Berean Study Bible

English Standard Version

1Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted

1Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men.

2a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly.

2And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men.

3They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”

3They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”

4When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.

4When Moses heard it, he fell on his face,

5Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one He chooses, He will bring near to Himself.

5and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the LORD will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him.

6You, Korah, and all your followers are to do as follows: Take censers,

6Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company;

7and tomorrow you are to place fire and incense in them in the presence of the LORD. Then the man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. It is you sons of Levi who have taken too much upon yourselves!”

7put fire in them and put incense on them before the LORD tomorrow, and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!”

8Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you sons of Levi!

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

9Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel and brought you near to Himself to perform the work at the LORD’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them?

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 himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the LORD and to stand before the congregation to minister to them,

10He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.

10and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also?

11Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the LORD! As for Aaron, who is he that you should grumble against him?”

11Therefore it is against the LORD that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?”

12Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come!

12And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up.

13Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also appoint yourself as ruler over us?

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 must also make yourself a prince 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 gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!”

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.”

15Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”

15And Moses was very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.”

16And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.

16And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, before the LORD, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow.

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.”

17And 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.”

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.

18So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.

19When Korah had gathered his whole assembly against them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole congregation.

19Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation.

20And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

20And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

21“Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.”

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

22But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”

22And they fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?”

23Then the LORD said to Moses,

23And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

24“Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

24“Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

25So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.

25Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.

26And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”

26And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.”

27So they moved away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram had come out and stood at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children and infants.

27So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.

28Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things, for it was not my own doing:

28And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord.

29If these men die a natural death, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me.

29If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me.

30But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.”

30But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD.”

31As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open,

31And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart.

32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions.

32And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods.

33They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.

33So they 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.

34At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!”

34And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!”

35And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.

35And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.

36Then the LORD said to Moses,

36Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

37“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the censers from the flames and to scatter the coals far away, because the censers are holy.

37“Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze. Then scatter the fire far and wide, for they have become holy.

38As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.”

38As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the LORD, and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel.”

39So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar,

39So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar,

40just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his followers.

40to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his company—as the LORD said to him through Moses.

41The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!”

41But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the LORD.”

42But when the congregation gathered against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the Tent of Meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared.

42And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.

43Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting,

43And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting,

44and the LORD said to Moses,

44and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

45“Get away from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” And Moses and Aaron fell facedown.

45“Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces.

46Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has begun.”

46And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun.”

47So Aaron took the censer as Moses had ordered and ran into the midst of the assembly. And seeing that the plague had begun among the people, he offered the incense and made atonement for the people.

47So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people.

48He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted.

48And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.

49But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah.

49Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah.

50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, since the plague had been halted.

50And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.

The Berean Bible (Berean Study Bible (BSB) © 2016, 2018 by Bible Hub and Berean.Bible. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.