Numbers 16

Now 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:

Korah, a descendant of Levi, along with Dathan, Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On, son of Peleth from the Reuben family, boldly rallied men around them.

And 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:

They rose up in rebellion against Moses, joined by two hundred and fifty respected leaders of Israel, well-known men of great reputation among their people.

And 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?

They united against Moses and Aaron, accusing them, "You're overstepping! Everyone here is sacred, and God is with us all. So why do you act superior to God's people?"

And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:

Upon hearing the news, Moses was overwhelmed, collapsing to the ground in a wave of emotion.

And 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.

He addressed Korah and his followers, promising, "Tomorrow, God will reveal His chosen ones, those who are truly holy. He will draw them close to Him."

This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;

Korah and his followers, take up your incense burners; do this now.

And 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.

Light the fire and burn the incense for the Lord tomorrow. The man chosen by the Lord will be sacred. You, sons of Levi, are overstepping your boundaries.

And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:

Moses pleaded with Korah and the Levi sons, "Please, listen to me!"

Seemeth 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?

Doesn't it feel special that God chose you, separating you from others, to serve Him and lead His people?

And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?

He has drawn you close, along with your Levi brothers. Now, are you also yearning for priesthood?

For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?

You and your group are united against God. Why are you complaining about Aaron?

And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:

Moses reached out to Dathan and Abiram, Eliab's sons, inviting them to join him. But they defiantly refused, saying, "We won't come."

Is 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?

Isn't it enough that you've led us out of a land of abundance only to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also make yourself ruler over us completely?

Moreover 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.

You didn't lead us to a land of abundance, nor did you grant us fertile fields and vineyards. Are you planning to blind us? We refuse to follow.

And 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.

Moses was extremely angry and pleaded with the Lord, "Please disregard their offering. I swear, I haven't taken a single thing from them, nor have I caused them any harm."

And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:

Moses firmly told Korah, "You, your followers, and Aaron, present yourselves before the LORD tomorrow."

And 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.

Each of you, take your incense burner, fill it with incense, and present it before the Lord, 250 burners in all. You and Aaron must each bring your own burner as well.

And 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.

Each man held his censer, filled it with fire and incense, and stood at the entrance of the meeting tent with Moses and Aaron, their hearts filled with reverence and anticipation.

And 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.

Korah rallied everyone at the entrance of the meeting tent, causing a stir. Suddenly, the majestic presence of the LORD was revealed to everyone present.

And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

The Lord passionately communicated to Moses and Aaron, expressing,

Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.

Step away from this group, so I can destroy them in an instant.

And 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?

They collapsed in despair, crying out, "O Divine One, the Life-giver of all, when one person sins, will you be angry with everyone?"

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

The LORD passionately conveyed His message to Moses, expressing,

Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

Tell the community, "Move away from Korah, Dathan, and Abiram's tent."

And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.

Moses, filled with determination, approached Dathan and Abiram. The respected elders of Israel, inspired by his courage, trailed behind him.

And 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.

He pleaded with the crowd, "Please, leave the homes of these evil men. Don't touch their belongings, or you'll be swallowed by their sins."

So 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.

So the people moved away from all around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents, their wives, sons, and young children by their side.

And 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.

Moses declared, "Understand this, it's not me but the LORD guiding my actions. I'm merely His instrument."

If 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.

If these men pass away just like anyone else, or if they face the same trials as all others, then God has not chosen me.

But 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.

If God creates something new, causing the earth to open up and swallow these people and all they own, so that they go down alive into the abyss, then you'll realize that they've deeply angered Him.

And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:

Once he finished pouring out his heart with these words, the earth beneath them split open in response.

And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.

The earth, like a ravenous beast, devoured them whole - Korah, his followers, their homes, and all their possessions.

They, 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.

They, along with everything they owned, were swallowed alive by the earth. The ground sealed over them, erasing their existence from the community.

And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.

Everyone in Israel nearby ran away in fear when they heard their cries, thinking, "We might be next to be swallowed by the earth!"

And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

From the Lord erupted a fierce blaze, engulfing the 250 men who were offering incense.

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

The Lord passionately communicated to Moses, expressing,

Speak 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.

Tell Eleazar, Aaron's son and a priest, to carefully remove the censers from the fire and spread the flames far away, for they are sacred.

The 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.

The censers of these men, whose sin cost them their lives, are to be hammered into wide plates to cover the altar. They presented these before God, making them sacred. Let this serve as a sign to all of Israel's descendants.

And 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:

Eleazar, the priest, collected the bronze censers used by those who had been burned up in the fire. He had them hammered into wide plates to cover the altar.

To 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.

The plates were a reminder for the people of Israel that only those from Aaron's lineage should approach to offer incense to the Lord. This is to prevent anyone from becoming like Korah and his followers, as God instructed through Moses.

But 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.

The next day, the entire community of Israelites angrily accused Moses and Aaron, saying, "You've murdered God's people!"

And 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.

As the crowd turned against Moses and Aaron, their eyes were drawn to the meeting tent. Suddenly, a cloud shrouded it, and the magnificent presence of God was revealed.

And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.

Moses and Aaron approached the community's sacred tent, their hearts filled with reverence.

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

With a deep, resonating voice, the LORD shared his words with Moses, expressing,

Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.

Get away from these people, so I can swiftly end their existence. Overwhelmed, they fell face down.

And 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.

Moses urgently told Aaron, "Grab a censer, fill it with fire from the altar, and add incense. Hurry to the people and seek forgiveness for them. God's anger has been unleashed; a plague has started."

And 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.

Following Moses' instructions, Aaron rushed into the crowd, his heart pounding. He could see the plague had already started to spread among the people. With a heavy heart, he lit the incense, praying fervently for their forgiveness and healing.

And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.

He bravely positioned himself between life and death, halting the relentless spread of the devastating plague.

Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.

The plague claimed the lives of 14,700 souls, not including those who perished due to Korah's actions. Their loss was deeply mourned.

And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.

Aaron reunited with Moses at the entrance of the meeting tent, and the epidemic ceased.