UST NUM Chapter 16

◄ NUM 16 ► ║ ©

16 Now there was a man whose name was Korah. He was the son of Izhar, who was the son of Kohath, who was the son of Levi. He decided to do something, along with Eliab’s sons Dathan and Abiram and Peleth’s son On, who were all descendants of Reuben. 2 They rebelled against Moses, and 250 men whom the Israelites had chosen to lead their community, whom the other Israelites respected, rebelled with them. 3 They came together to criticize Moses and Aaron. They said, “Yahweh is present with the whole Israelite community, and we are all sacred. So, you two are making yourselves greater than you should. You should not consider yourselves greater than the rest of the community of people who serve Yahweh!” 4 When Moses heard what they said, he sorrowfully and fearfully bowed down before Yahweh. 5 Then he said to Korah and the community that he had assembled, “Tomorrow morning Yahweh will reveal to us who is sacred and belongs to him. Whomever Yahweh selects is the one whom Yahweh authorizes to approach his own presence. 6 Here is what you, Korah and the community that you have assembled, must do. Prepare pans for burning incense. 7 Tomorrow morning, put burning coals in the pans and burn incense in Yahweh’s presence. At that time, Yahweh will choose one man, and we will know that it is he who is sacred. You Levites are making yourselves greater than you should!” 8 Then Moses spoke again to Korah. He said, “Listen to me, you Levites! 9 The God whom we Israelites serve has set you apart from the rest of the Israelite community. He has authorized you to approach his own presence. So, you set up and take down the sacred tent. You help the rest of the community. That should be great enough for you! 10 Yahweh has authorized you, Korah, along with your fellow Levites, to approach his own presence. You should not demand to become priests also! 11 So, Aaron is not the one whom you are really complaining about. Actually, you and the community that you have assembled have gathered together to oppose Yahweh!” 12 Then Moses sent a messenger to summon Eliab’s sons Dathan and Abiram. They told the messenger to say to Moses, “We will not come to you! 13 You led us out of Egypt, which is a very fertile place, to make us die here in this desolate area. That was bad! But now you claim to be our ruler in every way. That is worse! 14 Further, you have not taken us to a very fertile land. You have not provided fields and vineyards for us and our descendants. You are only trying to deceive us Israelites! So, we will not come to you.” 15 Then Moses was very angry. He said to Yahweh, “I have not taken anything from them, not even one donkey. I have not harmed any of them. Despite that, they still complain about me. So, please do not accept anything that they offer to you.” 16 Then Moses told Korah, “You and the community that you have assembled must present yourselves in Yahweh’s presence tomorrow. Aaron will also be there. 17 Each man must bring his pan for burning incense. That will be 250 pans, plus yours and Aaron’s. Each man must burn incense and offer it in Yahweh’s presence.” 18 So, the next day each of those men brought his pan for burning incense. They all put burning coals in their pans and burned incense. Along with Moses and Aaron, they stood at the entrance to the sacred tent. 19 Korah also summoned the whole Israelite community to oppose Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the sacred tent. Then Yahweh made himself present to the whole Israelite community in a glorious way. 20 Yahweh told Moses and Aaron, 21 “Get away from this community! Then I can destroy them in an instant.” 22 However, Moses and Aaron sorrowfully and fearfully bowed down before Yahweh. They said, “God, you are the God who makes everything live. Please do not act in an angry way toward the whole community when only one person did what was wrong!” 23 Yahweh told Moses, 24 “Tell this to the Israelite community: They must get away from the place where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram are staying.” 25 Then Moses walked to where Dathan and Abiram were staying. The Israelite leaders followed him. 26 He told the Israelite community, “I ask that you get away from the place where these evil men have set up their tents. Avoid touching anything that belongs to them. Otherwise, you too will experience what will happen when Yahweh punishes them for what they did wrong.” 27 So the rest of the Israelites got far away from the place where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were staying. Now Dathan, Abiram, their wives, and their children had left their tents and were standing at the entrances to them. 28 Then Moses said, “I was not the one who decided to do all these things that I have done. It was Yahweh who told me to do them. Here is how you can be sure of that. 29 Suppose that these men die in a normal way, like most people. In that case, you can be sure that Yahweh did not tell me to do these things. 30 On the other hand, suppose that Yahweh does something that has never happened before. Suppose that the ground under them breaks open, they and everything they have fall down into the hole, and dirt covers them so that it buries them alive. In that case, you can be sure that these men rejected Yahweh.” 31 As soon as Moses was done talking, the ground beneath those men broke open. 32 When it broke open, those men and their families, as well as all the people who supported Korah besides the 250 men who were burning incense and all their possessions fell into the hole. 33 Dirt covered them and all their possessions so that it buried them alive. They no longer existed as part of the Israelite community. 34 Those people screamed as they fell, and the Israelites ran away when they heard that sound. They said, “We need to run away so that we do not fall into the hole too!” 35 Also, Yahweh sent fire that destroyed the 250 men who were offering incense. 36 Then Yahweh told Moses, 37 “The pans for burning incense that those men used are sacred. So, tell Aaron the priest’s son Eleazar to collect them from the ashes. You must throw away the burning coals that were in them far away from the campsite. 38 Those men caused themselves to die by doing what was wrong. They offered incense in those pans in my presence, and those pans are now sacred. So, have workmen hammer them into thin metal sheets and attach them to the outside of the altar. That way, they will remind the Israelites of what happened.” 39 So the priest Eleazar collected the bronze pans that the men whom the fire destroyed had offered incense in. Workmen hammered them into sheets to attach to the outside of the altar. 40 Eleazar did exactly what Yahweh commanded through Moses. The sheets remind the Israelites that any person whom Yahweh has not authorized, that is, anyone who is not a descendant of Aaron, must not approach Yahweh’s presence to burn incense in a way that causes smoke to go up. Yahweh will punish anyone who is not a descendant of Aaron and who burns incense in Yahweh’s presence in the same way he punished Korah and the community that he assembled. 41 The next day, the whole Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron. They said, “It is you who killed people who belong to Yahweh!” 42 After the community gathered together to oppose Moses and Aaron, they looked at the sacred tent. They saw the cloud directly over it and Yahweh making himself present in a glorious way. 43 Then Moses and Aaron walked to the area in front of the sacred tent. 44 Yahweh told Moses, 45 “Get away from this community! Then I can destroy them in an instant.” Then Aaron and Moses sorrowfully and fearfully bowed down before Yahweh. 46 Then Moses told Aaron, “Yahweh is angry and has begun to act on it. He has caused the people to become sick with a terrible disease. So, prepare a pan, put burning coals from the altar in it, and burn incense in it. As soon as you can, take it to the community. When you offer the incense, Yahweh will accept it and remove what they did wrong.” 47 So Aaron did what Moses told him to do. He prepared a pan, and he hurried to a place in the middle of the community. He saw that the people were already becoming sick with the terrible disease. So, he burned incense, and Yahweh accepted it and removed what the people had done wrong. 48 Aaron stationed himself between the people who had already died and those who were still alive. Then, the people stopped getting sick with the terrible disease. 49 However, 14, 700 people had already died from the terrible disease. That was in addition to the people who died when Korah and his followers opposed Moses and Aaron. 50 After the people stopped getting sick with the terrible disease, Aaron went back to the entrance of the sacred tent, where Moses was.

◄ NUM 16 ► ║ ©

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