Korah’s Rebellion 1 AKJV 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: BSB BSB: Now 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
2 AKJV 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: BSB BSB: a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly.
3 AKJV And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take too much on you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: why then lift you up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? BSB BSB: They 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?”
4 AKJV And when Moses heard it, he fell on his face: BSB BSB: When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.
5 AKJV And he spoke to Korah and to 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 to him: even him whom he has chosen will he cause to come near to him. BSB BSB: Then 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.
6 AKJV This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; BSB BSB: You, Korah, and all your followers are to do as follows: Take censers,
7 AKJV And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD does choose, he shall be holy: you take too much on you, you sons of Levi. BSB BSB: and 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!”
8 AKJV And Moses said to Korah, Hear, I pray you, you sons of Levi: BSB BSB: Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you sons of Levi!
9 AKJV Seems it but a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has 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 to them? BSB BSB: Is 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?
10 AKJV And he has brought you near to him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you: and seek you the priesthood also? BSB BSB: He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.
11 AKJV For which cause both you and all your company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that you murmur against him? BSB BSB: Therefore, 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?”
12 AKJV And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up: BSB BSB: Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come!
13 AKJV Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land that flows with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except you make yourself altogether a prince over us? BSB BSB: Is 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?
14 AKJV Moreover you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: will you put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up. BSB BSB: Moreover, 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!”
15 AKJV And Moses was very wroth, and said to the LORD, Respect not you their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them. BSB BSB: Then 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.”
16 AKJV And Moses said to Korah, Be you and all your company before the LORD, you, and they, and Aaron, to morrow: BSB BSB: And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.
17 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: 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.”
18 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: So 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.
19 AKJV And Korah gathered all the congregation against them to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation. BSB BSB: When 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.
20 AKJV And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, BSB BSB: And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
21 AKJV Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. BSB BSB: “Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.”
22 AKJV And 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 wroth with all the congregation? BSB BSB: But 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?”
Moses Separates the People 23 AKJV And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses,
24 AKJV Speak to the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. BSB BSB: “Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 AKJV And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. BSB BSB: So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 AKJV And he spoke to the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins. BSB BSB: And 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.”
27 AKJV So they got 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. BSB BSB: So 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.
The Earth Swallows Korah 28 AKJV And Moses said, Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of my own mind. BSB BSB: Then 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:
29 AKJV If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD has not sent me. BSB BSB: If these men die a natural death, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me.
30 AKJV But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain to them, and they go down quick into the pit; then you shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. BSB BSB: But 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.”
31 AKJV And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground split asunder that was under them: BSB BSB: As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open,
32 AKJV And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained to Korah, and all their goods. BSB BSB: and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions.
33 AKJV They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed on them: and they perished from among the congregation. BSB BSB: They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.
34 AKJV And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. BSB BSB: At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!”
35 AKJV And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. BSB BSB: And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
The Censers Reserved for Holy Use 36 AKJV And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses,
37 AKJV Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter you the fire yonder; for they are hallowed. BSB BSB: “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.
38 AKJV 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 to the children of Israel. BSB BSB: As 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.”
39 AKJV And Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers, with which they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar: BSB BSB: So 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,
40 AKJV To be a memorial to 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. BSB BSB: just 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.
Murmuring and Plague (1 Corinthians 10:1–13)
41 AKJV But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, You have killed the people of the LORD. BSB BSB: The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!”
42 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: But 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.
43 AKJV And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. BSB BSB: Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting,
44 AKJV And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, BSB BSB: and the LORD said to Moses,
45 AKJV Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell on their faces. BSB BSB: “Get away from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” And Moses and Aaron fell facedown.
46 AKJV And Moses said to Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly to the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. BSB BSB: Moses 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.”
47 AKJV And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the middle of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. BSB BSB: So 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.
48 AKJV And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. BSB BSB: He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted.
49 AKJV Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah. BSB BSB: But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah.
50 AKJV And Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed. BSB BSB: Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, since the plague had been halted.