Numbers 16

Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 Ref 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 Pallu, the son of Reuben, made themselves ready,

2 Ref And came before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty chiefs of the people, men of good name who had a place in the meeting of the people.

3 Ref They came together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take overmuch on yourselves, seeing that all the people are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; why then have you put yourselves in authority over the people of the Lord?

4 Ref And Moses, hearing this, went down on his face;

5 Ref And he said to Korah and his band, In the morning the Lord will make clear who are his, and who is holy, and who may come near him: the man of his selection will be caused to come near him.

6 Ref So do this: let Korah and all his band take vessels for burning perfumes;

7 Ref And put spices on the fire in them before the Lord tomorrow; then the man marked out by the Lord will be holy: you take overmuch on yourselves, you sons of Levi.

8 And Moses said to Korah, Give ear now, you sons of Levi:

9 Ref Does it seem only a small thing to you that the God of Israel has made you separate from the rest of Israel, letting you come near himself to do the work of the House of the Lord, and to take your place before the people to do what has to be done for them;

10 Ref Letting you, and all your brothers the sons of Levi, come near to him? and would you now be priests?

11 Ref So you and all your band have come together against the Lord; and Aaron, who is he, that you are crying out against him?

12 Ref Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: and they said, We will not come up:

13 Ref Is it not enough that you have taken us from a land flowing with milk and honey, to put us to death in the waste land, but now you are desiring to make yourself a chief over us?

14 Ref And more than this, you have not taken us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us a heritage of fields and vine-gardens: will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.

15 Ref Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, Give no attention to their offering: not one of their asses have I taken, or done wrong to any of them.

16 Ref And Moses said to Korah, You and all your band are to come before the Lord tomorrow, you and they and Aaron:

17 Ref And let every man take a vessel for burning perfumes, and put sweet spices in them; let every man take his vessel before the Lord, two hundred and fifty vessels; you and Aaron and everyone with his vessel.

18 So every man took his vessel and they put fire in them, with spices, and came to the door of the Tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.

19 Ref And Korah made all the people come together against them to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the glory of the Lord was seen by all the people.

20 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

21 Ref Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them.

22 Ref Then falling down on their faces they said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, because of one man's sin will your wrath be moved against all the people?

23 And the Lord said to Moses,

24 Ref Say to the people, Come away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram.

25 Ref So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the responsible men of Israel went with him.

26 Ref And he said to the people, Come away now from the tents of these evil men, without touching anything of theirs, or you may be taken in the punishment of their sins.

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

28 Ref And Moses said, Now you will see that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and I have not done them of myself.

29 Ref If these men have the common death of men, or if the natural fate of all men overtakes them, then the Lord has not sent me.

30 Ref But if the Lord does something new, opening the earth to take them in, with everything which is theirs, and they go down living into the underworld, then it will be clear to you that the Lord has not been honoured by these men.

31 Ref And while these words were on his lips, the earth under them was parted in two;

32 Ref And the earth, opening her mouth, took them in, with their families, and all the men who were joined to Korah, and their goods.

33 Ref So they and all theirs went down living into the underworld, and the earth was shut over them, and they were cut off from among the meeting of the people.

34 Ref And all Israel round about them went in flight at their cry, For fear, said they, that we go down into the heart of the earth.

35 Ref Then fire came out from the Lord, burning up the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the perfume.

36 And the Lord said to Moses,

37 Ref Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he is to take out of the flames the vessels with the perfumes in them, turning the fire out of them, for they are holy;

38 Ref And let the vessels of those men, who with their lives have made payment for their sin, be hammered out into plates as a cover for the altar; for they have been offered before the Lord and are holy; so that they may be a sign to the children of Israel.

39 So Eleazar the priest took the brass vessels which had been offered by those who were burned up, and they were hammered out to make a cover for the altar:

40 Ref To be a sign, kept in memory for ever by the children of Israel, that no man who is not of the seed of Aaron has the right of burning spices before the Lord, so that he may not be like Korah and his band: as the Lord said to him by the mouth of Moses.

41 Ref But on the day after, all the children of Israel made an outcry against Moses and against Aaron, saying, You have put to death the Lord's people.

42 Ref Now when the people had come together against Moses and Aaron, looking in the direction of the Tent of meeting, they saw the cloud covering it, and the glory of the Lord came before their eyes.

43 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of meeting.

44 And the Lord said to Moses,

45 Ref Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them. And they went down on their faces.

46 Ref And Moses said to Aaron, Take your vessel and put in it fire from the altar, and sweet spices, and take it quickly into the meeting of the people, and make them free from sin: for wrath has gone out from the Lord, and the disease is starting.

47 Ref And at the words of Moses, Aaron took his vessel, and went running among the people; and even then the disease had made a start among them; and he put spices in his vessel to take away the sin of the people.

48 Ref And he took his place between the dead and the living: and the disease was stopped.

49 Ref Now fourteen thousand, seven hundred deaths were caused by that disease, in addition to those who came to their end because of what Korah had done.

50 Ref Then Aaron went back to Moses to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the disease came to a stop.

World English Bible (WEB)

1 Ref 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 [men]:

2 Ref and they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown;

3 Ref and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take too much on you, seeing all the congregation are holy, everyone of them, and Yahweh is among them: why then lift yourselves up above the assembly of Yahweh?

4 Ref When Moses heard it, he fell on his face:

5 Ref and he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, 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 will he cause to come near to him.

6 Ref This do: take you censers, Korah, and all his company;

7 Ref and put fire in them, and put incense on them before Yahweh tomorrow: and it shall be that the man whom Yahweh does choose, he [shall be] holy: you take too much on you, you sons of Levi.

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

9 Ref [seems it but] 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 the tent of Yahweh, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them;

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

11 Ref Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against Yahweh: and Aaron, what is he who you murmur against him?

12 Ref Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, We won't come up:

13 Ref is 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 needs make yourself also a prince over us?

14 Ref Moreover 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.

15 Ref Moses 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."

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

17 Ref and take every man his censer, and put incense on them, and bring you before Yahweh every man his censer, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.

18 They took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood at the door of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.

19 Ref Korah assembled all the congregation against them to the door of the tent of meeting: and the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the congregation.

20 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

21 Ref Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.

22 Ref They 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?

23 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

24 Ref Speak to the congregation, saying, Get away from around the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

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

26 Ref He spoke to the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.

27 Ref So they got them up from the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little ones.

28 Ref Moses said, Hereby you shall know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works; for [I have] not [done them] of my own mind.

29 Ref If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then Yahweh hasn't sent me.

30 Ref But if Yahweh make a new thing, and the ground open its mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain to them, and they go down alive into Sheol; then you shall understand that these men have despised Yahweh.

31 Ref It happened, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground split apart that was under them;

32 Ref and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who appertained to Korah, and all their goods.

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

34 Ref All Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them; for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up.

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

36 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

37 Ref Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter you the fire yonder; for they are holy,

38 Ref even the censers of these sinners against their own lives; and let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before Yahweh; therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.

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

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

41 Ref But on the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, You have killed the people of Yahweh.

42 Ref It happened, when the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of Yahweh appeared.

43 Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting.

44 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

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

46 Ref Moses said to Aaron, Take your censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and lay incense thereon, and carry it quickly to the congregation, and make atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from Yahweh; the plague is begun.

47 Ref Aaron took as Moses spoke, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people.

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

49 Ref Now those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides those who died about the matter of Korah.

50 Ref Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the tent of meeting: and the plague was stayed.

American Standard-ASV1901 (ASV)

1 Ref 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 `men':

2 Ref and they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown;

3 Ref and they assembled 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 Jehovah is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of Jehovah?

4 Ref And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:

5 Ref and he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, In the morning Jehovah will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he shall choose will he cause to come near unto him.

6 Ref This do: take you censers, Korah, and all his company;

7 Ref and put fire in them, and put incense upon them before Jehovah to-morrow: and it shall be that the man whom Jehovah doth choose, he `shall be' holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.

8 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear now, ye sons of Levi:

9 Ref `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 Jehovah, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them;

10 Ref and that he hath brought thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee? and seek ye the priesthood also?

11 Ref Therefore thou and all thy company are gathered together against Jehovah: and Aaron, what is he that ye murmur against him?

12 Ref And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, We will not come up:

13 Ref is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but thou must needs make thyself also a prince over us?

14 Ref Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.

15 Ref And Moses was very wroth, and said unto Jehovah, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.

16 Ref And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before Jehovah, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow:

17 Ref and take ye every man his censer, and put incense upon them, and bring ye before Jehovah every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each his censer.

18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood at the door of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.

19 Ref And Korah assembled all the congregation against them unto the door of the tent of meeting: and the glory of Jehovah appeared unto all the congregation.

20 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

21 Ref Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.

22 Ref 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?

23 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

24 Ref Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

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

26 Ref 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.

27 Ref So they gat them up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little ones.

28 Ref And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that Jehovah hath sent me to do all these works; for `I have' not `done them' of mine own mind.

29 Ref If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then Jehovah hath not sent me.

30 Ref But if Jehovah make a new thing, and the ground open its mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down alive into Sheol; then ye shall understand that these men have despised Jehovah.

31 Ref And it came to pass, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them;

32 Ref and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.

33 Ref So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into Sheol: and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the assembly.

34 Ref And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them; for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up.

35 Ref And fire came forth from Jehovah, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense.

36 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

37 Ref 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 holy,

38 Ref even the censers of these sinners against their own lives; and let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before Jehovah; therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.

39 And Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers, which they that were burnt had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar,

40 Ref to be a memorial unto the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger, that is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to burn incense before Jehovah; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as Jehovah spake unto him by Moses.

41 Ref 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 Jehovah.

42 Ref And it came to pass, when the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of Jehovah appeared.

43 And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting.

44 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

45 Ref Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.

46 Ref And Moses said unto Aaron, Take they censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and lay incense thereon, and carry it quickly unto the congregation, and make atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from Jehovah; the plague is begun.

47 Ref And Aaron took as Moses spake, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people.

48 Ref And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.

49 Ref Now they that died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides them that died about the matter of Korah.

50 Ref And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tent of meeting: and the plague was stayed.

Chapter 16 of 36

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