Numbers 16–18

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

2They rose up before Moses, with some of the children of Israel, two hundred fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown.

3They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much on yourself, since all the congregation are holy, everyone of them, and Yahweh is among them! Why do you lift yourselves up above Yahweh’s assembly?”

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

5He said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning, Yahweh will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him. Even him whom he shall choose, he will cause to come near to him.

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

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

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

9Is it 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 Yahweh’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them;

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

11Therefore you and all your company have gathered together against Yahweh! What is Aaron that you complain against him?”

12Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, “We won’t come up!

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, but you must also make yourself a prince over us?

14Moreover you haven’t 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 won’t come up.”

15Moses was very angry, and said to Yahweh, “Don’t respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them.”

16Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company go before Yahweh, you, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow.

17Each man take his censer and put incense on it, and each man bring before Yahweh his censer, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each with his censer.”

18They each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the Tent of Meeting with Moses and Aaron.

19Korah assembled all the congregation opposite them to the door of the Tent of Meeting. Yahweh’s glory appeared to all the congregation.

20Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

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

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

23Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

24“Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from around the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!’”

25Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.

26He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins!”

27So they went away from the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side. Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.

28Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works; for they are not from my own mind.

29If these men die the common death of all men, or if they experience what all men experience, then Yahweh hasn’t sent me.

30But if Yahweh makes a new thing, and the ground opens its mouth, and swallows them up with all that belong to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall understand that these men have despised Yahweh.”

31As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split apart.

32The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households, all of Korah’s men, and all their goods.

33So they, and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol. The earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly.

34All Israel that were around them fled at their cry; for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!”

35Fire came out from Yahweh, and devoured the two hundred fifty men who offered the incense.

36Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

37“Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter the fire away from the camp; for they are holy,

38even the censers of those who sinned against their own lives. Let them be beaten into plates for a covering of the altar, for they offered them before Yahweh. Therefore they are holy. They shall be a sign to the children of Israel.”

39Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which those who were burned had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar,

40to be a memorial to the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger who isn’t of the offspring of Aaron, would come near to burn incense before Yahweh, that he not be as Korah and as his company; as Yahweh spoke to him by Moses.

41But on the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed Yahweh’s people!”

42When the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they looked toward the Tent of Meeting. Behold, the cloud covered it, and Yahweh’s glory appeared.

43Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of Meeting.

44Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

45“Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!” They fell on their faces.

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

47Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the middle of the assembly. The plague had already begun among the people. He put on the incense, and made atonement for the people.

48He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.

49Now those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, in addition to those who died about the matter of Korah.

50Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and the plague was stopped.

1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

2“Speak to the children of Israel, and take rods from them, one for each fathers’ house, of all their princes according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod.

3You shall write Aaron’s name on Levi’s rod. There shall be one rod for each head of their fathers’ houses.

4You shall lay them up in the Tent of Meeting before the covenant, where I meet with you.

5It shall happen that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud. I will make the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you, cease from me.”

6Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and all their princes gave him rods, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, a total of twelve rods. Aaron’s rod was among their rods.

7Moses laid up the rods before Yahweh in the Tent of the Testimony.

8On the next day, Moses went into the Tent of the Testimony; and behold, Aaron’s rod for the house of Levi had sprouted, budded, produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds.

9Moses brought out all the rods from before Yahweh to all the children of Israel. They looked, and each man took his rod.

10Yahweh said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron before the covenant, to be kept for a token against the children of rebellion; that you may make an end of their complaining against me, that they not die.”

11Moses did so. As Yahweh commanded him, so he did.

12The children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Behold, we perish! We are undone! We are all undone!

13Everyone who keeps approaching Yahweh’s tabernacle, dies! Will we all perish?”

1Yahweh said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your fathers’ house with you shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

2Bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, near with you, that they may be joined to you, and minister to you; but you and your sons with you shall be before the Tent of the Testimony.

3They shall keep your commands and the duty of the whole Tent; only they shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary and to the altar, that they not die, neither they nor you.

4They shall be joined to you and keep the responsibility of the Tent of Meeting, for all the service of the Tent. A stranger shall not come near to you.

5“You shall perform the duty of the sanctuary and the duty of the altar, that there be no more wrath on the children of Israel.

6Behold, I myself have taken your brothers the Levites from among the children of Israel. They are a gift to you, dedicated to Yahweh, to do the service of the Tent of Meeting.

7You and your sons with you shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar, and for that within the veil. You shall serve. I give you the service of the priesthood as a gift. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”

8Yahweh spoke to Aaron, “Behold, I myself have given you the command of my wave offerings, even all the holy things of the children of Israel. I have given them to you by reason of the anointing, and to your sons, as a portion forever.

9This shall be yours of the most holy things from the fire: every offering of theirs, even every meal offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall give to me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons.

10You shall eat of it like the most holy things. Every male shall eat of it. It shall be holy to you.

11“This is yours, too: the wave offering of their gift, even all the wave offerings of the children of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and to your daughters with you, as a portion forever. Everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it.

12“I have given to you all the best of the oil, all the best of the vintage, and of the grain, the first fruits of them which they give to Yahweh.

13The first-ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to Yahweh, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it.

14“Everything devoted in Israel shall be yours.

15Everything that opens the womb, of all flesh which they offer to Yahweh, both of man and animal, shall be yours. Nevertheless, you shall surely redeem the firstborn of man, and you shall redeem the firstborn of unclean animals.

16You shall redeem those who are to be redeemed of them from a month old, according to your estimation, for five shekels of money, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which weighs twenty gerahs.

17“But you shall not redeem the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat. They are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and shall burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.

18Their meat shall be yours, as the wave offering breast and as the right thigh, it shall be yours.

19All the wave offerings of the holy things which the children of Israel offer to Yahweh, I have given you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a portion forever. It is a covenant of salt forever before Yahweh to you and to your offspring with you.”

20Yahweh said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.

21“To the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the Tent of Meeting.

22Henceforth the children of Israel shall not come near the Tent of Meeting, lest they bear sin, and die.

23But the Levites shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. Among the children of Israel, they shall have no inheritance.

24For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a wave offering to Yahweh, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’”

25Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

26“Moreover you shall speak to the Levites, and tell them, ‘When you take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up a wave offering of it for Yahweh, a tithe of the tithe.

27Your wave offering shall be credited to you, as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the wine press.

28Thus you also shall offer a wave offering to Yahweh of all your tithes, which you receive of the children of Israel; and of it you shall give Yahweh’s wave offering to Aaron the priest.

29Out of all your gifts, you shall offer every wave offering to Yahweh, of all its best parts, even the holy part of it.’

30“Therefore you shall tell them, ‘When you heave its best from it, then it shall be credited to the Levites as the increase of the threshing floor, and as the increase of the wine press.

31You may eat it anywhere, you and your households, for it is your reward in return for your service in the Tent of Meeting.

32You shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have heaved from it its best. You shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, that you not die.’”