| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 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. | 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 |
| 2They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly. | 2a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly. |
| 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?” | 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?” |
| 4When Moses heard what they were saying, he fell face down on the ground. | 4When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 6Korah, you and all your followers must prepare your incense burners. | 6You, Korah, and all your followers are to do as follows: Take censers, |
| 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!” | 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 spoke again to Korah: “Now listen, you Levites! | 8Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you sons of Levi! |
| 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? | 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? |
| 10Korah, he has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites. Are you now demanding the priesthood as well? | 10He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well. |
| 11The LORD is the one you and your followers are really revolting against! For who is Aaron that you are complaining about 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?” |
| 12Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they replied, “We refuse to come before you! | 12Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come! |
| 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? | 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? |
| 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.” | 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 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.” | 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, “You and all your followers must come here tomorrow and present yourselves before the LORD. Aaron will also be here. | 16And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron. |
| 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.” | 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 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. | 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. |
| 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, | 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 said to Moses and Aaron, | 20And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, |
| 21“Get away from all these people so that I may instantly destroy them!” | 21“Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” |
| 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?” | 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?” |
| 23And the LORD said to Moses, | 23Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 24“Then tell all the people to 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.” |
| 25So Moses got up and rushed over to the tents of Dathan and Abiram, followed by the elders of Israel. | 25So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. |
| 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.” | 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 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. | 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, “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. | 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 a natural death, or if nothing unusual happens, 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 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.” | 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.” |
| 31He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them. | 31As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open, |
| 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. | 32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions. |
| 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. | 33They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. |
| 34All the people around them fled when they heard their screams. “The earth will swallow us, too!” they cried. | 34At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!” |
| 35Then fire blazed forth from the LORD and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense. | 35And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense. |
| 36 And the LORD said to Moses, | 36Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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.” | 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 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. | 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, |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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!” | 41The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!” |
| 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. | 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. |
| 43Moses and Aaron came and stood in front of the Tabernacle, | 43Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting, |
| 44and the LORD said to Moses, | 44and the LORD said to Moses, |
| 45“Get away from all these people so that I can instantly destroy them!” But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground. | 45“Get away from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” And Moses and Aaron fell facedown. |
| 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.” | 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.” |
| 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. | 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. |
| 48He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped. | 48He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted. |
| 49But 14,700 people died in that plague, in addition to those who had died in the affair involving Korah. | 49But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah. |
| 50Then because the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle. | 50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, since the plague had been halted. |
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