wiues, and their sonnes, and their little children. 28 And Moses saide, Hereby yee shall knowe that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works: for I haue not done them of mine owne minde. 29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men, the Lord hath not sent me. 30 But if the Lord make a newe thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallowe them vp with all that they haue, and they goe downe quicke into ye pit, then ye shall vnderstand that these men haue prouoked the Lord. 31 And assoone as he had made an ende of speaking all these wordes, euen the ground claue asunder that was vnder them, 32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them vp, with their families, and all the men that were with Korah, and all their goods. 33 So they and all that they had, went down aliue into the pit, and the earth couered them: so they perished from among the Congregation. 34 And all Israel that were about them, fled at the crie of them: for they said, Let vs flee, least the earth swalow vs vp. 35 But there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundreth and fiftie men that offred the incense. 36 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying, 37 Speake vnto Eleazar, the sonne of Aaron the Priest, that he take vp the censers out of the burning, and scatter the fire beyond the altar: for they are halowed, 38 The censers, I say, of these sinners, that destroyed themselues: and let them make of them broade plates for a couering of the Altar: for they offered them before the Lord, therefore they shalbe holy, and they shall be a signe vnto the children of Israel. 39 Then Eleazar the Priest tooke the brasen censers, which they, that were burnt, had offred, and made broade plates of them for a couering of the Altar. 40 It is a remembrance vnto the children of Israel, that no stranger which is not of the seede of Aaron, come neere to offer incense before the Lord, that he be not like Korah and his company, as the Lord said to him by the hand of Moses. 41 But on the morowe all the multitude of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye haue killed the people of the Lord. 42 And when the Congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, then they turned their faces toward the Tabernacle of the Congregation: and beholde, the cloude couered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron were come before the Tabernacle of the Congregation. 44 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying, 45 Get you vp from among this Congregation: for I wil consume them quickly: then they fell vpon their faces. 46 And Moses said vnto Aaron, Take the censer and put fire therein of the Altar, and put therein incense, and goe quickly vnto the Congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the Lord: the plague is begunne. 47 Then Aaron tooke as Moses commanded him, and ranne into the middes of the Congregation, and beholde, the plague was begun among the people, and hee put in incense, and made an atonement for the people. 48 And when hee stoode betweene the dead, and them that were aliue, the plague was stayed. 49 So they died of this plague fourtene thousande and seuen hundreth, beside them that dyed in the conspiracie of Korah. 50 And Aaron went againe vnto Moses before the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and the plague was stayed.