| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now Izhar's son Korah, the grandson of Kohath, a descendant of Levi, along with Eliab's sons Dathan and Abiram, and Peleth's son On, a descendant of Reuben, took charge | 1Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, who were Reubenites, took men |
| 2of a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 community leaders, Israelis who were famous men and representatives from the assembly. | 2and rebelled against Moses, along with some of the Israelites, 250 leaders of the community, chosen from the assembly, famous men. |
| 3They gathered together against Moses and Aaron and told them, "You have appropriated too much for yourselves from the entire congregation, since all of them are holy, and the LORD is among them, too. Why do you exalt yourselves over the LORD's assembly?" | 3And they assembled against Moses and Aaron, saying to them, "You take too much upon yourselves, seeing that the whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the community of the LORD?" |
| 4When Moses heard this, he fell on his face. | 4When Moses heard it he fell down with his face to the ground. |
| 5Then he addressed Korah and his entire company, "In the morning, may the LORD reveal who belongs to him and who is holy. May he cause that person to approach him. May he cause to approach him the one whom he has chosen. | 5Then he said to Korah and to all his company, "In the morning the LORD will make known who are his, and who is holy. He will cause that person to approach him; the person he has chosen he will cause to approach him. |
| 6Korah, you and your entire company are to bring censers | 6Do this, Korah, you and all your company: Take censers, |
| 7and put fire and incense in them in the LORD's presence tomorrow. It will be that the man whom the LORD chooses will be holy. You're taking too much for yourselves, you descendants of Levi." | 7put fire in them, and set incense on them before the LORD tomorrow, and the man whom the LORD chooses will be holy. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!" |
| 8Moses also told Korah, "Listen now, you descendants of Levi! | 8Moses said to Korah, "Listen now, you sons of Levi! |
| 9Is it such an insignificant thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelis to draw you to himself, appointing you to do the work of the tent of the LORD and to stand before the community to minister to them? | 9Does it seem too small a thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the community of Israel to bring you near to himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the community to minister to them? |
| 10He brought you near, along with all of your relatives, the descendants of Levi. Are you also seeking the priesthood? | 10He has brought you near and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, with you. Do you now seek the priesthood also? |
| 11Therefore you and your group have conspired against the LORD and Aaron. What is it that causes you to complain against him?" | 11Therefore you and all your company have assembled together against the LORD! And Aaron--what is he that you murmur against him?" |
| 12So Moses sent for Eliab's sons Dathan and Abiram, but they responded, "We're not coming. | 12Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not come up. |
| 13Is it such an insignificant thing that you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness? Now you're trying to make yourself be a prince and rule over us, aren't you? | 13Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of the land that flows with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness? Now do you want to make yourself a prince over us? |
| 14You still haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you really think that you can make these men look the other way? We won't go up." | 14Moreover, you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you think you can blind these men? We will not come up." |
| 15Moses was very angry, so he told the LORD, "Please don't accept their offering. I haven't taken even one donkey from them nor have I hurt even one of them." | 15Moses was very angry, and he said to the LORD, "Have no respect for their offering! I have not taken so much as one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them!" |
| 16Then Moses told Korah, "You and your entire company are to present yourselves in the LORD's presence tomorrow—you, they, and Aaron. | 16Then Moses said to Korah, "You and all your company present yourselves before the LORD--you and they, and Aaron--tomorrow. |
| 17Each man is to take a censer, put incense on it, and bring it into the LORD's presence, each man with his censer, for a total of 250 censers. You and Aaron are each to bring his own censer." | 17And each of you take his censer, put incense in it, and then each of you present his censer before the LORD: 250 censers, along with you, and Aaron--each of you with his censer." |
| 18So each man took his censer, put fire coals inside of it, placed incense in it, and then stood at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, accompanied by Moses and Aaron. | 18So everyone took his censer, put fire in it, and set incense on it, and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. |
| 19When Korah had assembled the entire community in opposition to Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire community. | 19When Korah assembled the whole community against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting, then the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole community. |
| 20Then the LORD told Moses and Aaron, | 20The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron: |
| 21"Separate yourselves from among this community, and I'll destroy them in a moment." | 21"Separate yourselves from among this community, that I may consume them in an instant." |
| 22Then they fell on their faces and said, "God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, will you be angry at the entire congregation on account of one man's sin?" | 22Then they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, "O God, the God of the spirits of all people, will you be angry with the whole community when only one man sins?" |
| 23Then the LORD instructed Moses, | 23So the LORD spoke to Moses: |
| 24"Tell the community to move away from where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram are living." | 24"Tell the community: 'Get away from around the homes of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.'" |
| 25So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. | 25Then Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel went after him. |
| 26Then he told the community, "Move away from the camps of these wicked men and don't touch anything that belongs to them. That way you won't be destroyed along with all their sins." | 26And he said to the community, "Move away from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything they have, lest you be destroyed because of all their sins." |
| 27So they all moved away from the entire area where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were living. Now Korah, Dathan, and Abiram stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, sons, and little children. | 27So they got away from the homes of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram on every side, and Dathan and Abiram came out and stationed themselves in the entrances of their tents with their wives, their children, and their toddlers. |
| 28Then Moses said, "This is how you'll know that the LORD has sent me to do all these awesome works—they're not coming merely from me. | 28Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will. |
| 29If these people die a death similar to all other human beings, or if they are punished with a punishment common to other men, then the LORD didn't send me. | 29If these men die a natural death, or if they share the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. |
| 30But if the LORD creates something new, so that the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and everything that belongs to them and they all descend directly to Sheol while still alive, then you'll know that these men have spurned the LORD." | 30But if the LORD does something entirely new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up along with all that they have, and they go down alive to the grave, then you will know that these men have despised the LORD!" |
| 31Just as he finished saying all these things, the ground under them split open. | 31When he had finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open, |
| 32The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, all their households, everyone who was affiliated with Korah, and all of their property. | 32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, along with their households, and all Korah's men, and all their goods. |
| 33So they and all that belonged to them descended alive to Sheol. Then the earth closed over them. That's how they were annihilated from the assembly. | 33They and all that they had went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed over them. So they perished from among the community. |
| 34Then all of the Israelis who were around them ran away when they heard them crying, "…so the ground won't swallow us up, too." | 34All the Israelites who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, "What if the earth swallows us too?" |
| 35After this, fire came from the LORD and incinerated the 250 men who offered the incense. | 35Then a fire went out from the LORD and devoured the 250 men who offered incense. |
| 36 Then the LORD instructed Moses, | 36The LORD spoke to Moses: |
| 37"Tell Aaron's son Eleazar the priest to take out the censers out of the flames and scatter the coals far away, since they are holy. | 37"Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pick up the censers out of the flame, for they are holy, and then scatter the coals of fire at a distance. |
| 38As for the censers of those rebels who died, fasten them into beaten plates to line the altar. Since they brought them into the LORD's presence, they're holy. They are to become a reminder to the Israelis." | 38As for the censers of these men who sinned at the cost of their lives, they must be made into hammered sheets for covering the altar, because they presented them before the LORD and sanctified them. They will become a sign to the Israelites." |
| 39So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers that had been burned and beat them into metal plates for the altar, | 39So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers presented by those who had been burned up, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar. |
| 40to serve as a memorial to the Israelis, a reminder that no unauthorized person, who isn't a descendant of Aaron, is to attempt to burn incense in the LORD'S presence, so that he may not become like Korah and his group, just as the LORD had spoken by the authority of Moses. | 40It was a memorial for the Israelites, that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to burn incense before the LORD, that he might not become like Korah and his company--just as the LORD had spoken by the authority of Moses. |
| 41Nevertheless, the very next day, the whole congregation of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, "You've killed the LORD'S people!" | 41But on the next day the whole community of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the LORD's people!" |
| 42When the community gathered together against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tent of Meeting. All of a sudden, a cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. | 42When the community assembled against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting--and the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. |
| 43Then Moses and Aaron entered the Tent of Meeting. | 43Then Moses and Aaron stood before the tent of meeting. |
| 44The LORD told Moses, | 44The LORD spoke to Moses: |
| 45"Leave this community, so I can annihilate them in a moment." But they fell upon their faces. | 45"Get away from this community, so that I can consume them in an instant!" But they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground. |
| 46Then Moses told Aaron. "Take the censer, put fire on it from the altar, and burn some incense. Then walk quickly to the congregation and atone for them, because wrath has already come out from the LORD—the plague has begun." | 46Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take the censer, put burning coals from the altar in it, place incense on it, and go quickly into the assembly and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the LORD--the plague has begun!" |
| 47So Aaron took the censer, just as Moses had spoken, and ran out to the center of the assembly, where a plague had begun among the people. He set the incense on fire and atoned for the people. | 47So Aaron did as Moses commanded and ran into the middle of the assembly, where the plague was just beginning among the people. So he placed incense on the coals and made atonement for the people. |
| 48He stood between the dead and the living and restrained the plague. | 48He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. |
| 49Those who died due to the plague numbered 14,700, not counting those who died due to the matter with Korah. | 49Now 14,700 people died in the plague, in addition to those who died in the event with Korah. |
| 50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting after the slaughter had been restrained. | 50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and the plague was stopped. |
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