Numbers 16

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram Rebel

1Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, together with Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben, took men 2and rose up before Moses, along with two hundred fifty men from the Israelites, leaders of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of name. 3They gathered themselves against Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you lift yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?”

4When Moses heard this, he fell on his face. 5Then he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “In the morning the LORD will make known who belongs to the LORD, who is holy, and whom the LORD will bring near. The one whom the LORD chooses, the LORD will bring near. 6Do this: take censers, Korah and all your company, 7put fire in them and place incense on them before the LORD tomorrow. The man whom the LORD chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!”

8Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, sons of Levi! 9Is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to bring you near, to perform the service of the LORD’s tabernacle and to stand before the congregation to serve them? 10The LORD has brought you near, you and all your brothers, the Levites, with you—and now you seek the priesthood also? 11Therefore you and all your company are gathered against the LORD. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?”

Dathan and Abiram Refuse Moses

12Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up! 13Is it too small a thing that you brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself ruler over us? 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 put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.” 15Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them.”

The Censers Before the LORD

16Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company shall be before the LORD tomorrow—you, they, and Aaron. 17Each of you take your censer and put incense on it; each of you shall bring your censer before the LORD, two hundred fifty censers. You also, and Aaron, each with his censer.” 18So each man took his censer, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and stood at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19Korah gathered the whole congregation against them at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole congregation.

20The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21“Separate yourselves from the midst of this congregation, so that I may consume them in a moment.” 22But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin and you become angry with the whole congregation?”

The Ground Opens

23The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24“Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’” 25Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Please turn away from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, lest you be swept away in all their sins.” 27So they moved away from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents with their wives, their children, and their little ones.

28Moses said, “By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, for they are not from my own heart: 29if these men die as all people die, or if their fate is the fate of all humanity, then the LORD has not sent me. 30But if the LORD creates a new thing, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive to Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD.”

31As soon as he finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. 32The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, all the people belonging to Korah, and all their possessions. 33They and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34All Israel around them fled at their cry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us too!” 35And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the two hundred fifty men who were offering the incense.

The Censers Become a Sign

36The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 37“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to lift the censers out of the burning, and scatter the fire far away, for the censers have become holy. 38The censers of these men who sinned at the cost of their own lives shall be hammered into plates as a covering for the altar, because they presented them before the LORD and they became holy. They shall be a sign to the Israelites.” 39So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers that those who were burned had presented, and they hammered them out as a covering for the altar, 40as a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not of Aaron’s offspring should approach to burn incense before the LORD, lest that person become like Korah and his company, as the LORD spoke through Moses concerning him.

The Plague Among the Congregation

41But on the next day the whole congregation of the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!” 42And when the congregation gathered against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tent of Meeting, and look—the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. 43Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of Meeting. 44The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45“Get away from the midst of this congregation, so that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces.

46Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put fire from the altar in it, place incense on it, and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from before the LORD; the plague has begun.” 47Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. Look—the plague had begun among the people. He put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. 49Those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died because of Korah. 50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and the plague was stopped.