Numbers 16:17
New International Version
Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before the LORD. You and Aaron are to present your censers also.”

New Living Translation
You 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.”

English Standard Version
And let every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the LORD his censer, 250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.”

Berean Standard Bible
Each man is to take his censer, place incense in it, and present it before the LORD—250 censers. You and Aaron are to present your censers as well.”

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
Let 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.”

New American Standard Bible
And each of you take his censer and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the LORD, 250 censers; also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.”

NASB 1995
“Each of you take his firepan and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the LORD, two hundred and fifty firepans; also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan.”

NASB 1977
“And each of you take his firepan and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the LORD, two hundred and fifty firepans; also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan.”

Legacy Standard Bible
And each of you take his firepan and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer near before Yahweh, 250 firepans; also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan.”

Amplified Bible
Each of you take his censer and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the LORD, two hundred and fifty censers; also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.”

Christian Standard Bible
Each of you is to take his firepan, place incense on it, and present his firepan before the LORD—250 firepans. You and Aaron are each to present your firepan also.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Each of you is to take his firepan, place incense on it, and present his firepan before the LORD—250 firepans. You and Aaron are each to present your firepan also.”

American Standard Version
and take ye every man his censer, and put incense upon them, and bring ye before Jehovah every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each his censer.

Contemporary English Version
Each of you take along your fire pan with incense in it and offer the incense to the LORD."

English Revised Version
and take ye every man his censer, and put incense upon them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each his censer.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Each man will take his incense burner and put incense in it. They will offer all 250 incense burners to the LORD. Then you and Aaron offer your incense burners."

Good News Translation
Each of you will take his fire pan, put incense on it, and then present it at the altar."

International Standard Version
Each man is to take a censer, put incense on it, and bring it into the LORD's presence, each man with his censer, for a total of 250 censers. You and Aaron are each to bring his own censer."

Majority Standard Bible
Each man is to take his censer, place incense in it, and present it before the LORD?250 censers. You and Aaron are to present your censers as well.?

NET Bible
And each of you take his censer, put incense in it, and then each of you present his censer before the LORD: 250 censers, along with you, and Aaron--each of you with his censer."

New Heart English Bible
and each man take his censer, and put incense on them, and each man bring before the LORD his censer, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer."

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
Each man take his censer and put incense on it, and each man bring before Yahweh his censer, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each with his censer.”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and let each take his censer and you have put incense on them, and each has brought his censer near before YHWH—two hundred and fifty censers; indeed, you and Aaron, each [with] his censer.”

Young's Literal Translation
and take ye each his censer, and ye have put on them perfume, and brought near before Jehovah, each his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; and thou and Aaron, each his censer.'

Smith's Literal Translation
And take each his censer and put incense upon them, and bring them near before Jehovah, each his censer and put incense upon them, and bring them near before Jehovah, each his censer, fifty and two hundred censers; and thou and Aaron, each his censer.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Take every one of you censers, and put incense upon them, offering to the Lord two hundred and fifty censers: let Aaron also hold his censer.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Let each one of you take censers, and place incense in them, offering to the Lord two hundred fifty censers. Let Aaron also hold his censer.”

New American Bible
Then each of you take his own censer, put incense in it, and present it before the LORD, two hundred and fifty censers; and you and Aaron, each with his own censer, do the same.”

New Revised Standard Version
and let each one of you take his censer, and put incense on it, and each one of you present his censer before the LORD, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And take every man his censer, and put fire into it, and put incense into it, and bring before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; you also and Aaron, each of you his censer.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Each man take his censer and put fire in them and put incense in them and approach before LORD JEHOVAH, each man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers, and you and Ahron, each man his censer.”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
and take ye every man his fire-pan, and put incense upon them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his fire-pan, two hundred and fifty fire-pans; thou also, and Aaron, each his fire-pan.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And take each man his censer, and ye shall put incense upon them, and shall bring each one his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers, and thou and Aaron shall bring each his censer.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Korah's Rebellion
16And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron. 17Each man is to take his censer, place incense in it, and present it before the LORD— 250 censers. You and Aaron are to present your censers as well.” 18So each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.…

Cross References
Leviticus 10:1-2
Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command. / So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died in the presence of the LORD.

Exodus 30:7-9
And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps. / When Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he must burn the incense perpetually before the LORD for the generations to come. / On this altar you must not offer unauthorized incense or a burnt offering or grain offering; nor are you to pour a drink offering on it.

1 Kings 18:36-39
At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. / Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.” / Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench. ...

2 Chronicles 26:16-21
But when Uzziah became powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. / Then Azariah the priest, along with eighty brave priests of the LORD, went in after him. / They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to the LORD. Only the priests, the descendants of Aaron, are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully; you will not receive honor from the LORD God.” ...

Hebrews 9:4
containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.

Revelation 8:3-5
Then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. / And the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, rose up before God from the hand of the angel. / Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

Exodus 16:6-7
So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, / and in the morning you will see the LORD’s glory, because He has heard your grumbling against Him. For who are we, that you should grumble against us?”

1 Samuel 12:16-18
Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes. / Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you have committed in the sight of the LORD by asking for a king.” / So Samuel called to the LORD, and on that day the LORD sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

2 Kings 1:10-12
Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men. / So the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. And the captain said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down at once!’” / Again Elijah replied, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men.

Psalm 106:16-18
In the camp they envied Moses, as well as Aaron, the holy one of the LORD. / The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram. / Then fire blazed through their company; flames consumed the wicked.

Jude 1:11
Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

1 Corinthians 10:10
And do not complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel.

Exodus 7:10-12
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. / But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts. / Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.

Numbers 17:8-10
The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron’s staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted, put forth buds, blossomed, and produced almonds. / Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the LORD’s presence to all the Israelites. They saw them, and each man took his own staff. / The LORD said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebellious, so that you may put an end to their grumbling against Me, lest they die.”

Matthew 17:1-5
After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. / There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. / Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared before them, talking with Jesus. ...


Treasury of Scripture

And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring you before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.

1 Samuel 12:7
Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD of all the righteous acts of the LORD, which he did to you and to your fathers.

Jump to Previous
Aaron Censer Censers Hundred Incense
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Aaron Censer Censers Hundred Incense
Numbers 16
1. The rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram
23. Moses separates the people from the rebels' tents
31. The earth swallows up Korah, and a fire consumes others
36. The censers are reserved to holy use
41. 14,700 are slain by a plague, for murmuring against Moses and Aaron
46. Aaron by incense stays the plague














Each man is to take his censer
The Hebrew word for "censer" is "מַחְתָּה" (machtah), which refers to a firepan or a vessel used for burning incense. In the context of ancient Israelite worship, the censer was a sacred object, symbolizing the prayers and intercessions of the people rising to God. The instruction for "each man" to take his censer signifies a personal responsibility and direct involvement in worship, emphasizing the individual accountability before God. This act of taking one's censer is a call to personal holiness and dedication, reminding believers of the importance of approaching God with reverence and sincerity.

place incense in it
Incense, in the Hebrew "קְטֹרֶת" (qetoreth), was a fragrant offering made from a specific blend of spices, as detailed in Exodus 30:34-38. It symbolizes the prayers of the saints, as seen in Revelation 5:8, where the prayers of the faithful are depicted as incense before God. The act of placing incense in the censer represents the preparation and intentionality required in worship. It is a reminder that our prayers and worship should be offered with a pure heart and a spirit of devotion, aligning with God's instructions and purposes.

and present it before the LORD
The phrase "before the LORD" underscores the direct and personal nature of worship in the presence of God. The Hebrew word for "present" is "קָרַב" (qarab), meaning to draw near or approach. This act of presenting the censer before the LORD signifies an intimate encounter with the divine, where the worshiper comes into the holy presence of God. It is a powerful reminder of the privilege and responsibility of worship, where believers are invited to draw near to God with confidence, as encouraged in Hebrews 4:16.

You and Aaron are to present your censers as well
This directive to Moses and Aaron highlights their leadership role and the shared responsibility in the community's spiritual life. Aaron, as the high priest, represents the mediatory role between God and the people, foreshadowing the ultimate high priesthood of Jesus Christ. The inclusion of both Moses and Aaron in this act of worship emphasizes the unity and collective responsibility of God's leaders and people in approaching Him. It serves as an inspiration for Christian leaders today to lead by example in worship and devotion, fostering a community that seeks God's presence together.

(17) Take every man his censer.--These censers may have been household vessels resembling censers, and available for the same purpose; or they may have been vessels which were used by the heads of houses, as priests, before the order of priesthood was restricted to the family of Aaron; or they may have been made by Korah and his company for their own use.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Each man
אִ֣ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

is to take
וּקְח֣וּ ׀ (ū·qə·ḥū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 3947: To take

his censer,
מַחְתָּת֗וֹ (maḥ·tā·ṯōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 4289: A fireholder, censer, snuff dish

place
וּנְתַתֶּ֤ם (ū·nə·ṯat·tem)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

incense
קְטֹ֔רֶת (qə·ṭō·reṯ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 7004: Smoke, odor of (burning) sacrifice, incense

in it,
עֲלֵיהֶם֙ (‘ă·lê·hem)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

and present
וְהִקְרַבְתֶּ֞ם (wə·hiq·raḇ·tem)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 7126: To come near, approach

[it]
מַחְתָּת֔וֹ (maḥ·tā·ṯōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 4289: A fireholder, censer, snuff dish

before
לִפְנֵ֤י (lip̄·nê)
Preposition-l | Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

the LORD—
יְהוָה֙ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

250
חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים (ḥă·miš·šîm)
Number - common plural
Strong's 2572: Fifty

censers [in all].
מַחְתֹּ֑ת (maḥ·tōṯ)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 4289: A fireholder, censer, snuff dish

You
וְאַתָּ֥ה (wə·’at·tāh)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

and Aaron
וְאַהֲרֹ֖ן (wə·’a·hă·rōn)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 175: Aaron -- an elder brother of Moses

are to present your censers as well.”
מַחְתָּתֽוֹ׃ (maḥ·tā·ṯōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 4289: A fireholder, censer, snuff dish


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OT Law: Numbers 16:17 And take every man his censer (Nu Num.)
Numbers 16:16
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