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Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
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Commentary & Explanation
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Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
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CHAPTER 16
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and 250 leaders rebel and seek priestly
offices—Earth swallows the three rebels and their families—Fire
from the Lord consumes the 250 rebels—Israel murmurs against Moses
and Aaron for slaying the people—The Lord sends a plague, from which
14,700 die.
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1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son
of Levi, and aDathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On,
the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
2 And they arose 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:
3 And they gathered themselves together against
aMoses 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 bamong them: wherefore
then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the
LORD?a
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3a lift ye up yourselves above the
congregation of the LORD? They came to acuse Moses and Aaron with
the charge that they had lifted themselves up above the 'congregation of the
LORD' of which the LORD was a member of. Yet in the accusation, they did
fail to grasp the situation that the 'LORD' had raised Moses up as the
Prophet of God and Aaron as his servant in the priesthood service of the
LORD. Often this is the error that those who would find fault with the LORD's
anointed, they themselves have raised themselves up as 'the representative
of the people or even the LORD' when in fact nothing but themselves has
given them raise to take such an action. These usurpers to the position of
the anointed of the LORD would soon find out just what the reward would be
to them for usurbing over the authority of the LORD by pretending to be the
voice of the LORD when they were not. This is the danger which any such
apostate takes upon themselves when they oppose the anointed of the LORD,
those whom the LORD has placed in their positions of the proper authoritative
leadership of the LORD's congregation. A number of early church members of
the latter day church did take this position upon themselves to stand
against the Lord's anointed, even Joseph Smith the prophet called of God. The
situation in principle was much the same as this with Moses and Aaron. Give
a man a little authority and he often tends to over step it by attaching
even those who are the Lord's true source of it.
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4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
5 And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company,
saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who
is aholy; and will cause him to come near unto
him: even him whom he hath bchosen will he cause to
ccome near unto him.
6 This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
7 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.
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8 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
9 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that
the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to
bring you near to himself to do the aservice of the
tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto
them?
10 And he hath brought thee near to him, and
all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the
apriesthood also?
11 For which cause both thou and all thy
company are gathered together aagainst the LORD: and
what is Aaron, that ye bmurmur against him?
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12 ¶ And Moses sent to call
aDathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will
not come up:
13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought
us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the
wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a aprince
over us?
14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
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15 And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD,
aRespect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass
from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
16 And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:
17 And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.
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18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.
19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
20 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
21 aSeparate yourselves from among
this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God,
the aGod of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin,
and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
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23 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up
from about the atabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
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26 And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah,
Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood
in the door of their atents, and their wives, and their
sons, and their little children.
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28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD
hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of
mine own amind.
29 If these men die the common death of all men, or
if they be visited aafter the visitation of all men;
then the LORD hath not sent me.
30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth
open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto
them, and they go down quick into the apit; then ye shall
understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
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31 ¶ And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
32 And the aearth
bopened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their
chouses, and all the men that appertained unto
Korah, and all their goods.
33 They, and all that appertained to them,
went down alive into the apit, and the earth closed upon
them: and they perished from among the congregation.
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34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
35 And there came out a afire from
the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
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36 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.
38 The censers of these asinners
against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a
covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they
are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
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39 And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
40 To be a memorial unto the children of
Israel, that no astranger, which is not of the seed
of bAaron, come near to offer cincense
before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD
said to him by the hand of Moses.
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41 ¶ But on the morrow all the congregation of
the children of Israel amurmured against Moses and against
Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.
42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.
43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
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44 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
45 aGet you up from among this
congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon
their faces.
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46 ¶ And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer,
and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly
unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath
gone out from the LORD; the aplague is begun.
47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
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48 And he stood between the adead
and the living; and the bplague was stayed.
49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
50 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
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