Numbers 16-18

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

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

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?”

4When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.

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.

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

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!”

8Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, 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?

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

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?”

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

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?

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!”

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.”

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.

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.

20And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

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

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?”

23Then the LORD said to Moses,

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

25So Moses got up 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.”

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.

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:

29If these men die a natural death, or if they suffer the fate of all men, 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.”

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

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

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

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

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

36Then the LORD said to Moses,

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.

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.”

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,

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.

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

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.

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

44and the LORD said to Moses,

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

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.”

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.

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

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

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

1And the LORD said to Moses,

2“Speak to the Israelites and take from them twelve staffs, one from the leader of each tribe. Write each man’s name on his staff,

3and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi, because there must be one staff for the head of each tribe.

4Place the staffs in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you.

5The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid Myself of the constant grumbling of the Israelites against you.”

6So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff—one for each of the leaders of their tribes, twelve staffs in all. And Aaron’s staff was among them.

7Then Moses placed the staffs before the LORD in the Tent of the Testimony.

8The 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.

9Then 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.

10The 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.”

11So Moses did as the LORD had commanded him.

12Then the Israelites declared to Moses, “Look, we are perishing! We are lost; we are all lost!

13Anyone who comes near the tabernacle of the LORD will die. Are we all going to perish?”

1So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house must bear the iniquity involving the sanctuary. And you and your sons alone must bear the iniquity involving your priesthood.

2But bring with you also your brothers from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and assist you and your sons before the Tent of the Testimony.

3And they shall attend to your duties and to all the duties of the Tent; but they must not come near to the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar, or both they and you will die.

4They are to join you and attend to the duties of the Tent of Meeting, doing all the work at the Tent; but no outsider may come near you.

5And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and of the altar, so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again.

6Behold, I Myself have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD to perform the service for the Tent of Meeting.

7But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”

8Then the LORD said to Aaron, “Behold, I have put you in charge of My offerings. As for all the sacred offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute.

9A portion of the most holy offerings reserved from the fire will be yours. From all the offerings they render to Me as most holy offerings, whether grain offerings or sin offerings or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons.

10You are to eat it as a most holy offering, and every male may eat it. You shall regard it as holy.

11And this is yours as well: the offering of their gifts, along with all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given this to you and your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your household may eat it.

12I give you all the freshest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain that the Israelites give to the LORD as their firstfruits.

13The firstfruits of everything in their land that they bring to the LORD will belong to you. Every ceremonially clean person in your household may eat them.

14Every devoted thing in Israel belongs to you.

15The firstborn of every womb, whether man or beast, that is offered to the LORD belongs to you. But you must surely redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.

16You are to pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your valuation: five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which is twenty gerahs.

17But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to splatter their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

18And their meat belongs to you, just as the breast and right thigh of the wave offering belong to you.

19All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the LORD for you and your offspring.”

20Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.

21Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.

22No longer may the Israelites come near to the Tent of Meeting, or they will incur guilt and die.

23The Levites are to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.

24For I have given to the Levites as their inheritance the tithe that the Israelites present to the LORD as a contribution. That is why I told them that they would not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.”

25And the LORD instructed Moses,

26“Speak to the Levites and tell them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the LORD—a tithe of the tithe.

27Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress.

28So you are to present an offering to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites, and from these you are to give the LORD’s offering to Aaron the priest.

29You must present the offering due the LORD from all the best of every gift, the holiest part of it.’

30Therefore say to the Levites, ‘When you have presented the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the produce of the threshing floor or winepress.

31And you and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere; it is the compensation for your work at the Tent of Meeting.

32Once you have presented the best part of it, you will not incur guilt because of it. But you must not defile the sacred offerings of the Israelites, or else you will die.’”