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 {cf15i men}:
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:
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 the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?
and he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, In the morning the LORD will shew 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.
and put fire therein, and put incense upon them before the LORD tomorrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he {cf15i shall be} holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.
{cf15i 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;
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?
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.
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.
and take ye every man his censer, and put incense upon them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each his censer.
And Korah assembled all the congregation against them unto the door of the tent of meeting: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
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?
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.
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.
But if the LORD make a new thing, and the ground open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down alive into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have despised the LORD.
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 the LORD, therefore they are holy: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
to be a memorial unto the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to burn incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD spake unto him by the hand of Moses.
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.
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 the LORD appeared.
And Moses said unto Aaron, Take thy 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 the LORD; the plague is begun.
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.