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Numbers 16:1-50 — Korah's Rebellion

Num.16.1-50

¹Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, along with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben, took men, ²and they rose up before Moses, together with two hundred and fifty men from the Israelites, leaders of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, men of renown. ³They assembled against Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves! For the entire congregation is holy, every one of them, 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. ⁵He spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, "In the morning the LORD will make known who is His, and who is holy, and He will bring him near to Himself. The one whom He chooses, He will bring near to Himself. ⁶Do this: Take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your company, ⁷and put fire in them, and place incense on them before the LORD tomorrow. And the man whom the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!" ⁸Moses also said to Korah, "Listen now, you sons of Levi! ⁹Is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to bring you near to Himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? ¹⁰He has brought you near, along with all your brothers the sons of Levi with you, and are you seeking the priesthood as well? ¹¹Therefore, it is you and all your company who have gathered together against the LORD! As for Aaron, what is he that you grumble against him?" ¹²Then Moses sent to summon Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not 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, that you must also make yourself an absolute ruler over us? ¹⁴Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!" ¹⁵Moses 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 harmed a single one of them.” ¹⁶And Moses said to Korah, "You and all your company, be present before the LORD tomorrow—you, and they, and Aaron. ¹⁷Each man is to take his censer and put incense on it, and each man is to present his censer before the LORD—two hundred and fifty censers. You and Aaron are also to present each his censer." ¹⁸So each man took his censer, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹When Korah had assembled the entire congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire congregation. ²⁰And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²¹“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, so that I may consume them in an instant.” ²²But they fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?” ²³Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴“Speak to the congregation, saying, 'Move away from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.'” ²⁵So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, otherwise you will be swept away because of all their sins.” ²⁷So they moved away from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents, along with their wives, their sons, and their little children. ²⁸Moses said, "By this you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own mind: ²⁹If these men die the common death of all mankind, or if they suffer the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me. ³⁰But if the LORD brings about something entirely new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have despised the LORD." ³¹As soon as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open, ³²and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, along with their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah, and all their possessions. ³³So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. ³⁴All Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” ³⁵And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense. ³⁶Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷"Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze, and scatter the fire far away, for they are holy. ³⁸As for the censers of these men who sinned at the cost of their own lives, let them be made into hammered plates as an overlay for the altar, for they presented them before the LORD, and they became holy. And they shall be a sign to the Israelites." ³⁹So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had presented, and they were hammered out as an overlay for the altar, ⁴⁰to be a memorial for the Israelites, so that no outsider who is not of the descendants of Aaron should approach to burn incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his company—just as the LORD had spoken to him through Moses. ⁴¹But on the next day the entire congregation of the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the LORD!” ⁴²And when the congregation assembled against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. ⁴³Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵“Get away from among this congregation, so that I may consume them in an instant.” And they fell facedown. ⁴⁶Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put fire from the altar in it, and lay incense on it, and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from the LORD, and the plague has begun.” ⁴⁷So Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and behold, the plague had 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 halted. ⁴⁹Now those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died on account of Korah. ⁵⁰Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and so the plague was stopped .

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4/11/2026

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