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CHAPTER 16
1 Forsooth 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, of the sons of Reuben,
2 rose against Moses, and others of the sons of Israel, two hundred men and fifty, princes of the synagogue, and which were called by their names in the time of counsel.
3 And when these stood against Moses and Aaron, they said, Suffice it to you, for all the multitude is of holy men, and the Lord is in them; why be ye raised up presumptuously on the people of the Lord?
4 And when Moses had heard this, he fell down low upon his face.
5 And he spake to Korah, and to all the multitude; he said, Early the Lord shall make known which men pertain to him, and he shall apply, or draw, to him holy men; and they which he hath chosen, shall nigh to him.
6 Therefore do ye this thing; each man take his censer, thou Korah, and all thy counsel;
7 and tomorrow when fire is taken up, put ye incense above before the Lord, and whomever the Lord chooseth, he shall be holy. Ye sons of Levi be much raised.
8 And again Moses said to Korah, Ye sons of Levi, hear.
9 Whether it is little to you, that God of Israel [hath] separated you from all the people, and hath joined you to himself, that ye should serve him in the service of the tabernacle, and that ye should stand before the multitude of the people, and serve him?
10 Made he therefore thee, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi, to nigh to himself, that ye challenge to you also priesthood,
11 and all thy gathering together stand against the Lord? For why, what is Aaron, that ye grutch against him?
12 Therefore Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; which answered, We come not.
13 Whether is it little to thee, that thou leddest us out of the land that flowed with milk and honey, to slay us in the desert, no but also thou be lord of us?
14 Verily *They said this in scorn, to signify that Moses deceived the people by false promises. thou hast brought us into the land that floweth with streams of milk and honey, and[thou] hast given to us possession of fields, and of vineyards; whether also thou wilt put out our eyes? We come not to thee.
15 And Moses was wroth greatly, and said to the Lord, Behold thou not the sacrifices of them; thou knowest that I took never of them a little ass, neither I tormented any of them.
16 And Moses said to Korah, Thou and all thy congregation stand asides half before the Lord, and Aaron tomorrow by himself.
17 Take ye all by yourselves your censers, and put ye incense in those, and offer ye to the Lord, twain [or two] hundred and fifty censers; and Aaron hold he his censer.
18 And when they had done this, while Moses and Aaron stood there,
19 and they had gathered all the multitude to the door of the tabernacle against them, the glory of the Lord appeared to all.
20 And the Lord spake to Moses and to Aaron, and said,
21 Be ye separated from the midst of this congregation, that I lose them suddenly.
22 The which fell down low upon their faces, and said, Most strong God of the spirits of all flesh, whether thy wrath shall be fierce against all men, for one man sinneth?
23 And the Lord said to Moses,
24 Command thou to all the people, that it be separated from the tabernacles of Korah, and of Dathan, and of Abiram.
25 And Moses rose, and went to Dathan and Abiram; and while the elder men of Israel followed him,
26 he said to the company, Go ye away from the tabernacles of the wicked men, and do not ye touch those things that pertain to them, lest ye be wrapped in the sins of them.
27 And when they had gone away from their tents by compass, Dathan and Abiram went out, and stood in the entry of their tents, with their wives, and their free children, and with all the multitude.
28 And Moses said, In this ye shall know that the Lord sent me, that I should do all things which ye see, and that I brought them not forth of mine own heart.
29 If they perish by customable death of men, and wound, either pestilence, visit them, by which also other men be wont to be visited, the Lord sent not me;
30 but if the Lord doeth a new thing, that the earth open his mouth, and swallow them, and all things that pertain to them, and they go down quick into hell, ye shall know that they blasphemed the Lord.
31 Therefore anon as he ceased to speak, the earth was broken under their feet,
32 and the earth opened his mouth, and devoured them, with their tabernacles, and all their chattel;
33 and they went down quick, into hell, and were covered with earth, and they perished from the midst of the multitude.
34 And soothly all Israel that stood about, fled from the cry of men perishing, and said, Lest peradventure the earth swallow also us.
35 But also fire went out from the Lord, and killed twain [or two] hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
36 And the Lord spake to Moses, and said,
37 Command thou to Eleazar, the son of Aaron, [the] priest, that he take, or gather up, the censers that lie in the burning, and that he scatter the fire hither and thither; for those censers be hallowed
38 in the deaths of sinners; and that he bring forth those censers into plates, and nail them to the altar, for incense is offered in those [or them] to the Lord, and those be hallowed, that the sons of Israel see them for a sign and a memorial.
39 Therefore Eleazar, the priest, took the brazen censers, in which they, which the burning had devoured had offered, and he beat out those censers into plates, and nailed them to the altar;
40 that the sons of Israel should have those censers with them afterward, by which they should remember this great vengeance of God, lest any alien, and which is not of the seed of Aaron, nigh to offer incense to the Lord; lest he suffer, as Korah suffered, and all his multitude, while the Lord spake to Moses.
41 Forsooth all the multitude of the sons of Israel grutched in the day pursuing [or following] against Moses and Aaron, and said, Ye have slain the people of the Lord.
42 And when dissension arose, and the noise increased, Moses and Aaron fled to the tabernacle of the bond of peace; and after that they entered into it, a cloud covered the tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
43 (See verse 42 above.)
44 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
45 Go ye away from the midst of this multitude, also now I shall do away them. And when they lay in the earth,
46 Moses said to Aaron, Take thy censer, and when the fire is taken up from the altar, cast thou incense above, and go thou forth soon to the people, that thou pray for them; for now wrath is gone out from the Lord, and the vengeance is fierce.
47 And when Aaron had done this, and had run to the midst of the multitude, which the burning wasted then, he offered incense;
48 and he stood betwixt the dead men and the living, and he prayed for the people, and the vengeance ceased.
49 Soothly they that were slain were fourteen thousand of men and seven hundred, without them that perished in the dissension of Korah.
50 And Aaron turned again to Moses, to the door of the tabernacle of the bond of peace, after that the perishing of men ceased.

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*CHAPTER 16:14 They said this in scorn, to signify that Moses deceived the people by false promises.

© 2001,2010,2011,2012,2013,2015 Terry Noble