Korah’s Rebellion 1 Brenton And Core the son of Isaar the son of Caath the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiron, sons of Eliab, and Aun the son of Phaleth the son of Ruben, spoke; 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 Brenton and rose up before Moses, and two hundred and fifty men of the sons of Israel, chiefs of the assembly, chosen councillors, and 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 Brenton They rose up against Moses and Aaron, and said, Let it be enough for you that all the congregation are holy, and the Lord is among them; and why do ye set up yourselves against 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 Brenton And when Moses heard it, he fell on his face. BSB BSB: When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.
5 Brenton And he spoke to Core and all his assembly, saying, God has visited and known those that are his and who are holy, and has brought them to himself; and whom he has chosen for himself, he has brought to himself. 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 Brenton This do ye: take to yourselves censers, Core and all his company; BSB BSB: You, Korah, and all your followers are to do as follows: Take censers,
7 Brenton and put fire on them, and put incense on them before the Lord to-morrow; and it shall come to pass that the man whom the Lord has chosen, he shall be holy: let it be enough for you, ye 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 Brenton And Moses said to Core, Hearken to me, ye sons of Levi. BSB BSB: Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you sons of Levi!
9 Brenton Is it a little thing for you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, and brought you near to himself to minister in the services of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the tabernacle to minister for 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 Brenton and he has brought thee near and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee, and do ye seek to be priests also? BSB BSB: He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.
11 Brenton Thus it is with thee and all thy congregation which is gathered together against God: and who is Aaron, that ye 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 Brenton And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiron sons of Eliab; and they said, We will not go up. BSB BSB: Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come!
13 Brenton Is it a little thing that thou hast brought us up to a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, and that thou altogether rulest 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 Brenton Thou art a prince, and hast thou brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, and hast thou given us an inheritance of land and vineyards? wouldest thou have put out the eyes of those men? we will not go 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 Brenton And Moses was exceedingly indignant, and said to the Lord, Do thou take no heed to their sacrifice: I have not taken away the desire of any one of them, neither have I hurt any 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 Brenton And Moses said to Core, Sanctify thy company, and be ready before the Lord, thou and Aaron and they, 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 Brenton 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. 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 Brenton And each man took his censer, and they put on them fire, and laid incense on them; and Moses and Aaron stood by the doors of the tabernacle of witness. 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 Brenton And Core raised up against them all his company by the door of the tabernacle of witness; 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 Brenton And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, BSB BSB: And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
21 Brenton Separate yourselves from the midst of this congregation, and I will consume them at once. BSB BSB: “Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.”
22 Brenton And they fell on their faces, and said, O God, the God of spirits and of all flesh, if one man has sinned, shall the wrath of the Lord be upon the whole 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 Brenton And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses,
24 Brenton Speak to the congregation, saying, Depart from the company of Core round about. BSB BSB: “Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 Brenton And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiron, and all the elders of Israel went with him. BSB BSB: So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 Brenton And he spoke to the congregation, saying, Separate yourselves from the tents of these stubborn men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, lest ye be consumed with them in all their sin. 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 Brenton And they stood aloof from the tent of Core round about; and Dathan and Abiron went forth and stood by the doors of their tents, and their wives and their children and their store. 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 Brenton And Moses said, Hereby shall ye know that the Lord has sent me to perform all these works, that I have not done them of myself. 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 Brenton If these men shall die according to the death of all men, if also their visitation shall be according to 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 Brenton But if the Lord shall shew by a wonder, and the earth shall open her mouth and swallow them up, and their houses, and their tents, and all that belongs to them, and they shall go down alive into Hades, then ye shall know 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 Brenton And when he ceased speaking all these words, the ground clave asunder beneath them. BSB BSB: As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open,
32 Brenton And the ground opened, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that were with Core, and their cattle. BSB BSB: and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions.
33 Brenton And they went down and all that they had, alive into Hades; and the ground covered them, and they perished from the midst of 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 Brenton And all Israel round about them fled from the sound 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 Brenton And fire went forth from the Lord, and devoured 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 Brenton And the Lord said to Moses, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses,
37 Brenton and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, Take up the brazen censers out of the midst of the men that have been burnt, and scatter the strange fire yonder, for they have sanctified the censers 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 Brenton of these sinners against their own souls, and do thou make them beaten plates a covering to the altar, because they were brought before the Lord and hallowed; and they became 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 Brenton And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest took the brazen censers, which the men who had been burnt brought near, and they put them as a covering on 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 Brenton a memorial to the children of Israel that no stranger might draw nigh, who is not of the seed of Aaron, to offer incense before the Lord; so he shall not be as Core and as they that conspired with him, as the Lord spoke 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 Brenton And the children of Israel murmured the next day against Moses and Aaron, saying, Ye 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 Brenton And it came to pass when the congregation combined against Moses and Aaron, that they ran impetuously to the tabernacle of witness; and 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 Brenton And Moses and Aaron went in, in front of the tabernacle of witness. BSB BSB: Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting,
44 Brenton And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, BSB BSB: and the LORD said to Moses,
45 Brenton Depart out of the midst of this congregation, and I will consume them at once: and they fell upon 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 Brenton And Moses said to Aaron, Take a censer, and put on it fire from the altar, and put incense on it, and carry it away quickly into the camp, and make atonement for them; for wrath is gone forth from the presence of the Lord, it has begun to destroy the people. 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 Brenton And Aaron took as Moses spoke to him, and ran among the congregation, for already the plague had 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 Brenton And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague ceased. BSB BSB: He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted.
49 Brenton And they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides those that died on account of Core. BSB BSB: But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah.
50 Brenton And Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the tabernacle of witness, and the plague ceased. BSB BSB: Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, since the plague had been halted.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.