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1 Now 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, sons of Reuben, took men:
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2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
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3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?
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4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
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5 And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.
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6 This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
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7 And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.
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8 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
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9 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?
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10 And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?
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11 For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?
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12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:
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13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?
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14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
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15 And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
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16 And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:
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17 And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.
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18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.
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19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
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20 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
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21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
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22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
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23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
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24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
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25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
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26 And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
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27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
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28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
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29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.
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30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
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31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
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32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
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33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
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34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
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35 And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
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36 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
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37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.
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38 The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
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39 And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
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40 To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.
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41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.
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42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.
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43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
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44 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
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45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
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46 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun.
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47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
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48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
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49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
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50 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
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- 1 Now 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 action,
- 2 and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown.
- 3 They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”
- 4 When Moses heard this, he fell on his face;
- 5 and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will show who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself.
- 6 “Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your company,
- 7 and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of the LORD tomorrow; and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the one who is holy. You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”
- 8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi,
- 9 is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them;
- 10 and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking for the priesthood also?
- 11 “Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the LORD; but as for Aaron, who is he that you grumble against him?”
- 12 Then Moses sent a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up.
- 13 “Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us?
- 14 “Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”
- 15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering! I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.”
- 16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company be present before the LORD tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron.
- 17 “Each of you take his firepan and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the LORD, two hundred and fifty firepans; also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan.”
- 18 So they each took his own censer and put fire on it, and laid incense on it; and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron.
- 19 Thus Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation.
- 20 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
- 21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.”
- 22 But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”
- 23 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
- 24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, 'Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.'”
- 25 Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him,
- 26 and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, or you will be swept away in all their sin.”
- 27 So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and their sons and their little ones.
- 28 Moses said, “By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing.
- 29 “If these men die the death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me.
- 30 “But if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD.”
- 31 As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open;
- 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions.
- 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
- 34 All Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us up!”
- 35 Fire also came forth from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.
- 36 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
- 37 “Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall take up the censers out of the midst of the blaze, for they are holy; and you scatter the burning coals abroad.
- 38 “As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered sheets for a plating of the altar, since they did present them before the LORD and they are holy; and they shall be for a sign to the sons of Israel.”
- 39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as a plating for the altar,
- 40 as a reminder to the sons of Israel that no layman who is not of the descendants of Aaron should come near to burn incense before the LORD; so that he will not become like Korah and his company—just as the LORD had spoken to him through Moses.
- 41 But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the LORD'S people.”
- 42 It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared.
- 43 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting,
- 44 and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
- 45 “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces.
- 46 Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the LORD, the plague has begun!”
- 47 Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people.
- 48 He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked.
- 49 But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah.
- 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.
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