|
Chapter 16 |
| 1 | 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: |
| 2 |
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: |
| 3 |
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? |
| 4 | And
when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: |
|
5 | And he spake unto Korah
and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will show 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. |
| 6 | This do; Take
you censers, Korah, and all his company; |
|
7 | 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. |
| 8
| And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of
Levi: |
| 9 |
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? |
|
10 | And he hath brought thee
near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the
priesthood also? |
|
11 | For which cause both thou and all thy company are
gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against
him? |
| 12 |
And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab:
which said, We will not come up: |
| 13 | 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?
|
| 14 | 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. |
|
15 | 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. |
| 16 | And Moses
said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they,
and Aaron, to morrow: |
| 17 | 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. |
| 18 |
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. |
| 19
| 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. |
| 20 | And the LORD spake unto Moses
and unto Aaron, saying, |
| 21 | Separate yourselves from among this
congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. |
| 22 | 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? |
| 23 |
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, |
| 24 | Speak unto the congregation,
saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and
Abiram. |
| 25
| And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and
the elders of Israel followed him. |
| 26 | 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. |
| 27 |
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. |
| 28 | 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. |
|
29 | 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. |
| 30 | 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. |
| 31 | 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: |
| 32 | 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. |
|
33 | 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. |
| 34 | And all
Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest
the earth swallow us up also. |
|
35 | And there came out a fire from the
LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
|
| 36 | And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, |
| 37 | 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. |
| 38 |
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. |
| 39
| And Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers, wherewith
they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a
covering of the altar: |
| 40 | 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. |
| 41 | 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. |
| 42 | 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. |
| 43 | And Moses
and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. |
| 44 | And the
LORD spake unto Moses, saying, |
| 45 | Get you up from among this
congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their
faces. |
| 46
| 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. |
| 47 | 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. |
|
48 | And he stood between the dead and the living; and
the plague was stayed. |
| 49 | Now they that died in the plague were
fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of
Korah. |
| 50
| And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed. |
