| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the 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 certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: | 2They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly. |
| 3And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation 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?” |
| 4And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: | 4When Moses heard what they were saying, he fell face down on the ground. |
| 5And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto 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. |
| 6This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; | 6Korah, you and all your followers must prepare your incense burners. |
| 7And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye 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 unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: | 8Then Moses spoke again to Korah: “Now listen, you Levites! |
| 9Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto 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 he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye 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? |
| 11For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur 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: which 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 thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether 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 thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou 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 wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt 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 unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow: | 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 take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you 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.” |
| 18And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation 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. |
| 19And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto 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 spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, | 20and the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, |
| 21Separate 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 upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth 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 spake unto Moses, saying, | 23And the LORD said to Moses, |
| 24Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. | 24“Then tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” |
| 25And Moses rose up and went unto 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 spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in 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 gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. | 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 ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. | 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 the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath 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 make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked 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 it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: | 31He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them. |
| 32And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto 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. |
| 33They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. | 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 that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. | 34All the people around them fled when they heard their screams. “The earth will swallow us, too!” they cried. |
| 35And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. | 35Then fire blazed forth from the LORD and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense. |
| 36And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, | 36 And the LORD said to Moses, |
| 37Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed. | 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. |
| 38The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children 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.” |
| 39And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of 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 memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of 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 morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye 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 it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: 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 before the tabernacle of the congregation. | 43Moses and Aaron came and stood in front of the Tabernacle, |
| 44And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, | 44and the LORD said to Moses, |
| 45Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon 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 unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is 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.” |
| 47And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an 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 stayed. | 48He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped. |
| 49Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter 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 unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed. | 50Then because the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | 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. |
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