God's New Revelations

The Fourth Book of Moses: Numbers

King James Version :: World English Bible Catholic

- Chapter 16 -

1
Now 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:
2
And 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:
3
And 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 ?(a)
4
And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
5
And 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.
6
This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
7
And 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.
8
And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
9
Seemeth 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?
10
And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?
11
For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord : and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?
12
And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:
13
Is 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?
14
Moreover 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.(b)
15
And 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.
16
And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord , thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:
17
And 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.
18
And 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.
19
And 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.
20
And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
21
Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
22
And 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?

Moses Separates the People

23
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
24
Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
25
And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
26
And 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.
27
So 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.

The Earth Swallows Korah

28
And 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.
29
If 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.(c)
30
But 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 .(d)
31
And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
32
And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
33
They, 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.
34
And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
35
And there came out a fire from the Lord , and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

The Censers Reserved for Holy Use

36
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
37
Speak 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.
38
The 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.
39
And 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:
40
To 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.

Murmuring and Plague

(1 Corinthians 10:1–13)
41
But 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 .
42
And 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.
43
And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
44
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
45
Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
46
And 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.
47
And 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.
48
And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
49
Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
50
And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.

Footnotes

(a)16:3 Ye take…: Heb. It is much for you
(b)16:14 put…: Heb. bore out
(c)16:29 the common…: Heb. as every man dieth
(d)16:30 make…: Heb. create a creature
1
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, took some men.
2
They rose up before Moses, with some of the children of Israel, two hundred fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown.
3
They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much on yourself, since all the congregation are holy, everyone of them, and the LORD is among them! Why do you lift yourselves up above the LORD’s assembly?”
4
When Moses heard it, he fell on his face.
5
He said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning, the LORD 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.
6
Do this: have Korah and all his company take censers,
7
put fire in them, and put incense on them before the LORD tomorrow. It shall be that the man whom the LORD chooses, he shall be holy. You have gone too far, you sons of Levi!”
8
Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi!
9
Is it 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 LORD’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them;
10
and that he has brought you near, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? Do you seek the priesthood also?
11
Therefore you and all your company have gathered together against the LORD! What is Aaron that you complain against him?”
12
Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, “We won’t come up!
13
Is 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 also make yourself a prince over us?
14
Moreover 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.”
15
Moses was very angry, and said to the LORD, “Don’t respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them.”
16
Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company go before the LORD, you, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow.
17
Each man take his censer and put incense on it, and each man bring before the LORD his censer, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each with his censer.”
18
They each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the Tent of Meeting with Moses and Aaron.
19
Korah assembled all the congregation opposite them to the door of the Tent of Meeting. The LORD’s glory appeared to all the congregation.
20
The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
21
“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!”
22
They 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?”

Moses Separates the People

23
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
24
Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from around the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!’”
25
Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
26
He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins!”
27
So they went away from the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side. Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.

The Earth Swallows Korah

28
Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works; for they are not from my own mind.
29
If these men die the common death of all men, or if they experience what all men experience, then the LORD hasn’t sent me.
30
But if the LORD makes a new thing, and the ground opens its mouth, and swallows them up with all that belong to them, and they go down alive into Sheol,(a) then you shall understand that these men have despised the LORD.”
31
As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split apart.
32
The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households, all of Korah’s men, and all their goods.
33
So they, and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol.(b) The earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly.
34
All Israel that were around them fled at their cry; for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!”
35
Fire came out from the LORD, and devoured the two hundred fifty men who offered the incense.

The Censers Reserved for Holy Use

36
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
37
“Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter the fire away from the camp; for they are holy,
38
even the censers of those who sinned against their own lives. Let them be beaten into plates for a covering of the altar, for they offered them before the LORD. Therefore they are holy. They shall be a sign to the children of Israel.”
39
Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which those who were burned had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar,
40
to be a memorial to the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger who isn’t of the offspring of Aaron, would come near to burn incense before the LORD, that he not be as Korah and as his company; as the LORD spoke to him by Moses.

Murmuring and Plague

(1 Corinthians 10:1–13)
41
But on the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!”
42
When the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they looked toward the Tent of Meeting. Behold, the cloud covered it, and the LORD’s glory appeared.
43
Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of Meeting.
44
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
45
“Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!” They fell on their faces.
46
Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, put fire from the altar in it, lay incense on it, carry it quickly to the congregation, and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from the LORD! The plague has begun.”
47
Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the middle of the assembly. The plague had already begun among the people. He put on the incense, and made atonement for the people.
48
He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
49
Now those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, in addition to those who died about the matter of Korah.
50
Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and the plague was stopped.

Footnotes

(a)16:30 Sheol is the place of the dead.
(b)16:33 Sheol is the place of the dead.