Korah’s Rebellion 1 UDB One day Korah, son of Izhar and a descendant of Levi's son Kohath, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, who were the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth. They were all from the tribe of Reuben. 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 UDB Those four men incited 250 other people who were leaders among the Israelite people to join them in rebelling against Moses. BSB BSB: a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly.
3 UDB They came together to criticize Aaron and Moses. They said to them, "You two are using more authority than you should! Yahweh has set apart all of us Israelite people, and he is with all of us. So why do you act as though you were more important than the rest of us people who belong to Yahweh?" 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 UDB When Moses heard what they were saying, he prostrated himself on the ground. BSB BSB: When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.
5 UDB Then he said to Korah and those who were with Korah, "Tomorrow morning Yahweh will show to us whom he has chosen to be his priest, and who is holy and allowed to come near to him. Yahweh will permit only those whom he chooses to come into his presence. 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 UDB So Korah, tomorrow you and those who are with you must prepare your pans to burn incense. BSB BSB: You, Korah, and all your followers are to do as follows: Take censers,
7 UDB Then you must light a fire in them and burn the incense in the presence of Yahweh. Then we will see which one of us Yahweh has chosen to be his holy servant. It is you men who are descendants of Levi who are trying to use more authority than you should!" 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 UDB Then Moses spoke again to Korah. He said, "You men who are descendants of Levi, listen to me! BSB BSB: Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you sons of Levi!
9 UDB You know that Yahweh, the God of Israel, has chosen you Levites from the community of Israel so you can work for him at his sacred tent and serve the people. Does that seem to you like a small thing for you to do? 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 UDB Yahweh has brought you, Korah, and your fellow descendants of Levi, near to himself. Now are you demanding to become priests also? BSB BSB: He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.
11 UDB It is really Yahweh against whom you and your fellow descendants of Levi are rebelling. Aaron is not the one about whom you are really complaining." 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 UDB Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, but they refused to come. They sent a message saying, "We will not come to you! BSB BSB: Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come!
13 UDB You brought us out of Egypt, which was a very fertile land, in order to cause us to die here in this desert. That was bad. But now you are also trying to boss us, and that is worse. 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 UDB You have not given us a new land to live in, a land that has good fields and vineyards. You are only trying to blind these people. So we will not come to you." 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 UDB Then Moses became very angry. He said to Yahweh, "Do not accept the grain offerings that they have brought. I have not taken anything from them, not even one donkey, and I have never done anything wrong to them, so they have no reason to complain against me." 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 UDB Then Moses said to Korah, "You and all those who are with you must come here tomorrow and stand in front of Yahweh. Aaron will also be here. 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 UDB You and all the 250 men who are with you must each take a pan in which to burn incense, and put incense in it, to burn it to be an offering to Yahweh. Aaron will do the same thing." 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 UDB So each of those men got a pan to burn incense. They put in it incense and hot coals to light it, and then they all stood at the entrance of the sacred tent with Aaron and Moses. 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 UDB Then Korah summoned all the people who supported him and who were against Moses, and they also gathered at the entrance of the tent. Then the glory of Yahweh appeared to all of them. 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 UDB Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses, BSB BSB: And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
21 UDB "Get away from all these people, in order that I can get rid of them immediately!" BSB BSB: “Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.”
22 UDB But Aaron and Moses prostrated themselves on the ground. They pleaded with Yahweh, saying, "God, you are the one who caused all these people to live. Only one of these men has sinned. So, is it right for you to be angry with all the people?" 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 UDB Yahweh said to Moses, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses,
24 UDB "Okay, but tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram." BSB BSB: “Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 UDB So Moses stood up and went to the tents of Dathan and Abiram. The Israelite leaders followed him. BSB BSB: So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 UDB He told the people, "Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them! If you touch anything, you will die because of 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 UDB So all the people moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came out of their tents with their wives and children and babies, and stood at the entrance of their tents. 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 UDB Then Moses said, "I was not the one who decided to do all these things that I have done. It was Yahweh who chose me and sent me to do them. And now he will prove that to you. 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 UDB If these men die in a normal way, then it will be clear that Yahweh did not choose 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 UDB But if Yahweh does something that has never happened before, if he causes the ground that is under their feet to open up and swallow these men and their families and all their possessions, and they fall into the opening and are buried while they are still alive, then you will know that these men have insulted Yahweh." 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 UDB As soon as Moses said this, the ground split open beneath those men. BSB BSB: As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open,
32 UDB It swallowed those men and their families and all those who were standing there with Korah and all of their possessions. BSB BSB: and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions.
33 UDB They fell into the opening in the ground while they were still alive, and all their possessions fell into the opening also. They disappeared, and the ground closed back up again. BSB BSB: They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.
34 UDB They screamed as they fell, and all the people who were standing nearby heard them scream. The people were terrified and cried out as they ran away, saying, "We do not want the ground to swallow us, also!" BSB BSB: At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!”
35 UDB And then a fire from Yahweh came down from the sky and burned up the 250 men who were burning the 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 UDB Then Yahweh said to Moses, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses,
37 UDB "Tell Aaron's son Eleazar to take the pans that had incense in them away from the fire and to scatter the burning coals. The pans that those men were carrying are holy because they burned incense to me in them. 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 UDB Those men have now died because of their sin. So Eleazar must take their pans and hammer the metal to make it become very thin. He must make a covering for the altar with that metal. Those pans were used to offer incense to me, so they are holy. What happened to those pans will now warn the Israelite people." 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 UDB So Eleazar the priest collected the 250 pans for burning incense that had been used by the men who died in the fire. He hammered the pans very thin to make a covering for the altar, as Yahweh told Moses should be done. That warned the Israelites that only those who were descendants of Aaron were permitted to burn incense as an offering to Yahweh. If anyone else did that, the same thing would happen to him as happened to Korah and those with him. 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,
Murmuring and Plague (1 Corinthians 10:1–13)
41 UDB But the following morning, all the Israelite people started to complain against Aaron and Moses, saying, "You have killed many people who belonged to Yahweh!" BSB BSB: The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!”
42 UDB When all the people gathered together to protest about what Aaron and Moses had done, they looked at the sacred tent and saw that the sacred cloud had covered it, and the glory of Yahweh had 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 UDB Aaron and Moses went and stood in front of the sacred tent. BSB BSB: Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting,
44 UDB Then Yahweh said to Moses, BSB BSB: and the LORD said to Moses,
45 UDB "Get away from these people, in order that I can get rid of them immediately without injuring you two!" But Aaron and Moses prostrated themselves on the ground and prayed. BSB BSB: “Get away from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” And Moses and Aaron fell facedown.
46 UDB Moses said to Aaron, "Quickly take another pan and put in it some burning coals from the altar. Put incense in the pan, and carry it out among the people to atone for the sins of the people. Yahweh is very angry with them, and I know that a severe plague has already started among them." 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 UDB So Aaron did what Moses told him. He took the burning incense out among the people. The plague had already started to strike the people, but Aaron continued to burn the incense to make atonement for the sins of 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 UDB He stood between the people who had already died and those who were still alive, and then the plague stopped. BSB BSB: He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted.
49 UDB But 14,700 people had already died from that plague, in addition to the people who died with 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 UDB Then after the plague had ended, Aaron and Moses returned to the entrance of the sacred tent. 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.