Preface:    Numbers 16 deals with the rebellion of Korah and the careful separation between the Aaronic priesthood and the Levitical responsibilities (which did not include the priesthood). In the end, the people would rise up a second time in protest for Korah’s death, and a plague will ensue that kills over 14,000 more.

The Bible Summary of Numbers 16 (in 140 characters or less): Korah, Dathan and Abiram rose against Moses and Aaron. Moses said, "The LORD will choose." The ground swallowed up those with Korah.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Numbers. By the third draft, this should be the most extensive examination of Numbers 16, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 16:

Introduction

         vv.     1–

         vv. 

         vv. 

         vv. 

         vv. 

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Numbers 16 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Numbers 16 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Numbers 16

         Introduction         The Prequel of Numbers 16

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Numbers 16

         Introduction         The Places of Numbers 16

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Numbers 16

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Numbers 16

         Introduction         Outlines of Numbers 16 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Numbers 16 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Numbers 1–15)

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Numbers 16)

         Introduction 

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         v.       6              A Fire Censer (an illustration)

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         v.      13              Psychology and Numbers 16:13

         v.      13              Dathan and Abiram’s Logic

         v.      13              The Flawed Logic of Dathan and Abiram

         v.      13              The Application to You

         v.      13              Actual Examples of the Above

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         v.      24              What has happened so far in the first half of Numbers 16

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         v.      34              Chapter and Verse Divisions (Google AI)

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         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Numbers 16 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Numbers 16

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Numbers 16

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Numbers 16

         Summary 

         Addendum          1Corinthians 2:12–16 (translation by R. B. Thieme, Jr.)

         Addendum          The Abbreviated Doctrine of Sheol

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Numbers 16

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Numbers 16

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Numbers 16

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Numbers 16

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An Introduction to Numbers 16

I ntroduction: In Numbers 16, there appear to be a uniting of two factions among the people of Israel against Moses and Aaron. Korah led the Levites who apparently did not believe that Aaron should be over all the priests. Although we certainly do not find the term nepotism in this chapter, perhaps that is one issue which Korah and his supporters have with Aaron.

The is also the tribe of Reuben, who is the firstborn, and should be seen as the leading tribe. We know, from our study of Genesis, that if any tribe should be seen as the leading tribe, it is the tribe of Judah, despite some of his very apparent shortcomings, delineated in Genesis 38 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). How we understand this and how God understands this, is not necessarily how the people of the tribe of Reuben understand it. Remember, if you are not a mature believer, you cannot read, study and come to correct conclusions about certain truths in Scripture. Whereas, to me is it clear that Reuben is supplanted by Judah (the 4^th born son)—this is particularly clear in Genesis 44 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD), where Judah offers himself up to Joseph (whom Judah does not know as Joseph) in place of his brother Benjamin. We, as maturing believers, can read this chapter and understand the greatness of Judah, while keeping in mind the failure of Reuben from Genesis 39 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

So, certain rebellious leaders from the tribe of Levi and from the tribe of Reuben step up and indicate their opposition to Moses and Aaron. Moses immediately says, “Let’s put this matter before God.”

Although Korah (of the tribe of Levi) and Dathan and Abiram (from the tribe of Reuben) had developed some of their arguments and even had a following, the true test would be before God.

Timeline for Numbers

There is very little narrative in the book of Numbers; so this information may have been given to Moses in a few days or, at most, a few weeks; and Moses both wrote these things down and informed the people. Because of information previously studied in the introduction, we are not 100% certain if all of this material was given to Moses while in the newly erected Tabernacle. I would lean towards that being the case.

As I have done previously, since this chapters is what God is saying to Moses, I will begin and end the chapter with quotation marks. I will not insert a new set of quotation marks for each new paragraph.

——————————

One of the uncertainties of the previous chapters is whether God would wipe out the generation of Levites as well as the generation of the other eleven tribes. This chapter gives a Levitical rebellion ending in the sin unto death of several hundred Levites. We are not exposed to every rebellion or God's judgement of same for the thirty-eight years which follow Numbers 13–14. We will have to take this as a typical example which was repeated several times.

Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Numbers.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so take Qorach ben Yitshar ben Qehath ben Leviy and Dathan and Abiram beniym Eliab and On ben Peleth beniym Reuben and so they stand to faces of Moses. And so (mortal) men, from beniym of Israel, fifty and two hundred, leaders of a company, chosen of an appointed time, (mortal) men of a name. And so they were assembled upon Moses and upon Aaron, and so they speak unto them, “Much to you (all), for all the company, all of them [are] holy ones and in a midst of them [is] Y^ehowah. And why do you lift yourselves upon an (organized) assembly of Y^ehowah?”

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  . Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) And behold Core the son of Isaar, the son of Caath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab, and Hon the son of Pheleth of the children of Ruben,

Rose up against Moses, and with them two hundred and fifty others of the children of Israel, leading men of the synagogue, and who in the time of assembly were called by name.

And when they had stood up against Moses and Aaron, they said: Let it be enough for you, that all the multitude consisteth of holy ones, and the Lord is among them: Why lift you up yourselves above the people of the Lord?

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        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:

and they rose up before Mosha, with certain of the B'nai Yisrael, two hundred fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown;

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

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, son of Reuben, took [men]:

And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:

And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, 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?

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And Korah the son of Izhar the son of Kohath the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiron, sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth the son of Reuben, spoke;

and rose up before Moses, and two hundred and fifty men of the sons of Israel, chiefs of the assembly, chosen counselors, and men of renown.

They rose up against Moses and Aaron, and said, Let it be enough for you that all the congregation is holy, and the Lord is among them; and why do you set up yourselves against the congregation of the Lord?

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             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 Pallu, the son of Reuben, made themselves ready, 

And came before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty chiefs of the people, men of good name who had a place in the meeting of the people. 

They came together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take overmuch on yourselves, seeing that all the people are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; why then have you put yourselves in authority over the people of the Lord?

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On turned against Moses. (Korah was the son of Izhar. Izhar was the son of Kohath, and Kohath was the son of Levi. Dathan and Abiram were brothers, the sons of Eliab. And On was the son of Peleth. Dathan, Abiram, and On were descendants of Reuben.) These four men gathered 250 other men from Israel together and came against Moses. They were leaders who had been chosen by the people. All the people knew them. They came as a group to speak against Moses and Aaron and said, "You have gone too far--you are wrong! All the Israelites are holy--the LORD still lives among them. You are making yourselves more important than the rest of the LORD'S people."

God’s Word™                         Korah (son of Izhar), Dathan and Abiram (sons of Eliab), and On (son of Peleth) dared to challenge Moses. (Korah was a descendant of Kohath and Levi. Dathan, Abiram, and On were descendants of Reuben.) These four men were joined by 250 Israelite men, well-known leaders of the community, chosen by the assembly. They came together to confront Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You've gone far enough! Everyone in the whole community is holy, and the LORD is among them. Why do you set yourselves above the LORD'S assembly?"

Good News Bible (TEV)         Korah son of Izhar, from the Levite clan of Kohath, rebelled against the leadership of Moses. He was joined by three members of the tribe of Reuben---Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth---and by 250 other Israelites, well-known leaders chosen by the community. They assembled before Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! All the members of the community belong to the LORD, and the LORD is with all of us. Why, then, Moses, do you set yourself above the LORD's community?"

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       Korah son of Izhar was a Levite from the Kohathite clan. One day he called together Dathan, Abiram, and On from the Reuben tribe, and the four of them decided to rebel against Moses. So they asked two hundred fifty respected Israelite leaders for their support, and together they went to Moses and Aaron and said, "Why do you think you're so much better than anyone else? We're part of the LORD's holy people, and he's with all of us. What makes you think you're the only ones in charge?"

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

UnfoldingWord (Simplified)    One day Korah son of Izhar and a descendant of Levi's son Kohath, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, who were the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth. They were all from the tribe of Reuben. Those four men incited 250 other people who were leaders among the Israelite people to join them in rebelling against Moses.  

They came together to criticize Aaron and Moses. They said to them, "You two are using more authority than you should! Yahweh has set apart all of us Israelite people, and he is with all of us. So why do you act as though you were more important than the rest of us people who belong to Yahweh?"

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Christian Standard Bible        .

Berean Study Bible                Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly. 

They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have gone too far! Everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”

Conservapedia                       .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                          Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took,

And rose up before the face of Moses with men of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, chosen in the congregation, men of position,

And they gathered themselves together against Moses, and against Aaron, and said to them, You take too much on yourself, because the whole congregation is holy, all of them, and Jehovah is in the midst of them; why do you lift up yourselves above the congregation of Jehovah?

International Standard V        The Rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abram

Now Izhar’s son Korah, the grandson of Kohath, a descendant of Levi, along with Eliab’s sons Dathan and Abiram, and Peleth’s son On, a descendant of Reuben, took charge of a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 community leaders, Israelis who were famous men and representatives from the assembly.

They gathered together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have appropriated too much for yourselves from the entire congregation, since all of them are holy, and the Lord is among them, too. Why do you exalt yourselves over the Lord’s assembly?”

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Word Literal Text   Now Korah son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi, along with Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben, gathered some men. They rose up against Moses, along with other men from the people of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the community who were well-known members in the community.  

They assembled themselves together to confront Moses and Aaron. They said to them, "You have gone too far! All the community is set apart, every one of them, and Yahweh is among them. Why do you lift up yourselves above the rest of Yahweh's community?"

Urim-Thummim Version         Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took a group and they rose up before Moses with men from the children of Israel, 250 chiefs from the company, famous in the nation and men of reputation.

And they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron and said to them, You take too much upon yourselves, seeing all the nation is set apart, everyone of them, and YHWH is among them, why then exalt yourselves above the nation of YHWH?

Wikipedia Bible Project          .

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Pretensions of Korah; rebellion of Dathan and Abram

• Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, from the tribe of Levi—and also Dathan and Abram, sons of Eliab, and On, son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben—rebelled against Moses. Two hundred fifty Israelites followed him; all were well known leaders in the community and members of the council.

Ps 106: 16-20; Sir 45:18; Jdt 11

They came together and addressed Moses and Aaron saying, “It is enough! The whole community is consecrated to Yahweh and he lives among them. Why then, do you set yourselves over the community of Yahweh?” 19:6

• 16.1 The whole community is consecrated to Yahweh and he lives among them. That is true but there is a hierarchy which comes from God. This is the lesson in this chapter and Paul will recall it later: “One cannot claim the honor of being a priest: he must be called by God as Aaron was” (Heb 5:4).

Several stories are combined in this text:

– in the first, the Levite Korah claimed for him self the privileges of the priests, sons of Aaron; and fire from heaven devoured him along with his two hundred partisans;

– in the second, Dathan and Abiram, from the tribe of Reuben, rebelled against Moses and the earth swallowed them up.

New American Bible(2011)    .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989            .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

Eth Cepher Bible                    NOW Qorach, the son of Yitshar, the son of Qohath, the son of Leviy, and Dathan and Aviyram, the sons of Eliy’av, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Re’uven, took men: 

And they rose up before Mosheh, with certain of the children of Yashar’el, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the assembly, men of renown: 

And they gathered themselves together against Mosheh and against Aharon, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the assembly are holy, everyone of them, and Yahuah is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of Yahuah?

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Kaplan Translation                 .

The Scriptures–2009              And Qora, son of Yitshar, son of Qehath, son of Lěwi, took both Dathan and Airam the sons of Eliya, and On, son of Peleth, sons of Re’uěn, and they rose up before Mosheh with some of the children of Yisra’ěl, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, called ones of the meeting, men of name. 

And they assembled against Mosheh and against Aharon, and said to them, “Enough of you! For all the congregation is set-apart, all of them, and יהוה is in their midst. Why then do you lift up yourselves above the assembly of יהוה?”

Tree of Life Version                Now Korah, son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi, and sons of Reuben—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth— rose up against Moses and took 250 men from Bnei-Yisrael, men of renown who had been appointed to the council.

They assembled against Moses and Aaron. They said to them, “You’ve gone too far! All the community is holy—all of them—and Adonai is with them! Then why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of Adonai?”

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            AND CORE THE SON OF ISAAR THE SON OF CAATH THE SON OF LEVI, AND DATHAN AND ABIRON, SONS OF ELIAB, AND AUN THE SON OF PHALETH THE SON OF RUBEN, SPOKE;

AND ROSE UP BEFORE MOSES, AND TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY MEN OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL, CHIEFS OF THE ASSEMBLY, CHOSEN COUNCILORS, AND MEN OF RENOWN.

THEY ROSE UP AGAINST MOSES AND AARON, AND SAID, LET IT BE ENOUGH FOR YOU THAT ALL THE CONGREGATION ARE HOLY, AND JESUS IS AMONG THEM; AND WHY DO YOU SET UP YOURSELVES AGAINST THE CONGREGATION OF JE?

Awful Scroll Bible                   Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eli-ab, and On, the son of Peleth, the sons of Reuben, were to take up,

even were they to rise up turned before Moses, with men of the sons of Contends-with-he-mighty indeed two hundred and fifty lifted up ones of the assembly, men of acclaimed position, men of name.

They were to gather themselves against Moses and Aaron, even were they to say, "You exceed yourself, for the assembly is set apart and Sustains To Become is among them - was you to lift yourself up above the assembly of Sustains To Become?"

Concordant Literal Version    Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, arose along with Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth (sons of Reuben);"

they arose before Moses with men from the sons of Israel, two hundred fifty princes of the congregation, those called to appointment, men of renown.

They assembled against Moses and against Aaron and said to them:Enough of you! For the whole congregation, all of them are holy, and in their midst is Yahweh; so for what reason are you lifting yourselves up over the assembly of Yahweh?

exeGeses companion Bible   REBELLION OF QORACH

Now Qorach the son of Yishar

the son of Qehath the son of Levi

and Dathan and Abi Ram the sons of Eli Ab

and On the son of Peleth sons of Reu Ben

take and rise at the face of Mosheh,

with certain of the sons of Yisra El

- two hundred and fifty hierarchs of the witness

of the called of the congregation - men of name:

and they congregate

against Mosheh and against Aharon

and say to them, You are too much!,

for all the witness - all of them are holy

and Yah Veh is among them!

So why exalt yourselves

above the congregation of Yah Veh?.

Orthodox Jewish Bible                                                 KORACH

Now Korach ben Yitzhar ben Kehat ben Levi, and Datan and Aviram, the Bnei Eliav, and On ben Pelet, Bnei Reuven, became insolent;

And they rose up before Moshe, with certain of the Bnei Yisroel, two hundred and fifty Nasi'ei Edah, chosen from the assembly, men of renown;

And they gathered themselves together against Moshe and against Aharon, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing Kol HaEdah are Kadoshim, every one of them, and Hashem is among them; why then lift ye up yourselves above the Kehal Hashem?.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

International Standard V        .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    .

Lexham English Bible            Korah, Dathan, and Abiram Rebel

Now Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, the descendants [Or “sons”] of Reuben, took two hundred and fifty men from the Israelites, [Literally “sons/children of Israel”] leaders of the community summoned from the assembly, renowned men, [Literally “men of name”] and they confronted [Literally “they rose up before”] Moses. They were assembled in front of Moses and Aaron, and they said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves! [Literally “It is much for you”] All of the community is holy, every one of them, and Yahweh is in their midst, so why do you raise yourselves over the assembly of Yahweh?”

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 Korach's Rebellion

Korach son of Yitz'har (a grandson of Kehoth and great-grandson of Levi) began a rebellion along with Dathan and Aviram (sons of Eliav) and On son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben.

They had a confrontation with Moses along with 250 Israelites who were men of rank in the community, representatives at the assembly, and famous.

They demonstrated against Moses and Aaron, and declared to them, 'You have gone too far! All the people in the community are holy, and God is with them. Why are you setting yourselves above God's congregation?' The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Numbers through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

Korach...

See Exodus 6:18,21. According to tradition, he was one of Pharaoh's officials (BeMidbar Rabbah 18:1). He was extremely wealthy (Pesachim 119a; Sanhedrin 110a; Targum Yonathan on Numbers 16:19; Josephus, Antiquities 4:2:2).

began a rebellion

(Targum; Rashi). Literally, 'took.' According to some, he 'took' Dathan, etc, (Chizzkuni), the 250 men (Ramman; Sforno), or a mob (Rashbam). Others translate it as, 'took the initiative' (Ramban); 'committed himself' (Ibn Tanach); 'plotted' (Radak, Sherashim), 'came forward' (Saadia, see Numbers 8:6), or 'spoke up' (Septuagint).

Many authorities state that the Torah is in chronological order here, and that the rebellion took place after the episode of the spies (Ramban; Sefer HaYashar; Josephus, Antiquities 4:2:2). The motivation for the rebellion may have been the decree that they would die in the desert (Abarbanel; see Numbers 16:14).

Others, however, maintain that the rebellion occurred before the episode of the spies. Some say that it took place when the Levites were substituted for the first-born (Ibn Ezra). The Midrash states that the motivation was the appointment of Eltzaphan son of Uzziel over the Kehothites (Numbers 3:30; BeMidbar Rabbah 18:1; Bachya).

Others say that it took place in Chatzeroth (Numbers, 11:35, 12:16; Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:1). According to these opinions, nothing is recorded in the Torah of what happened between the episode of the spies and Miriam's death (Numbers 20:1).

Dathan and Avaram...

See Numbers 26:9. See notes on Numbers 2:13. Aviram was a son of Palu and a grandson of Reuben (Numbers 26:5,8).

On son of Peleth

He did not stay with Korach and was therefore not killed (Sanhedrin 109b; Abarbanel; Midrash HaGadol on Numbers 16:32; Lekach Tov on Numbers 16:12).

representatives

See Numbers 1:16 (Tanchuma; Bachya).

assembly

(Targum). Or, 'Communion [Tent]' (Ibn Ezra); or, 'chosen counselors' (Septuagint).

famous

Literally, 'men of name.' See Genesis 6:4.

You have gone too far

Literally, 'Much to you.' May mean, 'You have taken too much upon yourself.' See Numbers, 16:7.

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible(2011)    .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B.          § 18. The Conspiracy against Moses under Korah, Dathan and Abram.

Chapter 16.

Then took^c Korah, son of Izharˎ son of Kohathˎ son of Levi,—and Dathan and Abiramˎ sons of Eliab, and Onˎ son of Pelethˎ sons^d of Reuben; and rose up before Moses, with certain men of the sons of Israelˎ two hundred and fifty,—princes of assemblyˎ called to the stated meetingˎ men of renown; and gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaronˎ and said unto themˎ

||Too much for you|| when ||all the assembly|| are ||all of them|| holy, and <in the midst of them> is Yahweh,—

Whereforeˎ thenˎ should ye set yourselves up, above the convocation of Yahweh?

^c G.t.: “The rose up…2yea rose up”—G.n.

^d Some cod. (w. Sam. and Sep.) have: “son”—G.n.

Updated ASV                         .

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  .

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            When Kore son of Issaar, son of Kaath, son of Levi, spoke, backed by Dathan and Abiron, the son of Eliab, and by Ami, son of Phaleth, son of Reuben; when they rose up against Moses, with two hundred and fifty men of the sons of Israel, leaders of the congregation, eminent for counsel and men of renown; when they rose in a body against Moses and Aaron, and said, Be it known to yon that the whole congregation are holy, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you set yourselves against the congregation of the Lord?

Context Group Version          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]: and they rose up before Moses, with certain of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown; and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You (pl) take too much on yourselves, for everyone in the entire congregation is special and YHWH is among them: why then do you (pl) lift up yourselves above the assembly of YHWH?

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    . presume

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        .

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  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, and they rose up before Moses, with other men from the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty rulers of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown, and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, You* take too much upon you*, since all the congregation are holy, every one of them and Jehovah is among them. Why then do you* lift up yourselves above the assembly of Jehovah?

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and Qorahh the son of Qehat the son of Lewi took, and Datan and Aviram the sons of Eli'av, and On the son of Pelet, the sons of Re'uven, and they rose to the face of Mosheh and the men of the sons of Yisra'eyl, two hundred and fifty, captains of the witness, selected ones of the appointed, men of the title, and they were assembled over Mosheh and over Aharon, and they said to them, it is abundant for you[928], given that all the company, all of them, are unique ones, and in their midst is YHWH, so why do you lift yourself up over the assembly of YHWH,...

928. This phrase has been interpreted to mean, “You have gone too far” or “Enough of you.”

Updated ASV                         Rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abram

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. And they rose up before Moses, with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty chieftains of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown; And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and Jehovah is among them: why then do you lift yourselves up above the assembly of Jehovah?”.

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young's Updated LT              .

The gist of this passage: 

Translation: And so takes Korah ben Izhar ben Kohath ben Levi...

Korah, the son of Izhar, comes from the Kohath branch of Levi. There were three branches of Levites: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Both Moses and Aaron were from the Kohath branch as well, if memory serves, and the priesthood was built upon the descendants of Aaron.

Korah has been building up a group of men who see him as a better leader than Moses and Aaron. The men whom Korah has gathered behind him are as follows:

Translation: ...and Dathan and Abiram, [both] sons of Eliab,...

There is Dathan and Abiram, both who are sons of Eliab. These men are likely brothers, but the wording allows from them to be cousins as well.

Translation: ...and On ben Peleth, [all] sons of Reuben.

A fellow named On ben Peleth is also among the leaders. Dathan, Abiram and On are all from the tribe of Reuben.

So we have a leadership council taken from two different tribes.

Korah knew that, in order to stand up to Moses and Aaron, he must have with him more than just family members.

Numbers 16:1 And so takes Korah ben Izhar ben Kohath ben Levi and Dathan and Abiram, [both] sons of Eliab, and On ben Peleth, [all] sons of Reuben. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Levi had three sons, Gershon, Kohath and Merari (Exodus 6:16 Numbers 3:17). Kohath had at least four notable descendants: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel (Exodus 6:18 Numbers 3:19, 27). Izar had three notable descendants: one of which was Korah (Exodus 6:21). The fact that Korah is mentioned as early on as Exodus 6 indicates that he headed a prominent family in Israel. Because of the ages given for Levi and Kohath (137 and 133 respectively; Exodus 6:16–17), we know that there must have been some intermediate generations (at least Aminadab, who fell between Kohath and Korah; 1Chronicles 6:22).

Dathan and Abiram (as well as Nemuel) were the descendants of Eliab, who was a descendant of Pallu, who was a descendant of Reuben (Numbers 26:7–9). On was a descendant of Peleth who was a descendant of Reuben (our passage). This is why all of them are called sons of Reuben. So we have one Levite and three Reubenites who are displeased with the leadership situation. Moses was a Levite and Korah will demand to know why he has such a position of power whereas, he, Korah, does not. The other three are from the first-born of Jacob and therefore should have leadership positions, but they do not. God promotes and demotes and they had not been promoted.

Translation: And so they rise up before Moses.

These men take a stand before Moses. This is more than a group of men who have come with a complaint. They are standing up in opposition to Moses.

Translation: And so [these] mortal men from the sons of Israel, two and fifty [of them],...

The word which emphasizes the sin nature is used here: ʾănâshîym (אֲנָשִים) [pronounced uh-NAW-sheem] means, men, mortals, mortal men, mankind; fallen men, depraved men, feeble men [liable to disease and calamity]; peons, hoi polloi, the great unwashed, rabble. Strong's #376 (& #582?) BDB #35 (& 60). The use of this word emphasizes their fallen nature. This is because they are in rebellion against Moses and Aaron; and therefore, they are in rebellion to God.

There are 250 men in all, with one leader and three who are second-in-command.

Translation: ...leaders of a congregation,...

These 250 fallen men are further described as leaders or princes of a congregation. If they were truly representative of all Israel, the words of the sons of Israel would have been added. However, these are leaders of a larger group, but not of all Israel.

Translation: ...chosen of an appointed meeting,...

These men were chosen to stand before Moses and Aaron at this particular meeting. There needed to be some heft. It cannot simply be four men standing before Moses and Aaron. So there are more who are there to back them up.

Translation: ...mortal men of renown.

These are mortal men, but men of reputation, men of a name, men of renown. So the 250 men are not whomever Korah could talk into standing in as backup. These were important men from the tribes of Levi and Reuben (at the very least).

Numbers 16:2 And so takes Korah ben Izhar ben Kohath ben Levi and Dathan and Abiram, [both] sons of Eliab, and On ben Peleth, [all] sons of Reuben. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

In their grumbling, much of the congregation of Israel met and chose men to represent them. This was a democratic form of a republic. The men of Israel chose their leaders, two hundred and fifty men, probably from all the tribes. Korah, Dathan, Abiram and On were likely leaders from the beginning. This kind of discontent must be fomented. Someone must stand before the crowd and begin talking. A mob will not act unless there is a leader to ignite them. Remove the leadership of the mob before it has a specific purpose and it will defuse itself. The choice of these four was likely an organic process—they stood up before the sons of Israel as leaders and incited the discontent which was already there. By virtue of their standing before Israel and inciting them to revolt, they were given popular support and chosen. Then Israel chose another two hundred and fifty men to accompany them and to represent the general congregation, since all two million could not go before Moses and Aaron.

What we are dealing with here is human celebrityship. These are the people that their tribe would have elected to represent them. They were personable and understanding, they had the right look; they were handsome and reasonably intelligent, but not too far above those they represented. They wouldn't have made the idolaters drink gold mixed with water. They were the people's choice. However, since they were not God's choice and since they opposed God's authority, they will die the sin unto death (Numbers 16:35). We would personally save ourselves a great deal of trouble if we did not oppose those placed in authority over us. We suffer discipline, lost time, pain and the continual pounding of our heads against walls because we oppose those that God set up in authority over us. Some even die the sin unto death for such opposition.

Translation: And so they are assembled against Moses and against Aaron,...

All of these men assembled in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They were there to do more than level a few complaints. Subtly, they are saying, “We are your replacements.”

Now recall that there are two generations at play at this point in time. That is, we discussed in some detail in Numbers 15 how we had moved at least twenty years into the future. See Numbers 15 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

There are two generations of men encamped in the desert-wilderness. There is Gen X and the generation of promise; the older and younger generations of Israelites who came out of Egypt. Together, they make up the Exodus generation (which term is sometimes used for the older generation and sometimes for the two generations combined).

The older generation, Gen X, failed. God brought them to the southern border of Judah (where the territory of Judah will someday be), and they were too afraid to proceed. This story is told to us in Numbers 13 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) and Numbers 14 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). All Israel has retreated back into the desert-wilderness. At this point, they are no longer wandering, but remaining in place. Maybe they move about some; maybe they don’t. Previously, their movements were extremely important, because God led them to the land of Canaan to take it. But they refused. They did not believe that God would champion them.

All Israel will remain in the desert-wilderness for an additional 38½ years (after they failed at the southern border of Judah), until all of Gen X dies out and is replaced by the generation of promise.

In this chapter, we are studying an example of a large-scale rebellion which takes place, which will result in the sin unto death for quite a large number of Gen X.

We could have called these generations by many names: Generation A and Generation B; Generation Alpha and Generation Beta; Israel 1.0 and Israel 2.0; generation losers and generation winners. It is not as important, the names which we assign to them today, but the concept that there are two generations here: a generation of loser believers who will die the sin unto death and a generation of winner believers who will walk into Canaan and take it.

We do know that these are all believers. The adults at the time of the Exodus were Gen X. They all believed in their God and they all left Egypt following Moses. No Hebrew family remained behind. However, despite all of the signs and wonders, this generation did not always believe Moses (meaning, they did not always believe God).

Those who believe in replacement theology—the idea that we in the church have replaced the Jewish people entirely and that they are no longer an entity of note—really needs to study these two generations. We could not have a worse group of people than Gen X. God says, at least twice in the Bible, I loathed that generation. God even told Moses, “Listen, I will kill every single Israelite and start out with you and your children. Are you in?” But Moses, acting as their advocate, acting as their mediator, explained why God could not simply abandon His people like that. “Listen, everyone knows that this is Your people, the people whom You have chosen. You can’t just kill them all. That reflects badly on You. It suggests that You don’t know what is going to happen.”

Now, for anyone who thinks that you replaced nation Israel, let me tell you three things: (1) You’re not all that; in fact, you don’t even understand the church and Israel, so God is not thinking, “I am so glad to choose the church over Israel!” You’re not all that and I am not all that. We are not examples of how good God’s second choice is. (2) If God did not kill all Israel but left a remnant of promise (the next generation), why do you think He is not doing the same thing today? (3) The book of Revelation tells us that Israel has a future in His plan.

Yes, Israel failed and Israel failed badly. God took them out under the fifth cycle of discipline in one of the most devastating massacres of history (the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70). But God has not abandoned His people. God did not make a mistake with choosing Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God did not make a mistake with having a peculiar people who come from that line. Temporarily, the church replaces Israel. Temporarily! Temporarily, only gentile nations can be client nations to God; and there are no Jewish nations which can be client nations to God. However, that will change. When the church is raptured, then God returns to nation Israel and again, He works through the Jewish people.

I do need to develop a doctrine of Gen X. Maybe in the 2^nd draft.

Translation: ...and so they say unto them, “[There is too] much [acclaim] to you (all),...

Apparently, of the leadership, several of these men speak. They literally say, “Much to you all.” This means, “You all think that you are a really big deal, but you are not. You think that you should be leading Israel, but think again. We should be in charge.”

Translation: ...for all the congregation—every one of them—[are] holy...

“All the congregation, every single one of them is holy, is set apart to God.” is the claim being made.

“We are all equal here; we are all sons of God. We have all been set apart to God. Moses, you are not special. Aaron, you are not special.”

Translation: ...and Y^ehowah [is] in their midst.

“You say that you represent Y^ehowah-Elohim? Jehovah Elohim is in their midst. He is just as much among the people in the camps as He is among you.

Korah can make a claim like this because, (1) it is partly true and (2) everyone is receiving bread from heaven (that is, manna). Manna is still a thing.

The claim being made is, “Since we are recipients of logistical grace, then we are equal standing to you. Now we want new and better leadership!”

Translation: So why do you lift yourselves up against the assembly of Yehowah?” (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Finally, they say, “Since God is among us, how do you think you can stand up against the assembly of Y^ehowah?”

Numbers 16:3 And so they are assembled against Moses and against Aaron, and so they say unto them, “[There is too] much [acclaim] to you (all), for all the congregation—every one of them—[are] holy and Y^ehowah [is] in their midst. So why do you lift yourselves up against the assembly of Yehowah?” (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Thieme paraphrased the sentiments of this mob several decades ago: "We're all equal, brother and you're no better than us. We all have a spark of divinity." The first thing that they say is ra^bv lakem! It is idiomatic—it was a popular colloquialism. Rab (רַב) [pronounced rah^bv] means many, much, great (in the sense of large, not acclaimed; Genesis 6:5 7:11 21:34 50:20 Exodus 19:21). This is followed by the prefixed preposition lâmed (to, for, in regard to) with the second person masculine plural. Literally, we have much for you [all]. We might interpret this as we have had too much of you, we have had enough of you, you have gone on long enough, you have gone too far, you are too much (spoken ironically).

We have a similar idiomatic usage in Genesis 45:28 Exodus 9:28 Numbers 16:7. The second use of this phrase indicates that it may have been a rallying call; a slogan for this campaign). "Too much of you! Too much of you!" the crowd screams. This idiom expresses great dissatisfaction with Moses and Aaron as leaders. There are many great leaders in the past who faced a lot of negative public sentiment—Churchill, MacArthur, Cæsar. Insofar as these people are concerned, the reign of Moses and Aaron has gone on long enough. They have the greatest leaders in all of history standing before them and they want a recall. That is pure degeneracy.

What we have here is Satan's favorite trick; it is a mixture of truth and lies. It is true that Y^ehowah is in the congregation of Israel. It is true that Israel is set apart from all the other nations of the earth. However, Moses did not exalt himself above all the congregation—this is a position which God has assigned him. Furthermore, it is God's purpose to have a system of authority in place, and that authority begins with Moses. The person who opposes this authority opposes God.

Do you think that Communism is something new? Do you think a republican form of government is new? We are 1400 years prior to the birth of our Lord and we have both the seed of Communism and the seed of a republic. Moses and Aaron were in authority over two million people. Those in rebellion reasoned that they were all equal in God's sight. God was with them as well as with Moses and Aaron; so there was no reason for Moses and Aaron to hold positions of authority over them. They reasoned that they were all brothers under the skin, they all had the same God, and they all had the same authority. The chief difference was these men were the people's choice.

Korah is the actual ring leader of this rebellion. He is the primary leader. He is rebelling against God's elect, against the man chosen specifically by God to lead the Jews. He is rebelling against the man who has stood in the gap between God and Israel and has delivered Israel from God's wrath several times. But these men revile the things which they do not understand and [they revile] the things which they know by instinct—like unreasoning animals. By these things they are destroyed. Woe to them, for they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and they have perished in the rebellion of Korah (Jude 10–11).

Korah's motives are clearly delineated in what he has said. He desires the power and authority exercised by Moses and Aaron. Although the Kohathites, Korah's family, were in charge of the tabernacle, there was no place of leadership for him—in fact, the leadership of the four families of the Kohathites was entrusted to the youngest of the family heads, Uzziel and his family. This had certainly burned in Korah's craw for a long time. He had been seething with mental attitude sins and evil thoughts and now, since the Jews were back in the desert, he had his opportunity to complain and to grab a position of leadership. No doubt, he would just as soon turn the Israelites around and head back into the land. Korah was not able to entice many Levites to follow him (and perhaps he did not want to) so he appealed to the tribe contiguous to his tribe, the Reubenites. Now they belonged to the tribe of the first born of Jacob, and they also had a reason to be disaffected. They should be rulers over Israel. If they were running the show, as well they should be, then they would be back in the land enjoying its milk and honey. In their minds, they were less than enthralled by the desert wandering, and it seemed unjust to them to take a back seat with regards to leadership to the family of Moses and Aaron.

Numbers 16:1–3 And so takes Korah ben Izhar ben Kohath ben Levi and Dathan and Abiram, [both] sons of Eliab, and On ben Peleth, [all] sons of Reuben. And so they rise up before Moses. And so [these] mortal men from the sons of Israel, two and fifty [of them], leaders of a congregation, chosen of an appointed meeting, mortal men of renown. And so they are assembled against Moses and against Aaron, and so they say unto them, “[There is too] much [acclaim] to you (all), for all the congregation—every one of them—[are] holy and Y^ehowah [is] in their midst. So why do you lift yourselves up against the assembly of Yehowah?” (Kukis mostly literal translation)

From time to time, Moses found his authority challenged. This is a significant challenge, but probably not the only one which Moses faced during his tenure as God’s man in authority.

Numbers 16:1–3 Korah, the son of Izhar, from the Kohath branch of the Levites, along with Dathan and Abiram (both of them sons of Eliab) and On (son of Peleth), all three of them from the tribe of Reuben—all four of these men take a stand against Moses. With them are 250 other men, leaders of the congregation, chosen to take a stand during this meeting, men of renown. As they assemble against Moses and Aaron, they say this, “You both think far too much of yourselves! You are not all that! Every single person of this congregation is set apart to God. Jehovah Elohim lives among them. So where do you get off exalting yourselves in opposition to this assembly of Jehovah?” (Kukis paraphrase)

——————————

Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so listens Moses and so he falls upon faces of him. And so he speaks unto Qorach and unto all a company of him, to say, “Morning and will cause to know, Y^ehowah, who [is] to Him and [who is] the holy one, and He has caused to approach unto Him and whom He will choose in Him, He will cause to approach unto Him. This you (all) do: take to you (all) fire holders, Qorach and all a company of him. And so you (all) give in them fire and you (all) place upon them incense to faces of Y^ehowah tomorrow. And so was the man whom chooses Y^ehowah, he [is] the holy (one). Much to you (all), sons of Levi.”

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Targum (Onkelos)                  .

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Aramaic Targum                    .

The Psalms Targum              .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) When Moses heard this, he fell flat on his face:

And speaking to Core and all the multitude, he said: In the morning the Lord will make known who belong to him, and the holy he will join to himself: and whom he shall choose, they shall approach to him.

Do this therefore: Take every man of you your censers, thou Core, and all thy company.

And putting fire in them to morrow, put incense upon it before the Lord: and whomsoever he shall choose, the same shall be holy: you take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        When Mosha heard it, he fell on his face:

and he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, "In the morning Mar-Yah 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.

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

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

Original Aramaic Psalms        .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           And when Moses heard [it], he fell upon his face:

And he spake unto Korah 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, Korah, and all his company;

And put fire therein, and put 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 Levi.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And when Moses heard it, he fell on his face.

And he spoke to Korah and all his assembly, saying, God has visited and known those that are His and who are holy, and has brought them to Himself; and whom He has chosen for Himself, He has brought to Himself.

Therefore do this: take to yourselves censers, Korah and all his company;

and put fire on them, and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow; and it shall come to pass that the man whom the Lord has chosen, he shall be holy: let it be enough for you, you sons of Levi.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And Moses, hearing this, went down on his face; 

And he said to Korah and his band, In the morning the Lord will make clear who are his, and who is holy, and who may come near him: the man of his selection will be caused to come near him. 

So do this: let Korah and all his band take vessels for burning perfumes; 

And put spices on the fire in them before the Lord tomorrow; then the man marked out by the Lord will be holy: you take overmuch on yourselves, you sons of Levi.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  When Moses heard this, he bowed his face to the ground to show he was not being proud. Then Moses said to Korah and all his followers, "Tomorrow morning the LORD will show who belongs to him. He will show who is holy, and he will bring that man near to him. He will choose him and bring that man near to him. So Korah, you and all your followers should do this: Tomorrow put fire and incense in some special pans. Then bring those pans before the LORD. He will choose the man who is holy. You Levites have gone too far--you are wrong!"

God’s Word™                         As soon as Moses heard this, he bowed with his face touching the ground. Then he said to Korah and all his followers, "In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him, who is holy, and who it is that he will allow to come near him. Only the person the LORD chooses will be allowed to come near him. Korah, you and all your followers must do this tomorrow: Take incense burners, and put burning coals and incense in them in the LORD'S presence. Then the LORD will choose the man who is holy. You've gone far enough!"

Good News Bible (TEV)         When Moses heard this, he threw himself on the ground and prayed. Then he said to Korah and his followers, "Tomorrow morning the LORD will show us who belongs to him; he will let the one who belongs to him, that is, the one he has chosen, approach him at the altar. Tomorrow morning you and your followers take fire pans, put live coals and incense on them, and take them to the altar. Then we will see which of us the LORD has chosen. You Levites are the ones who have gone too far!"

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       When Moses heard this, he knelt down to pray. Then he said to Korah and his followers: Tomorrow morning the LORD will show us the person he has chosen to be his priest, and that man will faithfully serve him. Korah, now here is what you and your followers must do: Get some fire pans, fill them with coals and incense, and place them near the sacred tent. And the man the LORD chooses will be his priest. Korah, this time you Levites have gone too far!

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

The Passion Translation        .

Unfolding Bible Simplified      When Moses heard what they were saying, he prostrated himself on the ground. Then he said to Korah and those who were with Korah, "Tomorrow morning Yahweh will show to us whom he has chosen to be his priest, and who is holy and allowed to come near to him. Yahweh will permit only those whom he chooses to come into his presence. So Korah, tomorrow you and those who are with you must prepare your pans to burn incense. Then you must light a fire in them and burn the incense in the presence of Yahweh. Then we will see which one of us Yahweh has chosen to be his holy servant. It is you men who are descendants of Levi who are trying to use more authority than you should!"

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Berean Study Bible                .

Christian Standard Bible        .

Conservapedia Translation    .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                 .

International Standard V        .

H. C. Leupold                         .

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    .

Urim-Thummim Version         And when Moses heard it he fell on his face. And he spoke to Korah and to all his company saying, Tomorrow morning YHWH will show who are his and who is set apart, and who may present offerings to him. The one who YHWH chooses may present them. Do this, take fire-holders, Korah and all his company, and put fire and incense in them before YHWH tomorrow, and it will be that the man who YHWH will choose will be set apart. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi.

Wikipedia Bible Project          .

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  When Moses, heard this, he threw himself face downward on the ground. Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning Yahweh will make known who belongs to him, and who is consecrated to him and may approach him. He himself will let the one he has chosen approach.” You Korah with all your followers, take your censers tomorrow. Then you will fill them with burning coals and put incense in them before Yahweh, and Yahweh will indicate the one who is holy. Sons of Levi, you have gone too far!” 16:7

New American Bible (2011)   .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989   .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

Eth Cepher Bible                    And when Mosheh heard it, he fell upon his face: And he spoke unto Qorach and unto all his company, saying, Even tomorrow Yahuah will show who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he has chosen will he cause to come near unto him.  This do; Take you censers, Qorach, and all his company; And put fire therein, and put incense in them before Yahuah tomorrow: and it shall be that the man whom Yahuah chooses, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Leviy.

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Kaplan Translation                 .

The Scriptures–2009              And when Mosheh heard, he fell on his face, and spoke to Qora and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning יהוה shall make known who is His and who is set-apart, and bring him near to Him. And let Him bring near to Him the one whom He chooses. 

“Do this: Take fire holders, Qora and all your company, and put fire in them and put incense in them before יהוה tomorrow. And it shall be that the one whom יהוה chooses is the set-apart one. Enough of you, sons of Lěwi!”

Tree of Life Version                When Moses heard this, he fell on his face. Then he said to Korah and all his following saying, “In the morning Adonai will reveal who is His and who is holy. The one whom He will let come near to Him will be the one He chooses to come near to Him. Do this, Korah and your whole following! Take for yourselves censers. Put fire and incense into them in the presence of Adonai. Tomorrow the man that Adonai chooses will be the holy one! You sons of Levi are the ones who have gone too far!”

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            AND WHEN MOSES HEARD IT, HE FELL ON HIS FACE.

AND HE SPOKE TO CORE AND ALL HIS ASSEMBLY, SAYING, “THEOS (The Alpha & Omega) HAS VISITED AND KNOWN THOSE THAT ARE HIS AND WHO ARE HOLY, AND HAS BROUGHT THEM TO HIMSELF; AND WHOM HE HAS CHOSEN FOR HIMSELF, HE HAS BROUGHT TO HIMSELF.

THIS DO YE: TAKE TO YOURSELVES CENSERS, CORE AND ALL HIS COMPANY;

AND PUT FIRE ON THEM, AND PUT INCENSE ON THEM BEFORE JESUS TOMORROW; AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT THE MAN WHOM JESUS HAS CHOSEN, HE SHALL BE HOLY: LET IT BE ENOUGH FOR YOU, YOU SONS OF LEVI.”

Awful Scroll Bible                   As Moses was to hear them he was to fall on his face.

He was to speak to Korah and his audience, to the intent: "In the morning, before Sustains To Become were we to learn who is set apart, even is he to have drawn near; he who was chosen was to draw near.

You was to prepare this: be taking fire pans, Korah, and his audience, even be putting fire in them, and be placing incense in them turned before Sustains To Become tomorrow; the man Sustains To Become was to choose is to be he set apart. You exceed yourselves, sons of Levi!"

Concordant Literal Version    .

exeGeses companion Bible   And Mosheh hears, and falls on his face:

and he words to Qorach and to all his witness,

saying, On the morrow

Yah Veh knows who are his and who is holy;

and has him approach

- even him whom he chooses to approach him.

Work this; Take trays,

Qorach and all his witness;

and give fire therein and put incense therein

at the face of Yah Veh tomorrow:

and so be it,

the man whom Yah Veh chooses, he is holy:

you are too much, you sons of Levi.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And when Moshe heard it, he fell upon his face;

And he spoke unto Korach and unto all his edah, saying, In the boker Hashem will show who are His, and who is the kadosh; 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 fire pans, Korach, and all his edah;

And put eish therein, put ketoret in them before Hashem tomorrow; it shall be that the man whom Hashem doth choose, he shall be haKadosh; ye take too much upon you, ye Bnei Levi.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. And <when Moses heard it> he fell upon his face.

    Then spake he unto Korah, and unto all his assemblyˎ saying,

<In the morning> will Yahweh make known— who are his, and who is the holy oneˎ and will cause him to come near unto himself,—yea <him whom he shall choose> will he cause to come near unto himself.

||This|| do,—

Take to you censers, Korahˎ and all his assembly; and place therein fire, and put thereon incenseˎ before Yahwehˎ to-morrow,

So shall it be—that <the man whom Yahweh shall choose> ||he|| shall be the holy one. Too much for youˎ ye sons of Levi!

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

International Standard V        When Moses heard this, he fell on his face. Then he addressed Korah and his entire company, “In the morning, may the Lord reveal who belongs to him and who is holy. May he cause that person [Lit. him] to approach him. May he cause to approach him the one whom he has chosen. Korah, you and your entire company are to bring censers and put fire and incense in them in the Lord’s presence tomorrow. It will be that the man whom the Lord chooses will be holy. You’re taking too much for yourselves, you descendants of Levi.”

Kretzmann’s Commentary    

Lexham English Bible            When Moses heard this , he fell on his face. And he said to Korah and to his entire company, saying, “Tomorrow morning Yahweh will make known who is his and who is holy, and he will bring him near to him, whomever he chooses he will bring near to him. Do this: take for yourselves censers, Korah and all of your company; [Hebrew “his company”] tomorrow put fire in them and place incense on them before [Literally “in the presence of”] Yahweh; the man whom Yahweh chooses will be the holy one . You take too much upon yourselves, sons of Levi!”

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 When Moses heard this, he threw himself on his face.

Then he spoke to Korach and his whole party. '[Tomorrow] morning,' he said, 'God [will show that He] knows who is His and who is holy, and He will bring them close to Him. He shall choose those who shall [be allowed to] present [offerings] to Him.

'This is what you must do: Let Korach and his entire party take fire pans.

Tomorrow, place fire on them and offer incense on them before God. The man whom God chooses shall then be the holy one. You sons of Levi have [also] gone too far!'

Tomorrow morning

(Targum; Rashi). Or, 'God has examined and knows...' (Septuagint).

will show...

(cf. Targum; HaKethav VeHaKabbalah).

He will bring them close...

(Targum; Tanchuma; Rashi). Or, 'and he can present offerings to Him (Targum Yonathan; Sforno; Septuagint).

present offerings

(Targum).

fire pans

See Exodus 27:3, Leviticus 10:1, 16:12.

fire

From the altar (Ralbag).

incense

The regular incense described in Exodus 30:34-36 (BeMidbar Rabbah 18:7; Tanchuma 5; Ralbag). According to others, however, it was a simple incense spice, such as frankincense (Targum according to Ramban).

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible (2011)   .

New Catholic Bible                 .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Updated ASV                         And when Moses heard it, he fell on his face, and he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, “In the morning Jehovah will show who are his,[84] and who is holy, and will bring him near to him, even him whom he shall choose he will bring near to him. Do this: take for yourselves fire holders, Korah and all of your company; and put fire in them, and put incense upon them before Jehovah tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom Jehovah does choose, he shall be holy. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!”

[84] LXX has “God has carefully examined and knows those who are his” The LXX reading seems to be the one Paul followed in 2 Tim 2:19.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  . daybreak

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            Moses, upon hearing this, fell on his face, and spoke to Kore, and to all his company, saying, God hath seen and known who are his, and who are holy, and hath brought them near to himself. Even those whom he chose he hath brought near to himself. Do this. Take for yourself censers, thou Kore, and all you his company; and put fire therein, and lay incense thereon before the Lord to-morrow. And let the man whom the Lord hath chosen be the holy man. Let this suffice you, ye sons of Levi.

Context Group Version          And when Moses heard it, he fell on his face: and he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, In the morning YHWH will show who are his, and who is special, and will cause him to come near to him: even him whom he shall choose he will cause to come near to him. Do this: you (pl) take censers, Korah, and all his company; and put fire in them, and put incense on them before YHWH tomorrow: and it shall be that the man whom YHWH chooses, he [shall be] special: you (pl) take too much on yourselves, you (pl) sons of Levi.

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    .

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        . congregation

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face. And he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, In the morning Jehovah will show who are his and who is holy and will cause him to come near to him, even him whom he will choose he will cause to come near to him.
This do: You* take censers, Korah and all his company, and put fire in them and put incense upon them before Jehovah tomorrow. And it will be that the man whom Jehovah chooses, he is holy. You* take too much upon you*, you* sons of Levi.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Owen's Translation                .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and Mosheh heard, and he fell upon his face, and he spoke to Qorahh and to all his company saying, morning, and YHWH will make known who is for him and who is unique, and he will bring him near and who he will choose with him, he will bring near to him. Do this, take for yourself firepans, Qorahh and all his company, and place in them fire, and they will place upon them incense smoke to the face of YHWH tomorrow, and the man that YHWH will choose will exist, he is the unique one, it is abundant for you[930] sons of Lewi,...

930. This phrase has been interpreted to mean, “You have gone too far” or “Enough of you.”

Updated ASV                         .

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .