Numbers 16
16One day Korah son of Izhar, a descendant of Kohath son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben.H7141H1121H3324H1121H6955H1121H3878H1885H48H1121H446H203H1121H6431H1121H7205H39472They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly.H6965H6440H4872H582H1121H3478H3967H2572H5387H5712H7148H4150H582H80343They united against Moses and Aaron and said, "You have gone too far! The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the LORD, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the LORD's people?"H6950H4872H175H559H7227H5712H6918H3068H8432H5375H6951H30684When Moses heard what they were saying, he fell face down on the ground.H4872H8085H5307H64405Then he said to Korah and his followers, "Tomorrow morning the LORD will show us who belongs to him and who is holy. The LORD will allow only those whom he selects to enter his own presence.H1696H7141H5712H559H1242H3068H3045H6918H7126H977H71266Korah, you and all your followers must prepare your incense burners.H6213H3947H4289H7141H57127Light fires in them tomorrow, and burn incense before the LORD. Then we will see whom the LORD chooses as his holy one. You Levites are the ones who have gone too far!"H5414H784H2004H7760H7004H6440H3068H4279H376H3068H977H6918H7227H1121H38788Then Moses spoke again to Korah: "Now listen, you Levites!H4872H559H7141H8085H1121H38789Does it seem insignificant to you that the God of Israel has chosen you from among all the community of Israel to be near him so you can serve in the LORD's Tabernacle and stand before the people to minister to them?H4592H430H3478H914H5712H3478H7126H5647H5656H4908H3068H5975H6440H5712H833410Korah, he has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites. Are you now demanding the priesthood as well?H7126H251H1121H3878H1245H355011The LORD is the one you and your followers are really revolting against! For who is Aaron that you are complaining about him?"H3651H5712H3259H3068H175H3885H388512Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they replied, "We refuse to come before you!H4872H7971H7121H1885H48H1121H446H559H592713Isn't it enough that you brought us out of Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us here in this wilderness, and that you now treat us like your subjects?H4592H3588H5927H776H2100H2461H1706H4191H4057H8323H8323H832314What's more, you haven't brought us into another land flowing with milk and honey. You haven't given us a new homeland with fields and vineyards. Are you trying to fool these men? We will not come."H637H935H776H2100H2461H1706H5414H5159H7704H3754H5365H5869H582H592715Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, "Do not accept their grain offerings! I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, and I have never hurt a single one of them."H4872H3966H2734H559H3068H6437H4503H5375H259H2543H7489H25916And Moses said to Korah, "You and all your followers must come here tomorrow and present yourselves before the LORD. Aaron will also be here.H4872H559H7141H5712H6440H3068H175H427917You and each of your 250 followers must prepare an incense burner and put incense on it, so you can all present them before the LORD. Aaron will also bring his incense burner."H3947H376H4289H5414H7004H7126H6440H3068H376H4289H3967H2572H4289H175H376H428918So each of these men prepared an incense burner, lit the fire, and placed incense on it. Then they all stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle with Moses and Aaron.H3947H376H4289H5414H784H7760H7004H5975H6607H168H4150H4872H17519Meanwhile, Korah had stirred up the entire community against Moses and Aaron, and they all gathered at the Tabernacle entrance. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to the whole community,H7141H6950H5712H6607H168H4150H3519H3068H7200H571220and the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,H3068H1696H4872H175H55921"Get away from all these people so that I may instantly destroy them!"H914H8432H5712H3615H728122But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground. "O God," they pleaded, "you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Must you be angry with all the people when only one man sins?"H5307H6440H559H410H430H7307H1320H259H376H2398H7107H571223And the LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H55924"Then tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram."H1696H5712H559H5927H5439H4908H7141H1885H4825So Moses got up and rushed over to the tents of Dathan and Abiram, followed by the elders of Israel.H4872H6965H3212H1885H48H2205H3478H3212H31026"Quick!" he told the people. "Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and don't touch anything that belongs to them. If you do, you will be destroyed for their sins."H1696H5712H559H5493H168H7563H582H5060H5595H240327So all the people stood back from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Then Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, together with their wives and children and little ones.H5927H4908H7141H1885H48H5439H1885H48H3318H5324H6607H168H802H1121H294528And Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things that I have done—for I have not done them on my own.H4872H559H3045H3068H7971H6213H4639H382029If these men die a natural death, or if nothing unusual happens, then the LORD has not sent me.H4191H4194H120H6485H6486H120H3068H797130But if the LORD does something entirely new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and all their belongings, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have shown contempt for the LORD."H3068H1254H1278H127H6475H6310H1104H3381H2416H7585H3045H582H5006H306831He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them.H3615H1696H1697H127H123432The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the men, along with their households and all their followers who were standing with them, and everything they owned.H776H6605H6310H1104H1004H120H7141H739933So they went down alive into the grave, along with all their belongings. The earth closed over them, and they all vanished from among the people of Israel.H3381H2416H7585H776H3680H6H8432H695134All the people around them fled when they heard their screams. "The earth will swallow us, too!" they cried.H3478H5439H5127H6963H559H776H110435Then fire blazed forth from the LORD and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense.H3318H784H3068H398H3967H2572H376H7126H700436And the LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H55937"Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pull all the incense burners from the fire, for they are holy. Also tell him to scatter the burning coals.H559H499H1121H175H3548H7311H4289H996H8316H2219H784H1973H694238Take the incense burners of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and hammer the metal into a thin sheet to overlay the altar. Since these burners were used in the LORD's presence, they have become holy. Let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel."H4289H2400H5315H6213H7555H6341H6826H4196H7126H6440H3068H6942H226H1121H347839So Eleazar the priest collected the 250 bronze incense burners that had been used by the men who died in the fire, and he hammered them into a thin sheet to overlay the altar.H499H3548H3947H5178H4289H8313H7126H7554H6826H419640This would warn the Israelites that no unauthorized person—no one who was not a descendant of Aaron—should ever enter the LORD's presence to burn incense. If anyone did, the same thing would happen to him as happened to Korah and his followers. So the LORD's instructions to Moses were carried out.H2146H1121H3478H834H4616H376H2114H2233H175H7126H6999H7004H6440H3068H7141H5712H3068H1696H3027H487241But the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the LORD's people!"H4283H5712H1121H3478H3885H4872H175H559H4191H5971H306842As the community gathered to protest against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tabernacle and saw that the cloud had covered it, and the glorious presence of the LORD appeared.H5712H6950H4872H175H6437H168H4150H6051H3680H3519H3068H720043Moses and Aaron came and stood in front of the Tabernacle,H4872H175H935H6440H168H415044and the LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H55945"Get away from all these people so that I can instantly destroy them!" But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground.H7426H8432H5712H3615H7281H5307H644046And Moses said to Aaron, "Quick, take an incense burner and place burning coals on it from the altar. Lay incense on it, and carry it out among the people to purify them and make them right with the LORD. The LORD's anger is blazing against them—the plague has already begun."H4872H559H175H3947H4289H5414H784H6440H4196H7760H7004H3212H4120H5712H3722H7110H3318H3068H5063H249047Aaron did as Moses told him and ran out among the people. The plague had already begun to strike down the people, but Aaron burned the incense and purified the people.H175H3947H4872H1696H7323H8432H6951H5063H2490H5971H5414H7004H3722H597148He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped.H5975H4191H2416H4046H611349But 14,700 people died in that plague, in addition to those who had died in the affair involving Korah.H4191H4046H702H6240H505H7651H3967H4191H1697H714150Then because the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle.H175H7725H4872H6607H168H4150H4046H6113
Numbers 17
17Then the LORD said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H5592"Tell the people of Israel to bring you twelve wooden staffs, one from each leader of Israel's ancestral tribes, and inscribe each leader's name on his staff.H1696H1121H3478H3947H4294H4294H1004H1H5387H1004H1H8147H6240H4294H3789H376H8034H42943Inscribe Aaron's name on the staff of the tribe of Levi, for there must be one staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe.H3789H175H8034H4294H3878H259H4294H7218H1004H14Place these staffs in the Tabernacle in front of the Ark containing the tablets of the Covenant, where I meet with you.H3240H168H4150H6440H5715H32595Buds will sprout on the staff belonging to the man I choose. Then I will finally put an end to the people's murmuring and complaining against you."H376H4294H977H6524H7918H8519H1121H3478H38856So Moses gave the instructions to the people of Israel, and each of the twelve tribal leaders, including Aaron, brought Moses a staff.H4872H1696H1121H3478H5387H5414H4294H4294H5387H5387H259H259H1H1004H6240H8147H4294H4294H175H8432H42947Moses placed the staffs in the LORD's presence in the Tabernacle of the Covenant.H4872H3240H4294H6440H3068H168H57158When he went into the Tabernacle of the Covenant the next day, he found that Aaron's staff, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds!H4283H4872H935H168H5715H4294H175H1004H3878H6524H3318H6525H6692H6731H1580H82479When Moses brought all the staffs out from the LORD's presence, he showed them to the people. Each man claimed his own staff.H4872H3318H4294H6440H3068H1121H3478H7200H3947H376H429410And the LORD said to Moses: "Place Aaron's staff permanently before the Ark of the Covenant to serve as a warning to rebels. This should put an end to their complaints against me and prevent any further deaths."H3068H559H4872H7725H175H4294H7725H6440H5715H4931H226H4805H1121H3615H8519H419111So Moses did as the LORD commanded him.H4872H6213H3068H6680H621312Then the people of Israel said to Moses, "Look, we are doomed! We are dead! We are ruined!H1121H3478H559H4872H559H1478H6H613Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle of the LORD dies. Are we all doomed to die?"H7131H4908H3068H4191H8552H1478
Numbers 18
18Then the LORD said to Aaron: "You, your sons, and your relatives from the tribe of Levi will be held responsible for any offenses related to the sanctuary. But you and your sons alone will be held responsible for violations connected with the priesthood.H3068H559H175H1121H1H1004H5375H5771H4720H1121H5375H5771H35502"Bring your relatives of the tribe of Levi—your ancestral tribe—to assist you and your sons as you perform the sacred duties in front of the Tabernacle of the Covenant.H251H4294H3878H7626H1H7126H3867H8334H1121H6440H168H57153But as the Levites go about all their assigned duties at the Tabernacle, they must be careful not to go near any of the sacred objects or the altar. If they do, both you and they will die.H8104H4931H4931H168H7126H3627H6944H4196H41914The Levites must join you in fulfilling their responsibilities for the care and maintenance of the Tabernacle, but no unauthorized person may assist you.H3867H8104H4931H168H4150H5656H168H2114H71265"You yourselves must perform the sacred duties inside the sanctuary and at the altar. If you follow these instructions, the LORD's anger will never again blaze against the people of Israel.H8104H4931H6944H4931H4196H7110H1121H34786I myself have chosen your fellow Levites from among the Israelites to be your special assistants. They are a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD for service in the Tabernacle.H3947H251H3881H8432H1121H3478H5414H4979H3068H5647H5656H168H41507But you and your sons, the priests, must personally handle all the priestly rituals associated with the altar and with everything behind the inner curtain. I am giving you the priesthood as your special privilege of service. Any unauthorized person who comes too near the sanctuary will be put to death."H1121H8104H3550H1697H4196H1004H6532H5647H5414H3550H5656H4979H2114H7131H41918The LORD gave these further instructions to Aaron: "I myself have put you in charge of all the holy offerings that are brought to me by the people of Israel. I have given all these consecrated offerings to you and your sons as your permanent share.H3068H1696H175H5414H4931H8641H6944H1121H3478H5414H4888H1121H2706H57699You are allotted the portion of the most holy offerings that is not burned on the fire. This portion of all the most holy offerings—including the grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings—will be most holy, and it belongs to you and your sons.H6944H6944H784H7133H4503H2403H817H7725H6944H6944H112110You must eat it as a most holy offering. All the males may eat of it, and you must treat it as most holy.H6944H6944H398H2145H398H694411"All the sacred offerings and special offerings presented to me when the Israelites lift them up before the altar also belong to you. I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters as your permanent share. Any member of your family who is ceremonially clean may eat of these offerings.H8641H4976H8573H1121H3478H5414H1121H1323H2706H5769H2889H1004H39812"I also give you the harvest gifts brought by the people as offerings to the LORD—the best of the olive oil, new wine, and grain.H2459H3323H2459H8492H1715H7225H5414H3068H541413All the first crops of their land that the people present to the LORD belong to you. Any member of your family who is ceremonially clean may eat this food.H1061H776H935H3068H2889H1004H39814"Everything in Israel that is specially set apart for the LORD also belongs to you.H2764H347815"The firstborn of every mother, whether human or animal, that is offered to the LORD will be yours. But you must always redeem your firstborn sons and the firstborn of ceremonially unclean animals.H6363H7358H1320H7126H3068H120H929H1060H120H6299H6299H1060H2931H929H629916Redeem them when they are one month old. The redemption price is five pieces of silver (as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs).H6299H2320H1121H6299H6187H3701H2568H8255H8255H6944H6242H162617"However, you may not redeem the firstborn of cattle, sheep, or goats. They are holy and have been set apart for the LORD. Sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.H1060H7794H1060H3775H1060H5795H6299H6944H2236H1818H4196H6999H2459H801H5207H7381H306818The meat of these animals will be yours, just like the breast and right thigh that are presented by lifting them up as a special offering before the altar.H1320H8573H2373H3225H778519Yes, I am giving you all these holy offerings that the people of Israel bring to the LORD. They are for you and your sons and daughters, to be eaten as your permanent share. This is an eternal and unbreakable covenant between the LORD and you, and it also applies to your descendants."H8641H6944H1121H3478H7311H3068H5414H1121H1323H2706H5769H1285H4417H5769H6440H3068H223320And the LORD said to Aaron, "You priests will receive no allotment of land or share of property among the people of Israel. I am your share and your allotment.H3068H559H175H5157H776H2506H8432H2506H5159H8432H1121H347821As for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, I will compensate them for their service in the Tabernacle. Instead of an allotment of land, I will give them the tithes from the entire land of Israel.H5414H1121H3878H4643H3478H5159H2500H5656H5647H5656H168H415022"From now on, no Israelites except priests or Levites may approach the Tabernacle. If they come too near, they will be judged guilty and will die.H1121H3478H5750H7126H168H4150H5375H2399H419123Only the Levites may serve at the Tabernacle, and they will be held responsible for any offenses against it. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation. The Levites will receive no allotment of land among the Israelites,H3881H5647H5656H168H4150H5375H5771H2708H5769H1755H8432H1121H3478H5157H515924because I have given them the Israelites' tithes, which have been presented as sacred offerings to the LORD. This will be the Levites' share. That is why I said they would receive no allotment of land among the Israelites."H4643H1121H3478H7311H8641H3068H5414H3881H5159H559H8432H1121H3478H5157H515925The LORD also told Moses,H3068H1696H4872H55926"Give these instructions to the Levites: When you receive from the people of Israel the tithes I have assigned as your allotment, give a tenth of the tithes you receive—a tithe of the tithe—to the LORD as a sacred offering.H1696H3881H559H3947H1121H3478H4643H5414H5159H7311H8641H3068H4643H464327The LORD will consider this offering to be your harvest offering, as though it were the first grain from your own threshing floor or wine from your own winepress.H8641H2803H1715H1637H4395H334228You must present one-tenth of the tithe received from the Israelites as a sacred offering to the LORD. This is the LORD's sacred portion, and you must present it to Aaron the priest.H7311H8641H3068H4643H3947H1121H3478H5414H3068H8641H175H354829Be sure to give to the LORD the best portions of the gifts given to you.H4979H7311H8641H3068H2459H472030"Also, give these instructions to the Levites: When you present the best part as your offering, it will be considered as though it came from your own threshing floor or winepress.H559H7311H2459H2803H3881H8393H1637H8393H334231You Levites and your families may eat this food anywhere you wish, for it is your compensation for serving in the Tabernacle.H398H4725H1004H7939H2500H5656H168H415032You will not be considered guilty for accepting the LORD's tithes if you give the best portion to the priests. But be careful not to treat the holy gifts of the people of Israel as though they were common. If you do, you will die."H5375H2399H7311H2459H2490H6944H1121H3478H4191
Dublin, OH
and who is holy. The LORD will allow only those whom he selects to enter his own presence.H1696
