| English Standard Version | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 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. | 1Now 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, |
| 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. | 2and 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. |
| 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?” | 3They 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?" |
| 4When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, | 4When Moses heard this, he fell on his face; |
| 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. | 5and 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. |
| 6Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company; | 6"Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your company, |
| 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!” | 7and 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!" |
| 8And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: | 8Then Moses said to Korah, "Hear now, you sons of Levi, |
| 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, | 9is 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; |
| 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? | 10and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking for the priesthood also? |
| 11Therefore it is against the LORD that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?” | 11"Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the LORD; but as for Aaron, who is he that you grumble against him?" |
| 12And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up. | 12Then Moses sent a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, "We will not come up. |
| 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? | 13"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 wilderness, but you would also lord it over us? |
| 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.” | 14"Indeed, 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!" |
| 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.” | 15Then 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." |
| 16And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, before the LORD, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. | 16Moses said to Korah, "You and all your company be present before the LORD tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron. |
| 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.” | 17"Each 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." |
| 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. | 18So 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. |
| 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. | 19Thus 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. |
| 20And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, | 20Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, |
| 21“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” | 21"Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly." |
| 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?” | 22But 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?" |
| 23And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, | 23Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, |
| 24“Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” | 24"Speak to the congregation, saying, 'Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.'" |
| 25Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. | 25Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, |
| 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.” | 26and 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." |
| 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. | 27So 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. |
| 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. | 28Moses said, "By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing. |
| 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. | 29"If these men die the death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. |
| 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.” | 30"But 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." |
| 31And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. | 31As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; |
| 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. | 32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. |
| 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. | 33So 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. |
| 34And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” | 34All Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, "The earth may swallow us up!" |
| 35And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men offering the incense. | 35Fire also came forth from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense. |
| 36Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, | 36Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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.” | 38"As 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." |
| 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, | 39So 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, |
| 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. | 40as 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. |
| 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.” | 41But 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." |
| 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. | 42It 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. |
| 43And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, | 43Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, |
| 44and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, | 44and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, |
| 45“Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. | 45"Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly." Then they fell on their faces. |
| 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.” | 46Moses 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!" |
| 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. | 47Then 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. |
| 48And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. | 48He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. |
| 49Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. | 49But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah. |
| 50And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped. | 50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked. |
| 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. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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