New King James Version

New Living Translation

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;

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 some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of 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.

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 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?”

4So when Moses heard it, he fell on his face;

4When Moses heard what they were saying, he fell face down on the ground.

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 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.

6Do this: Take censers, Korah and all your company;

6Korah, you and all your followers must prepare your incense burners.

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!”

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!”

8Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi:

8Then Moses spoke again to Korah: “Now listen, you Levites!

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;

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 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?

10Korah, he has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites. Are you now demanding 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?”

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, but they 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 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?

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 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!”

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.”

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 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 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 must come here tomorrow and present yourselves before the LORD. Aaron will also be here.

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.”

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.”

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 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 at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to 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 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“Get away from all these people so that I may instantly destroy them!”

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 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?”

23So the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

23And the LORD said to Moses,

24“Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ”

24“Then tell all the people to get away from the tents 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 rushed over to the tents of Dathan and Abiram, followed by the elders of Israel.

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.”

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 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 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: “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.

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 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 nothing unusual happens, 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 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.”

31Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them,

31He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them.

32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with 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.

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.

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.

34Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, 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 a fire came out from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.

35Then fire blazed forth from the LORD and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense.

36Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

36 And 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 pull all the incense burners from the fire, for they are holy. Also tell him to scatter the burning coals.

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.”

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.”

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 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 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.

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.

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.”

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!”

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.

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.

43Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting.

43Moses and Aaron came and stood in front of the Tabernacle,

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 all these people so that I can instantly destroy them!” But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground.

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.”

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.”

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.

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; so the plague was stopped.

48He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped.

49Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident.

49But 14,700 people died in that plague, in addition to those who had died in the affair involving Korah.

50So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the plague had stopped.

50Then because the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

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.