The People Rebel

14 Then all the congregation ^[a]raised their voices and cried out, and the people wept ^[b]that night. ² And all the sons of Israel ^(A)grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the entire congregation said to them, “^(B)If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or even if we had died in this wilderness! ³ So why is the Lord bringing us into this land ^(C)to fall by the sword? ^(D)Our wives and our little ones will become plunder! Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, “^(E)Let’s appoint a leader and return to Egypt!”

^5 (F)Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. ⁶ And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; ⁷ and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “^(G)The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. ^8 (H)If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—^(I)a land which flows with milk and honey. ⁹ Only ^(J)do not rebel against the Lord; and do not ^(K)fear the people of the land, for they will be our ^[c]prey. Their ^[d]protection is gone from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” ^10 (L)But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then ^(M)the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

Moses Pleads for the People

^11 (N)And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people be disrespectful to Me? And how long will ^(O)they not ^[e]believe in Me, despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst? ¹² I will strike them with ^[f](P)plague and dispossess them, and I ^(Q)will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

^13 (R)But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought this people up from their midst, ¹⁴ and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, Lord, are in the midst of this people, because ^(S)You, Lord, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ Now if You put this people to death ^[g]all at once, ^(T)then the nations who have heard of Your fame will ^[h]say, ¹⁶ ‘Since the Lord ^(U)could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ So now, please, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, saying, ¹⁸ ‘^(V)The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in mercy, forgiving wrongdoing and violation of His Law; but ^(W)He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, ^(X)inflicting the ^[i]punishment of the fathers on the children ^[j]to the third and the fourth generations.’ ¹⁹ Please ^(Y)forgive the guilt of this people in accordance with the greatness of Your mercy, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

The Lord Pardons and Rebukes

²⁰ So the Lord said, “^(Z)I have forgiven them in accordance with your word; ²¹ however, ^(AA)as I live, ^[k](AB)all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. ²² Certainly ^(AC)all the people who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet ^(AD)have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, ^23 (AE)shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who were disrespectful to Me see it. ²⁴ But as for My servant Caleb, ^(AF)because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, ^(AG)I will bring him into the land which he ^[l]entered, and his ^[m]descendants shall take possession of it. ^25 (AH)Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way of the ^[n]Red Sea.”

²⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron again, saying, ²⁷ “How long shall I put up with this evil congregation who are ^(AI)grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel which they are ^[o]voicing against Me. ²⁸ Say to them, ‘^(AJ)As I live,’ declares the Lord, ‘just as ^(AK)you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you; ^29 (AL)your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness, all ^(AM)your ^[p]numbered men according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. ³⁰ By no means will you come into the land where I ^[q]swore to settle you, ^(AN)except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. ^31 (AO)Your children, however, whom you said would become plunder—I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. ^32 (AP)But as for you, your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness. ³³ Also, your sons will be shepherds in the wilderness for ^(AQ)forty years, and they will ^[r]suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your bodies perish in the wilderness. ³⁴ In accordance with the ^(AR)number of days that you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall suffer the punishment for your ^[s]guilt a year, that is, forty years, and you will know My opposition. ^35 (AS)I, the Lord, have spoken, I certainly will do this to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. They shall be worn out in this wilderness, and there they shall die.’”

^36 (AT)As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, and who returned and led all the congregation to grumble against him by bringing a bad report about the land, ^37 (AU)those men who brought the bad report of the land also died by a ^(AV)plague in the presence of the Lord. ³⁸ But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

Israel Repulsed

³⁹ Now when Moses spoke ^(AW)these words to all the sons of Israel, ^(AX)the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ In the morning, however, they got up early and went up to the ^[t]ridge of the hill country, saying, “^(AY)Here we are; and we will go up to the place which the Lord has ^[u]promised, for ^[v]we have sinned.” ⁴¹ But Moses said, “^(AZ)Why then are you ^(BA)violating the ^[w]command of the Lord, when doing so will not succeed? ^42 (BB)Do not go up, for the Lord is not among you, ^[x]to prevent you from being defeated ^[y]by your enemies. ⁴³ For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there ^[z]to confront you, and you will fall by the sword, since you have turned back from following the Lord. And the Lord will not be with you.” ⁴⁴ But they foolishly dared to go up to the ^[aa]ridge of the hill country; neither ^(BC)the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses left the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and scattered them as far as ^(BD)Hormah.

Korah’s Rebellion

16 Now ^(A)Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with ^(B)Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men, ² and they stood before Moses, ^[a]together with some of the sons of Israel, 250 leaders of the congregation ^[b](C)chosen in the assembly, men of renown. ³ They assembled together ^(D)against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “^[c](E)You have gone far enough! For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and ^(F)the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

⁴ When Moses heard this, ^(G)he fell on his face; ⁵ and he spoke to Korah and all his group, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will make known who is His, and ^(H)who is holy, and will bring that one near to Himself; indeed, ^(I)the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. ⁶ Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and ^[d]your whole group, ⁷ and put fire in them, and place incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. ^[e](J)You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”

⁸ Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: ^9 (K)Is it too small an honor for you that the God of Israel has singled you out from the congregation of Israel, ^(L)to bring you near to Himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; ¹⁰ and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? But are you ^(M)seeking the priesthood as well? ¹¹ Therefore you and your whole group are the ones gathered together ^(N)against the Lord; but as for Aaron, ^[f]who is he, that ^(O)you grumble against him?”

¹² Then Moses sent ^[g]a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. ¹³ Is it ^[h]not enough that you have brought us up out of a ^(P)land flowing with milk and honey ^(Q)to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also appoint yourself as master over us? ¹⁴ Indeed, you have not brought us ^(R)into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of ^(S)fields and vineyards. Would you ^(T)gouge out the eyes of ^[i]these men? We will not come up!”

¹⁵ Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “^(U)Pay no attention to their offering! ^(V)I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.” ¹⁶ Moses said to Korah, “You and all your group be present before the Lord tomorrow, you and they along with Aaron. ¹⁷ And each of you take his censer and put incense on ^[j]it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, 250 censers; also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.” ¹⁸ So they took, each one his own censer, and put fire on ^[k]it, and placed incense on ^[l]it; and they stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ So Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And ^(W)the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²¹ “^(X)Separate yourselves from among this congregation, ^(Y)so that I may consume them instantly.” ²² But they fell on their faces and said, “God, ^(Z)the God of the spirits of ^[m]humanity, ^(AA)when one person sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘^(AB)Get away from the areas around the ^[n]tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’”

²⁵ Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, ²⁶ and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “^(AC)Get away now from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, ^(AD)or you will be swept away in all their sin!” ²⁷ So they moved away from the areas around the ^[o]tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, along with their wives, ^(AE)their sons, and their little ones. ²⁸ Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that ^(AF)the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for it is not ^[p]my doing. ²⁹ If these men die ^[q]the death of all mankind, or ^[r]if they suffer the ^(AG)fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But ^(AH)if the Lord ^[s]brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with everything that is theirs, and they ^(AI)descend alive into ^[t]Sheol, then you will know that these men have been disrespectful to the Lord.”

³¹ And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; ³² and ^(AJ)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, and ^(AK)all the people who belonged to Korah with all their possessions. ³³ So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to ^[u]Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. ³⁴ Then all Israel who were around them fled at their ^[v]outcry, for they said, “The earth might swallow us!” ^35 (AL)Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the ^(AM)250 men who were offering the incense.

^36 [w]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall pick up the censers from the midst of the burned area, because they are holy; and you are to scatter the ^[x]burning coals further away. ³⁸ As for the censers of these ^[y]men who have sinned at the cost of their own lives, have them made into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy; and ^(AN)they shall ^[z]serve as a sign to the sons of Israel.” ³⁹ So the priest Eleazar took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as plating for the altar, ⁴⁰ as a reminder to the sons of Israel so that ^(AO)no ^[aa]layman, anyone who was not of the ^[ab]descendants of Aaron, would approach ^(AP)to burn incense before the Lord; then he would not become like Korah and his group—just as the Lord had spoken to him ^[ac]through Moses.

Murmuring and Plague

⁴¹ But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel ^(AQ)grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord’s people!” ⁴² It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and ^(AR)the glory of the Lord appeared. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴ and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “^(AS)Get away from among this congregation so that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. ⁴⁶ And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put fire in it from the altar, and place incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and ^(AT)make atonement for them, for ^(AU)wrath has gone out from the Lord, the plague has begun!” ⁴⁷ Then Aaron took it just as Moses had spoken, and he ran into the midst of the assembly; and behold, the plague had begun among the people. ^(AV)So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ And he took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was brought to a halt. ^49 (AW)But those who died by the plague were 14,700 in number, besides those who ^(AX)died on account of Korah. ⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been brought to a halt.

Aaron’s Staff Buds

17 ^[ad]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, and obtain from them a staff for each father’s household: twelve staffs, from all their leaders for their fathers’ households. You shall write each man’s name on his staff, ³ and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi; for there is to be one staff for the head of each of their fathers’ households. ⁴ You shall then leave them in the tent of meeting in front of ^(AY)the testimony, where I meet with you. ⁵ And it will come about that the staff of ^(AZ)the man whom I choose will sprout. So I will relieve Myself of the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.” ⁶ So Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a staff, one for each leader, for their fathers’ households, twelve staffs in all, with the staff of Aaron among their staffs. ⁷ Then Moses left the staffs before the Lord in ^(BA)the tent of the testimony.

⁸ Now on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, ^(BB)Aaron’s staff for the house of Levi had sprouted and produced buds and bloomed with blossoms, and it yielded ripe almonds. ⁹ Moses then brought out all the staffs from the presence of the Lord to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his staff. ¹⁰ But the Lord said to Moses, “Put the staff of Aaron ^(BC)back in front of the testimony ^[ae]to be kept as a sign against the ^[af](BD)rebels, so that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me and they do not die.” ¹¹ Moses did so; just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

¹² Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “^(BE)Behold, we are passing away, we are perishing, we are all perishing! ^13 (BF)Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, must die. Are we to perish completely?”