Holman Christian Standard Bible (48 page)

22
 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You vent Your wrath on the whole community? ” 

23
 The
Lord
replied to Moses,
24
 “Tell the community: Get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

25
 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26
 He warned the community, “Get away now from the tents of these wicked men. Don't touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”
27
 So they got away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents with their wives, children, and infants.

28
 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the
Lord
sent me to do all these things and that it was not of my own will:
29
 If these men die naturally as all people would, and suffer the fate of all, then the
Lord
has not sent me.
30
 But if the
Lord
brings about something unprecedented, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them along with all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into
•Sheol
, then you will know that these men have despised the
Lord
.”

31
 Just as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open.
32
 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah's people, and all their possessions.
33
 They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.
34
 At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, “The earth may swallow us too! ”
35
 Fire also came out from the
Lord
and consumed the 250 men who were presenting the incense. 

36
 Then the
Lord
spoke to Moses:
37
 “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the firepans from the burning debris, because they are holy, and scatter the fire far away.
38
 As for the firepans of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, make them into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, for they presented them before the
Lord
, and the firepans are holy. They will be a sign to the Israelites.”

39
 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze firepans that those who were burned had presented, and they were hammered into plating for the altar,
40
 just as the
Lord
commanded him through Moses. It was to be a reminder for the Israelites that no unauthorized person outside the lineage of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the
Lord
 and become like Korah and his followers.

41
 The next day the entire Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the
Lord
's people! ”
42
 When the community assembled against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the
Lord
's glory appeared.

43
 Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting,
44
 and the
Lord
said to Moses,
45
 “Get away from this community so that I may consume them instantly.” But they fell facedown.

46
 Then Moses told Aaron, “Take your firepan, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the community and make
•atonement
for them, because wrath has come from the
Lord
; the plague has begun.”
47
 So Aaron took his firepan as Moses had ordered, ran into the middle of the assembly, and saw that the plague had begun among the people. After he added incense, he made atonement for the people.
48
 He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was halted.
49
 But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who died because of the Korah incident.
50
 Aaron then returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, since the plague had been halted. 

Numbers

Chapter 17 

Aaron's Staff Chosen

1
The
Lord
instructed Moses:
2
 “Speak to the Israelites and take one staff from them for each ancestral house, 12 staffs from all the leaders of their ancestral houses. Write each man's name on his staff.
3
 Write Aaron's name on Levi's staff, because there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral house.
4
 Then place them in the tent of meeting in front of the
•testimony
where I meet with you.
5
 The staff of the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid Myself of the Israelites' complaints that they have been making about you.”

6
 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff, one for each of the leaders of their ancestral houses, 12 staffs in all. Aaron's staff was among them.
7
 Moses placed the staffs before the
Lord
in the tent of the testimony.

8
 The next day Moses entered the tent of the testimony and saw that Aaron's staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted, formed buds, blossomed, and produced almonds!
9
 Moses then brought out all the staffs from the
Lord
's presence to all the Israelites. They saw them, and each man took his own staff.
10
 The
Lord
told Moses, “Put Aaron's staff back in front of the testimony to be kept as a sign for the rebels, so that you may put an end to their complaints before Me, or else they will die.”
11
 So Moses did as the
Lord
commanded him.

12
 Then the Israelites declared to Moses, “Look, we're perishing! We're lost; we're all lost!
13
 Anyone who comes near the
Lord
's tabernacle will die. Will we all perish? ”

Numbers

Provision for the Priesthood

18
The
Lord
said to Aaron, “You, your sons, and your ancestral house will be responsible for sin against the sanctuary. You and your sons will be responsible for sin involving your priesthood.
2
 But also bring your relatives with you from the tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, so they may join you and assist you and your sons in front of the tent of the
•testimony
. 
3
 They are to perform duties for you and for the whole tent. They must not come near the sanctuary equipment or the altar; otherwise, both they and you will die.
4
 They are to join you and guard the tent of meeting, doing all the work at the tent, but no unauthorized person may come near you.

5
 “You are to guard the sanctuary and the altar so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again. 
6
 Look, I have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift for you, assigned by the
Lord
to work at the tent of meeting.
7
 But you and your sons will carry out your priestly responsibilities for everything concerning the altar and for what is inside the veil, and you will do that work. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but an unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary will be put to death.”

Support for the Priests and Levites

8
 Then the
Lord
spoke to Aaron, “Look, I have put you in charge of the contributions brought to Me. As for all the holy offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute. 
9
 A portion of the holiest offerings kept from the fire will be yours; every one of their offerings that they give Me, whether the
•grain
offering,
•sin
offering, or
•restitution
offering will be most holy for you and your sons.
10
 You are to eat it as a most holy offering. Every male may eat it; it is to be holy to you.

11
 “The contribution of their gifts also belongs to you. I have given all the Israelites' presentation offerings to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially
•clean
person in your house may eat it.
12
 I am giving you all the best of the fresh olive oil, new wine, and grain, which the Israelites give to the
Lord
as their
•firstfruits
.
13
 The firstfruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the
Lord
, belong to you. Every clean person in your house may eat them.

14
 “Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the
Lord
 belongs to you.
15
 The firstborn of every living thing, man or animal, presented to the
Lord
belongs to you. But you must certainly redeem the firstborn of man, and redeem the firstborn of an
•unclean
animal.
16
 You will pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your assessment: five
•shekels
of silver by the standard sanctuary shekel, which is 20
gerahs
. 

17
 “However, you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a fire offering for a pleasing aroma to the
Lord
.
18
 But their meat belongs to you. It belongs to you like the breast of the presentation offering and the right thigh.

19
 “I give to you and to your sons and daughters all the holy contributions that the Israelites present to the
Lord
as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the
Lord
for you as well as your
•offspring
.”

20
 The
Lord
told Aaron, “You will not have an inheritance in their land; there will be no portion among them for you. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites. 

21
 “Look, I have given the Levites every tenth in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the work of the tent of meeting.
22
 The Israelites must never again come near the tent of meeting, or they will incur
•guilt
and die.
23
 The Levites will do the work of the tent of meeting, and they will bear the consequences of their sin. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations.
24
 For I have given them the tenth that the Israelites present to the
Lord
as a contribution for their inheritance. That is why I told them that they would not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.”

25
 The
Lord
instructed Moses,
26
 “Speak to the Levites and tell them: When you receive from the Israelites the tenth that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the
Lord
 — a tenth of the tenth.
27
 Your offering will be credited to you as if it were your grain from the threshing floor or the full harvest from the winepress.
28
 You are to present an offering to the
Lord
from every tenth you receive from the Israelites. Give some of it to Aaron the priest as an offering to the
Lord
.
29
 You must present the entire offering due the
Lord
from all your gifts. The best part of the tenth  is to be consecrated.

30
 “Tell them further: Once you have presented the best part of the tenth, and it is credited to you Levites as the produce of the threshing floor or the winepress,
31
 then you and your household may eat it anywhere. It is your wage in return for your work at the tent of meeting.
32
 You will not incur guilt because of it once you have presented the best part of it, but you must not defile the Israelites' holy offerings, so that you will not die.”

Numbers

Purification Ritual

19
The
Lord
spoke to Moses and Aaron,
2
 “This is the legal statute that the
Lord
has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red cow that has no defect and has never been yoked. 
3
 Give it to Eleazar the priest, and he will have it brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.
4
 Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting.
5
 The cow must be burned in his sight. Its hide, flesh, and blood, are to be burned along with its dung.
6
 The priest is to take cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson yarn, and throw them onto the fire where the cow is burning.
7
 Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will remain ceremonially
•unclean
until evening.
8
 The one who burned the cow must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he will remain unclean until evening.

9
 “A man who is
•clean
is to gather up the cow's ashes and deposit them outside the camp in a ceremonially clean place. The ashes must be kept by the Israelite community for preparing the water to remove impurity; it is a
•sin
offering. 
10
 Then the one who gathers up the cow's ashes must wash his clothes, and he will remain unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the foreigner who resides among them.