16 Now Korach, the son of Yitz’har, the son of K’hat, the son of Levi, with Datan and Aviram, the sons of Eli’av, and On, the son of Pelet, sons of Re’uven, took men: ²and they rose up before Moshe, with certain of the children of Isra’el, two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown; ³and they assembled themselves together against Moshe and against Aharon, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and Yehovah is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of Yehovah? 

⁴And when Moshe heard it, he fell upon his face: ⁵and he spake unto Korach and unto all his company, saying, In the morning Yehovah 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. ⁶This do: take you censers, Korach, and all his company; ⁷and put fire in them, and put incense upon them before Yehovah to-morrow: and it shall be that the man whom Yehovah doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. ⁸And Moshe said unto Korach, Hear now, ye sons of Levi: ⁹seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Isra’el hath separated you from the congregation of Isra’el, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the Tabernacle of Yehovah, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them; ¹⁰and that he hath brought thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee? and seek ye the priesthood also? ¹¹Therefore thou and all thy company are gathered together against Yehovah: and Aharon, what is he that ye murmur against him? 

¹²And Moshe sent to call Datan and Aviram, the sons of Eli’av; and they said, We will not come up: ¹³is 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? ¹⁴Moreover 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. 

¹⁵And Moshe was very wroth, and said unto Yehovah, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them. ¹⁶And Moshe said unto Korach, Be thou and all thy company before Yehovah, thou, and they, and Aharon, tomorrow: ¹⁷and take ye every man his censer, and put incense upon them, and bring ye before Yehovah every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aharon, each his censer. ¹⁸And 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 Moshe and Aharon. ¹⁹And Korach assembled all the congregation against them unto the door of the tent of meeting: and the glory of Yehovah appeared unto all the congregation. 

²⁰And Yehovah spake unto Moshe and unto Aharon, saying, ²¹Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. ²²And 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? ²³And Yehovah spake unto Moshe, saying, ²⁴Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the Tabernacle of Korach, Datan, and Aviram. 

²⁵And Moshe rose up and went unto Datan and Aviram; and the elders of Isra’el followed him. ²⁶And 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. ²⁷So they gat them up from the tabernacle of Korach, Datan, and Aviram, on every side: and Datan and Aviram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little ones. ²⁸And Moshe said, Hereby ye shall know that Yehovah hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. ²⁹If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then Yehovah hath not sent me. ³⁰But if Yehovah 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 Sh’ol; then ye shall understand that these men have despised Yehovah. 

³¹And it came to pass, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them; ³²and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korach, and all their goods. ³³So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into Sh’ol: and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the assembly. ³⁴And all Isra’el that were round about them fled at the cry of them; for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up. ³⁵And fire came forth from Yehovah, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense. 

³⁶And Yehovah spake unto Moshe, saying, ³⁷Speak unto El’azar the son of Aharon the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are holy, ³⁸even 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 Yehovah; therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign unto the children of Isra’el. ³⁹And El’azar the priest took the brazen censers, which they that were burnt had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar, ⁴⁰to be a memorial unto the children of Isra’el, to the end that no stranger, that is not of the seed of Aharon, come near to burn incense before Yehovah; that he be not as Korach, and as his company: as Yehovah spake unto him by Moshe. 

⁴¹But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Isra’el murmured against Moshe and against Aharon, saying, Ye have killed the people of Yehovah. ⁴²And it came to pass, when the congregation was assembled against Moshe and against Aharon, that they looked toward the tent of meeting: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of Yehovah appeared. ⁴³And Moshe and Aharon came to the front of the tent of meeting. ⁴⁴And Yehovah spake unto Moshe, saying, ⁴⁵Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. ⁴⁶And Moshe said unto Aharon, 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 Yehovah; the plague is begun. ⁴⁷And Aharon took as Moshe 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. ⁴⁸And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. ⁴⁹Now they that died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides them that died about the matter of Korach. ⁵⁰And Aharon returned unto Moshe unto the door of the tent of meeting: and the plague was stayed. 

17 And Yehovah spake unto Moshe, saying, ²Speak unto the children of Isra’el, and take of them rods, one for each fathers’ house, of all their princes according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod. ³And thou shalt write Aharon’s name upon the rod of Levi; for there shall be one rod for each head of their fathers’ houses. ⁴And thou shalt lay them up in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. ⁵And it shall come to pass, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Isra’el, which they murmur against you. ⁶And Moshe spake unto the children of Isra’el; and all their princes gave him rods, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aharon was among their rods. ⁷And Moshe laid up the rods before Yehovah in the tent of the testimony. 

⁸And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moshe went into the tent of the testimony; and, behold, the rod of Aharon for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and bare ripe almonds. ⁹And Moshe brought out all the rods from before Yehovah unto all the children of Isra’el: and they looked, and took every man his rod. ¹⁰And Yehovah said unto Moshe, Put back the rod of Aharon before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the children of rebellion; that thou mayest make an end of their murmurings against me, that they die not. ¹¹Thus did Moshe: as Yehovah commanded him, so did he. 

¹²And the children of Isra’el spake unto Moshe, saying, Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. ¹³Every one that cometh near, that cometh near unto the Tabernacle of Yehovah, dieth: shall we perish all of us? 

18 And Yehovah said unto Aharon, Thou and thy sons and thy fathers’ house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. ²And thy brethren also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou near with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall be before the tent of the testimony. ³And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the Tent: only they shall not come nigh unto the vessels of the sanctuary and unto the altar, that they die not, neither they, nor ye. ⁴And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the Tent: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you. ⁵And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar; that there be wrath no more upon the children of Isra’el. ⁶And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Isra’el: to you they are a gift, given unto Yehovah, to do the service of the tent of meeting. ⁷And thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar, and for that within the veil; and ye shall serve: I give you the priesthood as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. 

⁸And Yehovah spake unto Aharon, And I, behold, I have given thee the charge of my heave-offerings, even all the hallowed things of the children of Isra’el; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, as a portion for ever. ⁹This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, even every meal-offering of theirs, and every sin-offering of theirs, and every trespass-offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons. ¹⁰As the most holy things shalt thou eat thereof; every male shall eat thereof: it shall be holy unto thee. ¹¹And this is thine: the heave-offering of their gift, even all the wave-offerings of the children of Isra’el; I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, as a portion for ever; every one that is clean in thy house shall eat thereof. ¹²All the best of the oil, and all the best of the vintage, and of the grain, the first-fruits of them which they give unto Yehovah, to thee have I given them. ¹³The first-ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring unto Yehovah, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thy house shall eat thereof. ¹⁴Everything devoted in Isra’el shall be thine. ¹⁵Everything that openeth the womb, of all flesh which they offer unto Yehovah, both of man and beast shall be thine: nevertheless the first-born of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem. ¹⁶And those that are to be redeemed of them from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary (the same is twenty gerahs). ¹⁷But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savor unto Yehovah. ¹⁸And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave-breast and as the right thigh, it shall be thine. ¹⁹All the heave-offerings of the holy things, which the children of Isra’el offer unto Yehovah, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, as a portion for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before Yehovah unto thee and to thy seed with thee. ²⁰And Yehovah said unto Aharon, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any portion among them: I am thy portion and thine inheritance among the children of Isra’el. 

²¹And unto the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Isra’el for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the tent of meeting. ²²And henceforth the children of Isra’el shall not come nigh the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin, and die. ²³But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations; and among the children of Isra’el they shall have no inheritance. ²⁴For the tithe of the children of Isra’el, which they offer as a heave-offering unto Yehovah, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Isra’el they shall have no inheritance. 

²⁵And Yehovah spake unto Moshe, saying, ²⁶Moreover thou shalt speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Isra’el the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up a heave-offering of it for Yehovah, a tithe of the tithe. ²⁷And your heave-offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the grain of the threshing-floor, and as the fulness of the winepress. ²⁸Thus ye also shall offer a heave-offering unto Yehovah of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Isra’el; and thereof ye shall give Yehovah’s heave-offering to Aharon the priest. ²⁹Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave-offering of Yehovah, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it. ³⁰Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye heave the best thereof from it, then it shall be reckoned unto the Levites as the increase of the threshing-floor, and as the increase of the winepress. ³¹And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting. ³²And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best thereof: and ye shall not profane the holy things of the children of Isra’el, that ye die not.