Numbers
Numbers 16
King James Version · tap any highlighted word for context
Numbers 16 — Scripture text (King James Version)
Now , the son of , the son of , the son of , and and , the sons of , and , the son of , sons of , took men: And they rose up before , with certain of the children of , two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: And they gathered themselves together against and against , 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 congregation of the LORD? And when heard it, he fell upon his face: And he spake unto and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. This do; Take you censers, , and all his company; And fire therein, and incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of . And said unto , Hear, I pray you, ye sons of : Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of hath separated you from the congregation of , to bring you near to himself to do the service of the of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also? For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is , that ye murmur against him? And sent to call and , the sons of : which said, We will not come up: Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou out the eyes of these men? we will not come up. And 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 said unto , Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and , to morrow: And take every man his , and incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his , two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and , each of you his . And they took every man his , and fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the of the congregation with and . And gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the of the congregation: and the of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation. And the LORD spake unto and unto , saying, Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. 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 the LORD spake unto , saying, Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the of , Dathan, and . And rose up and went unto and ; and the elders of followed him. 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 up from the of , Dathan, and , every side: and and came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. And said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto , and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. And the LORD spake unto , saying, Speak unto the son of the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed. The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a unto the children of . And the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar: To be a memorial unto the children of , that no stranger, which is not of the seed of , come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as , and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of . But the morrow all the congregation of the children of murmured against and against , saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD. And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against and against , that they looked toward the of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the of the LORD appeared. And and came before the of the congregation. And the LORD spake unto , saying, Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. And said unto , Take a , and fire therein from off the altar, and incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. And took as commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he incense, and made an for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of . And returned unto unto the door of the of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.