Numbers 16:1-44

¹Forsooth 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, of the sons of Reuben,

²rose against Moses, and others of the sons of Israel, two hundred men and fifty, princes of the synagogue, and which were called by their names in the time of counsel.

³And when these stood against Moses and Aaron, they said, Suffice it to you, for all the multitude is of holy men, and the Lord is in them; why be ye raised up presumptuously on the people of the Lord?

⁴And when Moses had heard this, he fell down low upon his face.

⁵And he spake to Korah, and to all the multitude; he said, Early the Lord shall make known which men pertain to him, and he shall apply, or draw, to him holy men; and they which he hath chosen, shall nigh to him.

⁶Therefore do ye this thing; each man take his censer, thou Korah, and all thy counsel;

⁷and tomorrow when fire is taken up, put ye incense above before the Lord, and whomever the Lord chooseth, he shall be holy. Ye sons of Levi be much raised.

⁸And again Moses said to Korah, Ye sons of Levi, hear.

⁹Whether it is little to you, that God of Israel hath separated you from all the people, and hath joined you to himself, that ye should serve him in the service of the tabernacle, and that ye should stand before the multitude of the people, and serve him?

¹⁰Made he therefore thee, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi, to nigh to himself, that ye challenge to you also priesthood,

¹¹and all thy gathering together stand against the Lord? For why, what is Aaron, that ye grutch against him?

¹²Therefore Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; which answered, We come not.

¹³Whether is it little to thee, that thou leddest us out of the land that flowed with milk and honey, to slay us in the desert, no but also thou be lord of us?

¹⁴Verily thou hast brought us into the land that floweth with streams of milk and honey, andthou hast given to us possession of fields, and of vineyards; whether also thou wilt put out our eyes? We come not to thee.

¹⁵And Moses was wroth greatly, and said to the Lord, Behold thou not the sacrifices of them; thou knowest that I took never of them a little ass, neither I tormented any of them.

¹⁶And Moses said to Korah, Thou and all thy congregation stand asides half before the Lord, and Aaron tomorrow by himself.

¹⁷Take ye all by yourselves your censers, and put ye incense in those, and offer ye to the Lord, twain or two hundred and fifty censers; and Aaron hold he his censer.

¹⁸And when they had done this, while Moses and Aaron stood there,

¹⁹and they had gathered all the multitude to the door of the tabernacle against them, the glory of the Lord appeared to all.

²⁰And the Lord spake to Moses and to Aaron, and said,

²¹Be ye separated from the midst of this congregation, that I lose them suddenly.

²²The which fell down low upon their faces, and said, Most strong God of the spirits of all flesh, whether thy wrath shall be fierce against all men, for one man sinneth?

²³And the Lord said to Moses,

²⁴Command thou to all the people, that it be separated from the tabernacles of Korah, and of Dathan, and of Abiram.

²⁵And Moses rose, and went to Dathan and Abiram; and while the elder men of Israel followed him,

²⁶he said to the company, Go ye away from the tabernacles of the wicked men, and do not ye touch those things that pertain to them, lest ye be wrapped in the sins of them.

²⁷And when they had gone away from their tents by compass, Dathan and Abiram went out, and stood in the entry of their tents, with their wives, and their free children, and with all the multitude.

²⁸And Moses said, In this ye shall know that the Lord sent me, that I should do all things which ye see, and that I brought them not forth of mine own heart.

²⁹If they perish by customable death of men, and wound, either pestilence, visit them, by which also other men be wont to be visited, the Lord sent not me;

³⁰but if the Lord doeth a new thing, that the earth open his mouth, and swallow them, and all things that pertain to them, and they go down quick into hell, ye shall know that they blasphemed the Lord.

³¹Therefore anon as he ceased to speak, the earth was broken under their feet,

³²and the earth opened his mouth, and devoured them, with their tabernacles, and all their chattel;

³³and they went down quick, into hell, and were covered with earth, and they perished from the midst of the multitude.

³⁴And soothly all Israel that stood about, fled from the cry of men perishing, and said, Lest peradventure the earth swallow also us.

³⁵But also fire went out from the Lord, and killed twain or two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

³⁶And the Lord spake to Moses, and said,

³⁷Command thou to Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, that he take, or gather up, the censers that lie in the burning, and that he scatter the fire hither and thither; for those censers be hallowed

³⁸in the deaths of sinners; and that he bring forth those censers into plates, and nail them to the altar, for incense is offered in those or them to the Lord, and those be hallowed, that the sons of Israel see them for a sign and a memorial.

³⁹Therefore Eleazar, the priest, took the brazen censers, in which they, which the burning had devoured had offered, and he beat out those censers into plates, and nailed them to the altar;

⁴⁰that the sons of Israel should have those censers with them afterward, by which they should remember this great vengeance of God, lest any alien, and which is not of the seed of Aaron, nigh to offer incense to the Lord; lest he suffer, as Korah suffered, and all his multitude, while the Lord spake to Moses.

⁴¹Forsooth all the multitude of the sons of Israel grutched in the day pursuing or following against Moses and Aaron, and said, Ye have slain the people of the Lord.

⁴²And when dissension arose, and the noise increased, Moses and Aaron fled to the tabernacle of the bond of peace; and after that they entered into it, a cloud covered the tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord appeared.

⁴³(See verse 42 above.)

⁴⁴And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,