1 Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites —Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth —became insolent [^1]2 and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly?"4 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers: "In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him.6 You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers7 and tomorrow put burning coals and incense in them before the LORD. The man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!"8 Moses also said to Korah, "Now listen, you Levites!9 Isn't it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the LORD's tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?10 He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.11 It is against the LORD that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?"12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, "We will not come!13 Isn't it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you also want to lord it over us!14 Moreover, you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to treat these men like slaves "? No, we will not come!"15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, "Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them."16 Moses said to Korah, "You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow —you and they and Aaron.17 Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it —250 censers in all —and present it before the LORD. You and Aaron are to present your censers also."18 So each of them took his censer, put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting.19 When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire assembly.20 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,21 "Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once."22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?"23 Then the LORD said to Moses,24 "Say to the assembly, 'Move away from the tents 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 assembly, "Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins."27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents.28 Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea:29 If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me.30 But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt."31 As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions.33 They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.34 At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, "The earth is going to swallow us too!"35 And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.36 The LORD said to Moses,37 "Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy —38 the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the LORD and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites."39 So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar,40 as the LORD directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the LORD, or he would become like Korah and his followers.41 The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. "You have killed the LORD's people," they said.42 But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared.43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting,44 and the LORD said to Moses,45 "Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." And they fell facedown.46 Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has started."47 So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them.48 He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.49 But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped. [^3]

1 واخذ قورح بن يصهار بن قهات بن لاوي وداثان وابيرام ابنا اليآب واون بن فالت بنو رأوبين2 يقاومون موسى مع اناس من بني اسرائيل مئتين وخمسين رؤساء الجماعة مدعوّين للاجتماع ذوي اسم.3 فاجتمعوا على موسى وهرون وقالوا لهما كفاكما. ان كل الجماعة باسرها مقدسة وفي وسطها الرب. فما بالكما ترتفعان على جماعة الرب4 فلما سمع موسى سقط على وجهه.5 ثم كلم قورح وجميع قومه قائلا غدا يعلن الرب من هو له ومن المقدس حتى يقرّبه اليه. فالذي يختاره يقرّبه اليه.6 افعلوا هذا. خذوا لكم مجامر. قورح وكل جماعته.7 واجعلوا فيها نارا وضعوا عليها بخورا امام الرب غدا. فالرجل الذي يختاره الرب هو المقدس. كفاكم يا بني لاوي.8 وقال موسى لقورح اسمعوا يا بني لاوي.9 أقليل عليكم ان اله اسرائيل افرزكم من جماعة اسرائيل ليقرّبكم اليه لكي تعملوا خدمة مسكن الرب وتقفوا قدام الجماعة لخدمتها.10 فقرّبك وجميع اخوتك بني لاوي معك وتطلبون ايضا كهنوتا.11 اذن انت وكل جماعتك متفقون على الرب. واما هرون فما هو حتى تتذمّروا عليه.12 فارسل موسى ليدعو داثان وابيرام ابني اليآب. فقالا لا نصعد.13 أقليل انك اصعدتنا من ارض تفيض لبنا وعسلا لتميتنا في البرية حتى تترأس علينا ترؤسا.14 كذلك لم تأت بنا الى ارض تفيض لبنا وعسلا ولا اعطيتنا نصيب حقول وكروم. هل تقلع اعين هؤلاء القوم. لا نصعد15 فاغتاظ موسى جدا وقال للرب لا تلتفت الى تقدمتهما. حمارا واحدا لم آخذ منهم ولا اسأت الى احد منهم.16 وقال موسى لقورح كن انت وكل جماعتك امام الرب انت وهم وهرون غدا17 وخذوا كل واحد مجمرته واجعلوا فيها بخورا وقدّموا امام الرب كل واحد مجمرته. مئتين وخمسين مجمرة. وانت وهرون كل واحد مجمرته.18 فاخذوا كل واحد مجمرته وجعلوا فيها نارا ووضعوا عليها بخورا ووقفوا لدى باب خيمة الاجتماع مع موسى وهرون.19 وجمع عليهما قورح كل الجماعة الى باب خيمة الاجتماع فتراءى مجد الرب لكل الجماعة20 وكلم الرب موسى وهرون قائلا21 افترزا من بين هذه الجماعة فاني افنيهم في لحظة.22 فخرّا على وجهيهما وقالا اللهمّ اله ارواح جميع البشر هل يخطئ رجل واحد فتسخط على كل الجماعة.23 فكلم الرب موسى قائلا24 كلم الجماعة قائلا اطلعوا من حوالي مسكن قورح وداثان وابيرام25 فقام موسى وذهب الى داثان وابيرام وذهب وراءه شيوخ اسرائيل.26 فكلم الجماعة قائلا اعتزلوا عن خيام هؤلاء القوم البغاة ولا تمسوا شيئا مما لهم لئلا تهلكوا بجميع خطاياهم.27 فطلعوا من حوالي مسكن قورح وداثان وابيرام وخرج داثان وابيرام ووقفا في باب خيمتيهما مع نسائهما وبنيهما واطفالهما.28 فقال موسى بهذا تعلمون ان الرب قد ارسلني لاعمل كل هذه الاعمال وانها ليست من نفسي.29 ان مات هؤلاء كموت كل انسان واصابتهم مصيبة كل انسان فليس الرب قد ارسلني.30 ولكن ان ابتدع الرب بدعة وفتحت الارض فاها وابتلعتهم وكل ما لهم فهبطوا احياء الى الهاوية تعلمون ان هؤلاء القوم قد ازدروا بالرب31 فلما فرغ من التكلم بكل هذا الكلام انشقت الارض التي تحتهم32 وفتحت الارض فاها وابتلعتهم وبيوتهم وكل من كان لقورح مع كل الاموال.33 فنزلوا هم وكل ما كان لهم احياء الى الهاوية وانطبقت عليهم الارض فبادوا من بين الجماعة.34 وكل اسرائيل الذين حولهم هربوا من صوتهم. لانهم قالوا لعل الارض تبتلعنا.35 وخرجت نار من عند الرب واكلت المئتين والخمسين رجلا الذين قرّبوا البخور36 ثم كلّم الرب موسى قائلا37 قل لألعازار بن هرون الكاهن ان يرفع المجامر من الحريق واذر النار هناك فانهنّ قد تقدّسن38 مجامر هؤلاء المخطئين ضد نفوسهم فليعملوها صفائح مطروقة غشاء للمذبح لانهم قد قدّموها امام الرب فتقدّست. فتكون علامة لبني اسرائيل.39 فاخذ ألعازار الكاهن مجامر النحاس التي قدمها المحترقون وطرقوها غشاء للمذبح40 تذكارا لبني اسرائيل لكي لا يقترب رجل اجنبي ليس من نسل هرون ليبخّر بخورا امام الرب فيكون مثل قورح وجماعته كما كلّمه الرب عن يد موسى41 فتذمّر كل جماعة بني اسرائيل في الغد على موسى وهرون قائلين انتما قد قتلتما شعب الرب.42 ولما اجتمعت الجماعة على موسى وهرون انصرفا الى خيمة الاجتماع واذ هي قد غطّتها السحابة وتراءى مجد الرب.43 فجاء موسى وهرون الى قدام خيمة الاجتماع.44 فكلّم الرب موسى قائلا45 اطلعا من وسط هذه الجماعة فاني افنيهم بلحظة. فخرّا على وجهيهما.46 ثم قال موسى لهرون خذ المجمرة واجعل فيها نارا من على المذبح وضع بخورا واذهب بها مسرعا الى الجماعة وكفّر عنهم لان السخط قد خرج من قبل الرب. قد ابتدأ الوبأ.47 فاخذ هرون كما قال موسى وركض الى وسط الجماعة واذا الوبأ قد ابتدأ في الشعب فوضع البخور وكفّر عن الشعب.48 ووقف بين الموتى والاحياء فامتنع الوبأ.49 فكان الذين ماتوا بالوبأ اربعة عشر الفا وسبع مئة عدا الذين ماتوا بسبب قورح.50 ثم رجع هرون الى موسى الى باب خيمة الاجتماع والوبأ قد امتنع