| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 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 | 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 |
| 2and rebelled against Moses, along with some of the Israelites, 250 leaders of the community, chosen from the assembly, famous men. | 2and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. |
| 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?" | 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 it he fell down with his face to the ground. | 4When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 6Do this, Korah, you and all your company: Take censers, | 6You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers |
| 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!" | 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 said to Korah, "Listen now, you sons of Levi! | 8Moses also said to Korah, "Now listen, you Levites! |
| 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? | 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 brothers, the sons of Levi, with you. Do you now seek the priesthood also? | 10He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too. |
| 11Therefore you and all your company have assembled together against the LORD! And Aaron--what is he that you murmur against him?" | 11It is against the LORD that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?" |
| 12Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not come up. | 12Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, "We will not come! |
| 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? | 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! |
| 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." | 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!" |
| 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!" | 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." |
| 16Then Moses said to Korah, "You and all your company present yourselves before the LORD--you and they, and Aaron--tomorrow. | 16Moses said to Korah, "You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow--you and they and Aaron. |
| 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." | 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." |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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 among this community, that I may consume them in an instant." | 21"Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." |
| 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?" | 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?" |
| 23So the LORD spoke to Moses: | 23Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 24"Tell the community: 'Get away from around the homes of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.'" | 24"Say to the assembly, 'Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.'" |
| 25Then Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel went after him. | 25Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. |
| 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." | 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 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. | 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 has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them 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 a natural death, or if they share the fate of all men, 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 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!" | 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." |
| 31When he had finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open, | 31As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart |
| 32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, along with their households, and all Korah's men, and all their goods. | 32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 34All the Israelites who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, "What if the earth swallows us too?" | 34At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, "The earth is going to swallow us too!" |
| 35Then a fire went out from the LORD and devoured the 250 men who offered incense. | 35And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense. |
| 36The LORD spoke to Moses: | 36The LORD said to Moses, |
| 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. | 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 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." | 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 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. | 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, |
| 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. | 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. |
| 41But on the next day the whole community of Israelites murmured against 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 Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting--and the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD 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. |
| 43Then Moses and Aaron stood before the tent of meeting. | 43Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, |
| 44The LORD spoke to Moses: | 44and the LORD said to Moses, |
| 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. | 45"Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." And they fell facedown. |
| 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!" | 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 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. | 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 stopped. | 48He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. |
| 49Now 14,700 people died in the plague, in addition to those who died in the event with Korah. | 49But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. |
| 50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and the plague was stopped. | 50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped. |
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