| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 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 men; | 1Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted |
| 2and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. | 2a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly. |
| 3They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” | 3They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” |
| 4So when Moses heard it, he fell on his face; | 4When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. |
| 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 cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to come near to Him. | 5Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one He chooses, He will bring near to Himself. |
| 6Do this: Take censers, Korah and all your company; | 6You, Korah, and all your followers are to do as follows: Take censers, |
| 7put fire in them and put incense in them before the LORD tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the LORD chooses is the holy one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!” | 7and tomorrow you are to place fire and incense in them in the presence of the LORD. Then the man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. It is you sons of Levi who have taken too much upon yourselves!” |
| 8Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: | 8Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you sons of Levi! |
| 9Is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to serve them; | 9Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel and brought you near to Himself to perform the work at the LORD’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? |
| 10and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also? | 10He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well. |
| 11Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the LORD. And what is Aaron that you complain against him?” | 11Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the LORD! As for Aaron, who is he that you should grumble against him?” |
| 12And Moses sent to call 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 a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should keep acting like a prince over us? | 13Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also appoint yourself as ruler 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!” | 14Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!” |
| 15Then Moses was very angry, and said to the LORD, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I hurt one of them.” | 15Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.” |
| 16And Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow, you and all your company be present before the LORD—you and they, as well as Aaron. | 16And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron. |
| 17Let each take his censer and put incense in it, and each of you bring his censer before the LORD, two hundred and fifty censers; both you and Aaron, each with his censer.” | 17Each man is to take his censer, place incense in it, and present it before the LORD—250 censers. You and Aaron are to present your censers as well.” |
| 18So every man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the tabernacle of meeting with Moses and Aaron. | 18So each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. |
| 19And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation. | 19When Korah had gathered his whole assembly against them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole congregation. |
| 20And the LORD spoke to Moses and 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“Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” |
| 22Then they fell on their faces, and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the congregation?” | 22But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?” |
| 23So the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, | 23Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 24“Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ” | 24“Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings 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 went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. |
| 26And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.” | 26And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” |
| 27So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little children. | 27So they moved away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram had come out and stood at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children and infants. |
| 28And Moses said: “By this you shall 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, for it was not my own doing: |
| 29If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. | 29If these men die a natural death, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. |
| 30But if the LORD creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the LORD.” | 30But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.” |
| 31Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, | 31As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open, |
| 32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods. | 32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions. |
| 33So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. | 33They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. |
| 34Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also!” | 34At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!” |
| 35And a fire came out from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense. | 35And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense. |
| 36Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: | 36Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 37“Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to pick up the censers out of the blaze, for they are holy, and scatter the fire some distance away. | 37“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the censers from the flames and to scatter the coals far away, because the censers are holy. |
| 38The censers of these men who sinned against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the LORD, therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.” | 38As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.” |
| 39So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned up had presented, and they were hammered out as a covering on the altar, | 39So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, |
| 40to be a memorial to the children of Israel that no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the LORD, that he might not become like Korah and his companions, just as the LORD had said to him through Moses. | 40just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his followers. |
| 41On the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the LORD.” | 41The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!” |
| 42Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. | 42But when the congregation gathered against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the Tent of Meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. |
| 43Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting. | 43Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting, |
| 44And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, | 44and the LORD said to Moses, |
| 45“Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. | 45“Get away from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” And Moses and Aaron fell facedown. |
| 46So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take 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, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has begun.” |
| 47Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people. | 47So Aaron took the censer as Moses had ordered and ran into the midst of the assembly. And seeing that the plague had begun among the people, he offered the incense and made atonement for the people. |
| 48And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped. | 48He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted. |
| 49Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident. | 49But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah. |
| 50So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the plague had stopped. | 50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, since the plague had been halted. |
|
