Christian Standard Bible

English Standard Version

1Now Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took

1Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men.

2two hundred and fifty prominent Israelite men who were leaders of the community and representatives in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses.

2And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men.

3They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, "You have gone too far! Everyone in the entire community is holy, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the LORD's assembly?"

3They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”

4When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.

4When Moses heard it, he fell on his face,

5Then he said to Korah and all his followers, "Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to him, who is set apart, and the one he will let come near him. He will let the one he chooses come near him.

5and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the LORD will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him.

6Korah, you and all your followers are to do this: take firepans, and tomorrow

6Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company;

7place fire in them and put incense on them before the LORD. Then the man the LORD chooses will be the one who is set apart. It is you Levites who have gone too far!"

7put fire in them and put incense on them before the LORD tomorrow, and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!”

8Moses also told Korah, "Now listen, Levites!

8And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi:

9Isn't it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelite community to bring you near to himself, to perform the work at the LORD's tabernacle, and to stand before the community to minister to them?

9is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the LORD and to stand before the congregation to minister to them,

10He has brought you near, and all your fellow Levites who are with you, but you are pursuing the priesthood as well.

10and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also?

11Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the LORD! As for Aaron, who is he that you should complain about him?"

11Therefore it is against the LORD that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?”

12Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not come!

12And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up.

13Is it not enough that you brought us up from a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Do you also have to appoint yourself as ruler over us?

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, that you must also make yourself a prince over us?

14Furthermore, you didn't bring us to a land flowing with milk and honey or give us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come!"

14Moreover, you have not 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 will not come up.”

15Then Moses became angry and said to the LORD, "Don't respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them."

15And Moses was very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.”

16So Moses told Korah, "You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow--you, they, and Aaron.

16And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, before the LORD, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow.

17Each of you is to take his firepan, place incense on it, and present his firepan before the LORD--250 firepans. You and Aaron are each to present your firepan also."

17And let every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the LORD his censer, 250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.”

18Each man took his firepan, placed fire in it, put incense on it, and stood at the entrance to the tent of meeting along with Moses and Aaron.

18So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.

19After Korah assembled the whole community against them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole community.

19Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation.

20The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron,

20And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

21"Separate yourselves from this community so I may consume them instantly."

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

22But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, "God, God who gives breath to all, when one man sins, will you vent your wrath on the whole community?"

22And they fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?”

23The LORD replied to Moses,

23And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

24"Tell the community: Get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram."

24“Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

25Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.

25Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.

26He warned the community, "Get away now from the tents of these wicked men. Don't touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins."

26And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.”

27So they got away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents with their wives, children, and infants.

27So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.

28Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD sent me to do all these things and that it was not of my own will:

28And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord.

29If these men die naturally as all people would, and suffer the fate of all, then the LORD has not sent me.

29If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me.

30But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them along with all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have despised the LORD."

30But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD.”

31Just as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open.

31And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart.

32The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah's people, and all their possessions.

32And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods.

33They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.

33So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.

34At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, "The earth may swallow us too!"

34And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!”

35Fire also came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were presenting the incense.

35And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.

36Then the LORD spoke to Moses:

36Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

37"Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the firepans from the burning debris, because they are holy, and scatter the fire far away.

37“Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze. Then scatter the fire far and wide, for they have become holy.

38As for the firepans of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, make them into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, for they presented them before the LORD, and the firepans are holy. They will be a sign to the Israelites."

38As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the LORD, and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel.”

39So the priest Eleazar took the bronze firepans that those who were burned had presented, and they were hammered into plating for the altar,

39So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar,

40just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. It was to be a reminder for the Israelites that no unauthorized person outside the lineage of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD and become like Korah and his followers.

40to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his company—as the LORD said to him through Moses.

41The next day the entire Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the LORD's people!"

41But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the LORD.”

42When the community assembled against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the LORD's glory appeared.

42And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.

43Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting,

43And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting,

44and the LORD said to Moses,

44and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

45"Get away from this community so that I may consume them instantly." But they fell facedown.

45“Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces.

46Then Moses told Aaron, "Take your firepan, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the community and make atonement for them, because wrath has come from the LORD; the plague has begun."

46And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun.”

47So Aaron took his firepan as Moses had ordered, ran into the middle of the assembly, and saw that the plague had begun among the people. After he added incense, he made atonement for the people.

47So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already 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 halted.

48And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.

49But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who died because of the Korah incident.

49Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah.

50Aaron then returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, since the plague had been halted.

50And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.