English Standard Version

New Living Translation

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.

1One day Korah son of Izhar, a descendant of Kohath son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben.

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.

2They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the 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?”

3They united against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have gone too far! The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the LORD, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the LORD’s people?”

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

4When Moses heard what they were saying, he fell face down on the ground.

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.

5Then he said to Korah and his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will show us who belongs to him and who is holy. The LORD will allow only those whom he selects to enter his own presence.

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

6Korah, you and all your followers must prepare your incense burners.

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!”

7Light fires in them tomorrow, and burn incense before the LORD. Then we will see whom the LORD chooses as his holy one. You Levites are the ones who have gone too far!”

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

8Then Moses spoke again to Korah: “Now listen, you Levites!

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,

9Does it seem insignificant to you that the God of Israel has chosen you from among all the community of Israel to be near him so you can serve in the LORD’s Tabernacle and stand before the people 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?

10Korah, he has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites. Are you now demanding the priesthood as well?

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

11The LORD is the one you and your followers are really revolting against! For who is Aaron that you are complaining about him?”

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

12Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they replied, “We refuse to come before you!

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?

13Isn’t it enough that you brought us out of Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us here in this wilderness, and that you now treat us like your subjects?

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.”

14What’s more, you haven’t brought us into another land flowing with milk and honey. You haven’t given us a new homeland with fields and vineyards. Are you trying to fool these men? We will not come.”

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 accept their grain offerings! I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, and I have never hurt a single one of them.”

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

16And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers must come here tomorrow and present yourselves before the LORD. Aaron will also be here.

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.”

17You and each of your 250 followers must prepare an incense burner and put incense on it, so you can all present them before the LORD. Aaron will also bring his incense burner.”

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 each of these men prepared an incense burner, lit the fire, and placed incense on it. Then they all stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle 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.

19Meanwhile, Korah had stirred up the entire community against Moses and Aaron, and they all gathered at the Tabernacle entrance. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to the whole community,

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

20and the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

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

21“Get away from all these people so that I may instantly destroy them!”

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 Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground. “O God,” they pleaded, “you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Must you be angry with all the people when only one man sins?”

23And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

23And the LORD said to Moses,

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

24“Then tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

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

25So Moses got up and rushed over to the tents of Dathan and Abiram, followed by the elders of Israel.

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.”

26“Quick!” he told the people. “Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and don’t touch anything that belongs to them. If you do, you will be destroyed for their sins.”

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 all the people stood back from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Then Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, together with their wives and children and 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.

28And Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things that I have done—for I have not done them on my own.

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.

29If these men die a natural death, or if nothing unusual happens, 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.”

30But if the LORD does something entirely new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and all their belongings, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have shown contempt for the LORD.”

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

31He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them.

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.

32The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the men, along with their households and all their followers who were standing with them, and everything they owned.

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 went down alive into the grave, along with all their belongings. The earth closed over them, and they all vanished from among the people of Israel.

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

34All the people around them fled when they heard their screams. “The earth will swallow us, too!” they cried.

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

35Then fire blazed forth from the LORD and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense.

36Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

36 And the LORD said to Moses,

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“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pull all the incense burners from the fire, for they are holy. Also tell him to scatter the burning coals.

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.”

38Take the incense burners of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and hammer the metal into a thin sheet to overlay the altar. Since these burners were used in the LORD’s presence, they have become holy. Let them serve as a warning to the people 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 collected the 250 bronze incense burners that had been used by the men who died in the fire, and the bronze was hammered into a thin sheet to overlay 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.

40This would warn the Israelites that no unauthorized person—no one who was not a descendant of Aaron—should ever enter the LORD’s presence to burn incense. If anyone did, the same thing would happen to him as happened to Korah and his followers. So the LORD’s instructions to Moses were carried out.

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 the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed 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.

42As the community gathered to protest against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tabernacle and saw that the cloud had covered it, and the glorious presence of the LORD appeared.

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

43Moses and Aaron came and stood in front of the Tabernacle,

44and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

44and the LORD said to Moses,

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 all these people so that I can instantly destroy them!” But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground.

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.”

46And Moses said to Aaron, “Quick, take an incense burner and place burning coals on it from the altar. Lay incense on it, and carry it out among the people to purify them and make them right with the LORD. The LORD’s anger is blazing against them—the plague has already 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.

47Aaron did as Moses told him and ran out among the people. The plague had already begun to strike down the people, but Aaron burned the incense and purified the people.

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

48He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped.

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

49But 14,700 people died in that plague, in addition to those who had died in the affair involving Korah.

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

50Then because the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

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.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.