¹ And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me.

² Then came the word of the LORD to me, saying,

³ Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to inquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.

⁴ Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:

⁵ And say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up my hand to the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up my hand to them, saying, I am the Lord your GOD;

⁶ In the day that I lifted up my hand to them, to bring them forth from the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:

⁷ Then said I to them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

⁸ But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken to me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

⁹ But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known to them, in bringing them forth from the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ Wherefore I caused them to go forth from the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.

¹¹ And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which if a man doeth, he shall even live in them.

¹² Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.

¹³ But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man doeth, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly profaned: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

¹⁴ But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.

¹⁵ Yet also I lifted up my hand to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;

¹⁶ Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but profaned my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.

¹⁷ Nevertheless my eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸ But I said to their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:

¹⁹ I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them;

²⁰ And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.

²¹ Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man doeth, he shall even live in them: they profaned my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.

²² Nevertheless I withdrew my hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.

²³ I lifted up my hand to them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries;

²⁴ Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.

²⁵ Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they should not live;

²⁶ And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all the first-born, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.

²⁷ Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.

²⁸ For when I had brought them into the land, for which I lifted up my hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savor, and poured out there their drink-offerings.

²⁹ Then I said to them, What is the high place to which ye go? and its name is called Bamah to this day.

³⁰ Wherefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye lewd deeds after their abominations?

³¹ For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even to this day: and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.

³² And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.

³³ As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with an out-stretched arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you:

³⁴ And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries in which ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an out-stretched arm, and with fury poured out.

³⁵ And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.

³⁶ As I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.

³⁷ And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.

³⁸ And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

³⁹ As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken to me: but profane ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.

⁴⁰ For on my holy mountain, on the mountain of the hight of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the first fruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.

⁴¹ I will accept you with your sweet savor, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries in which ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.

⁴² And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers.

⁴³ And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings in which ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.

⁴⁴ And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the LORD GOD.

⁴⁵ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁴⁶ Son of man, set thy face towards the south, and drop thy word towards the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;

⁴⁷ And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

⁴⁸ And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.

⁴⁹ Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?

³¹ For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even to this day: and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.

¹ 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 [men]:

² and they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown;

³ and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, "You take too much on yourself, since all the congregation are holy, everyone of them, and Yahweh is among them: why then lift yourselves up above the assembly of Yahweh?"

⁴ When Moses heard it, he fell on his face:

⁵ and he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, "In the morning Yahweh will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him: even him whom he shall choose he will cause to come near to him.

⁶ Do this: take censers, Korah, and all his company;

⁷ and put fire in them, and put incense on them before Yahweh tomorrow: and it shall be that the man whom Yahweh chooses, he shall be holy. You have gone too far, you sons of Levi!"

⁸ Moses said to Korah, "Hear now, you sons of Levi!

⁹ Is it a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of Yahweh, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them;

¹⁰ and that he has brought you near, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? and do you seek the priesthood also?

¹¹ Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against Yahweh: and Aaron, what is he that you murmur against him?"

¹² Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, "We won't come up:

¹³ is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must also make yourself a prince over us?

¹⁴ Moreover you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: will you put out the eyes of these men? We won't come up."

¹⁵ Moses was very angry, and said to Yahweh, "Don't respect their offering: I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them."

¹⁶ Moses said to Korah, "You and all your company go before Yahweh, you, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow:

¹⁷ and each man take his censer, and put incense on them, and each man bring before Yahweh his censer, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer."

¹⁸ They each took his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood at the door of the Tent of Meeting with Moses and Aaron.

¹⁹ Korah assembled all the congregation against them to the door of the Tent of Meeting: and the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

²¹ "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!"

²² They fell on their faces, and said, "God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?"

²³ Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁴ "Speak to the congregation, saying, 'Get away from around the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!'"

²⁵ Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.

²⁶ He spoke to the congregation, saying, "Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins!"

²⁷ So they went away from the tent 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.

²⁸ Moses said, "Hereby you shall know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works; for [I have] not [done them] of my own mind.

²⁹ If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then Yahweh hasn't sent me.

³⁰ But if Yahweh make a new thing, and the ground open its mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain to them, and they go down alive into Sheol; then you shall understand that these men have despised Yahweh."

³¹ It happened, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground split apart that was under them;

³² and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who appertained to Korah, and all their goods.

³³ So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into Sheol: and the earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly.

³⁴ All Israel that were around them fled at the cry of them; for they said, "Lest the earth swallow us up!"

³⁵ Fire came forth from Yahweh, and devoured the two hundred fifty men who offered the incense.

³⁶ Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

³⁷ "Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter the fire yonder; for they are holy,

³⁸ 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 Yahweh; therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel."

³⁹ Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burnt had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar,

⁴⁰ to be a memorial to the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger, who isn't of the seed of Aaron, comes near to burn incense before Yahweh; that he not be as Korah, and as his company: as Yahweh spoke to him by Moses.

⁴¹ But on the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, "You have killed Yahweh's people!"

⁴² It happened, 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 Yahweh appeared.

⁴³ Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of Meeting.

⁴⁴ Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

⁴⁵ "Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!" They fell on their faces.

⁴⁶ Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, and put fire from off the altar in it, and lay incense on it, and carry it quickly to the congregation, and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from Yahweh! The plague has begun."

⁴⁷ Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and behold, the plague has begun among the people: and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people.

⁴⁸ He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.

⁴⁹ Now those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides those who died about the matter of Korah.

⁵⁰ Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the Tent of Meeting: and the plague was stayed.