Numbers 16


Some of the Israelite men challenge Moses and Aaron. They think they should be priests, too.


Korah was a man from the tribe of Levi.  He got some other men to help him. The men were Dathan, Abiram, and On.  These 3 helpers were from the tribe of Reuben.  Then they got 250 other leaders of the Israelites to join them.  They went to see Moses and Aaron.  They were complaining about Moses and Aaron. They said they were equal to Moses and Aaron. They asked Moses why he thought he was better than the rest of them.
[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:
[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:
[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?


After they said this, Moses fell down and prayed. Then Moses said that there will be a test the next day. The Lord will show everyone who He chooses. He will show who the holy ones are. The holy ones will go near Him .  
[4] And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
[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.


 This will be the test.  Korah and the others should bring their censers (censers are pans for fire).  They should put some coals (rocks that are hot and make fire) and incense (smells good) in the pans.  God will choose the priest. Moses said that Korah and the others had gone too far--they were behaving badly and wanted too much
[6] This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
[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.


Moses was upset with Korah.  Korah was from the tribe of Levi.  The men in the tribe of Levi were workers in the tabernacle. God set them apart and made them special. But Korah wanted more. He wanted to be the priest.  Korah complained that Aaron was the priest. Korah was really complaining about the Lord God.
[8] And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
[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?
[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?
[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?


Moses asked 2 of the other men, Dathan and Abiram, to come to him. They refused. They complained that Moses took them out of Egypt. They said Egypt had good land for farms.  Now they are in the wilderness desert where they can't have farms.  They said that Moses was just trying to trick them and be their boss. They said they would not go to Moses now. 
[12] And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:
[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?
[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.


Moses was very mad at Dathan and Abiram. Moses told God not to accept any of their offerings. Moses said he had never taken anything from them, not even one donkey.  He also said he had never hurt any of them. 
[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.


Moses told Korah to come the next day. The other 253 men should come, too. They should all bring their firepans with incense and hot coals in them.  Aaron would be there, too, with his firepan. 
[16] And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:
[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.


 The next day, all of the men were there with their firepans and incense. They all stood in the door of the tabernacle with Moses and Aaron. They waited for God to come and show who He wanted to be the priest.
[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.


Korah got all of the other Israelites to come, too.  They all stood and watched. Then God appeared. They could all see His bright light. 
[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.

God talked to Moses and Aaron.  He told them to move away from the other people. He said He would kill all of the other people. 
[20] And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
[21] Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.


Moses and Aaron fell down and prayed.  They asked God why He was mad at everyone if only one man sinned. 
[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?


God talked to Moses. He told Moses to tell everyone else to stay away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiran. 
[23] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
[24] Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

Korah and his followers are punished.


Moses went to Dathan and Abiram.  The Israelite leaders followed Moses. Moses told everyone to stay away from Dathan and Abiram.  No one should touch any of their things. If they did, they would die because Dathan and Abiram were wicked (very bad).
[25] And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
[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.


Everyone moved away from Korah, Dathan, and Abiram's tents.  Dathan and Abiram stood in the doors of their tents. Their wives and children were with them.  
[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.


Moses said that God sent him to do His work. Moses said this would be a test.  If God did not send Moses to do His work, Dathan, Abiram, and Korah would die natural deaths (die from being sick or old). If God did send Moses to do His work,  Dathan, Abriam, and Korah would die suddenly. They would die from something that never happened in the past. For example, the ground under them would open and make a big crack. They would fall in.
[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.
[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.
[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.


 As soon as Moses said this, there was a big crack in the ground.  Dathan, Abiram, Korah, their families, and their tents fell down in the big crack. Then, the ground covered them up, and they were gone.
[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:
[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.
[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.

All of the other Israelites heard them screaming, so they ran away. They said that the ground might open up and swallow them, too. 
[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.


Then God sent fire and burned up the other 250 men who brought incense to the tabernacle. 
[35] And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

The Lord talked to Moses.  He told Moses to talk to Aaron's son, Eleazar.  He wanted Eleazar to pick up all of the firepans. He should dump out the coals someplace else.  Now, the firepans are holy because they were used for offerings to God. 
[36] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
[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.

The men who made the offerings were dead now. God said they should take the firepans and hammer them into thin plates of metal. They should use the thin plates of metal to cover the altar. This will remind the other Israelites about what happened.  
[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.


Eleazar did what God said. He made thin metal plates with the firepans. Then they used the plates to cover the altar.  This would remind the Israelites that only Aaron and his descendants were allowed to be priests. If anyone else tried to be a priest, he would be punished the same as Korah and the other men.  
[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:
[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.

The other Israelites blame Moses for the death of Korah and his followers. God punishes them for complaining. 

The next day, the other Israelites started to complain again. They blamed Moses because Dathan, Abiram, Korah, their families, and the other 250 men had died.  
[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.

The Israelites came and met together. They looked at the tabernacle. They saw God's cloud covering the tabernacle.  Moses and Aaron came to the tabernacle.  God told Moses and Aaron to move away from the other Israelites. He was going to kill them all.  But Moses and Aaron fell down and started to pray. 
[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.
[43] And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
[44] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
[45] Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.


God sent a plague. A plague is a sickness or disease. One person gets sick. Then other people get sick. Many people get sick fast. Some of the Israelites started getting sick and died. Moses told Aaron to hurry and get a firepan. He should put some fire and incense in it. Then he should go stand by the other Israelites and ask God to forgive them for complaining.  
[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.


Aaron did what Moses said. He ran and stood in the middle of the other Israelites. He held the fire and incense. He asked God to forgive the Israelites for complaining.  He stood between the dead people and the live people. Then the sickness stopped. 
[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.
[48] And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.


14,700 people died from the plague.  That was added to the number of people who died with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. 
[49] Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.


Then Aaron went back to the tabernacle with Moses. There was no more sickness. 
[50] And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.