| Christian Standard Bible | New International 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 | 1Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites--Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth--became insolent |
| 2two hundred and fifty prominent Israelite men who were leaders of the community and representatives in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses. | 2and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. |
| 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 came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly?" |
| 4When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. | 4When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. |
| 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. | 5Then he said to Korah and all his followers: "In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him. |
| 6Korah, you and all your followers are to do this: take firepans, and tomorrow | 6You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers |
| 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!" | 7and tomorrow put burning coals and incense in them before the LORD. The man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!" |
| 8Moses also told Korah, "Now listen, Levites! | 8Moses also said to Korah, "Now listen, you Levites! |
| 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? | 9Isn't it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the LORD's tabernacle and to stand before the community and 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. | 10He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too. |
| 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?" | 11It is against the LORD that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?" |
| 12Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not come! | 12Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, "We will not come! |
| 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? | 13Isn't it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you also want to lord it 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 haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to treat these men like slaves? No, we will not come!" |
| 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." | 15Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, "Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them." |
| 16So Moses told Korah, "You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow--you, they, and Aaron. | 16Moses said to Korah, "You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow--you and they and Aaron. |
| 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." | 17Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it--250 censers in all--and present it before the LORD. You and Aaron are to present your censers also." |
| 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 each of them took his censer, put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. |
| 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. | 19When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire assembly. |
| 20The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, | 20The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, |
| 21"Separate yourselves from this community so I may consume them instantly." | 21"Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." |
| 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?" | 22But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?" |
| 23The LORD replied to Moses, | 23Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 24"Tell the community: Get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram." | 24"Say to the assembly, 'Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.'" |
| 25Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. | 25Moses got up 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." | 26He warned the assembly, "Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of 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 moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents. |
| 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: | 28Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: |
| 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 a natural death and suffer 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 brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt." |
| 31Just as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open. | 31As soon as he finished saying all this, 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 and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. |
| 33They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. | 33They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. |
| 34At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, "The earth may swallow us too!" | 34At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, "The earth is going to swallow us too!" |
| 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 who were offering the incense. |
| 36Then the LORD spoke to Moses: | 36The LORD said to Moses, |
| 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 son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are 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." | 38the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the LORD and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites." |
| 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 collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death, and he had them hammered out to overlay 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. | 40as the LORD directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the LORD, or he would become like Korah and his followers. |
| 41The next day the entire Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the LORD's people!" | 41The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. "You have killed the LORD's people," they said. |
| 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. | 42But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. |
| 43Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, | 43Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, |
| 44and the LORD said to Moses, | 44and the LORD said to Moses, |
| 45"Get away from this community so that I may consume them instantly." But they fell facedown. | 45"Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." And they fell facedown. |
| 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." | 46Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has started." |
| 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 did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. |
| 48He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was halted. | 48He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. |
| 49But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who died because of the Korah incident. | 49But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. |
| 50Aaron then returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, since the plague had been halted. | 50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped. |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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