Numbers 16:36–17:13

³⁶And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning; and scatter the fire afar; for they are hallowed, ³⁸the censers of these sinners who have forfeited their life; and they shall make them into broad plates for the covering of the altar; for they presented them before Jehovah, therefore they are hallowed; and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel. ³⁹And Eleazar the priest took the copper censers, which they that were burnt had presented; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar: ⁴⁰as a memorial to the children of Israel, that no stranger who is not of the seed of Aaron come near to burn incense before Jehovah, that he be not as Korah, and as his band, —as Jehovah had said to him through Moses.

⁴¹And the whole assembly of the children of Israel murmured on the morrow against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of Jehovah. ⁴²And it came to pass, when the assembly was gathered together against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of Jehovah appeared. ⁴³And Moses and Aaron went before the tent of meeting. ⁴⁴And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵Get you up from the midst of this assembly, and I will consume them in a moment. And they fell on their faces. ⁴⁶And Moses said to Aaron, Take the censer, and put fire thereon from off the altar, and lay on incense, and carry it quickly to the assembly, and make atonement for them; for there is wrath gone out from Jehovah: the plague is begun. ⁴⁷And Aaron took as Moses had said, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and behold, the plague had begun among the people; and he put on incense, and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. ⁴⁹Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides them that had died because of the matter of Korah. ⁵⁰And Aaron returned to Moses to the entrance of the tent of meeting; and the plague was stayed.

Chapter 17

¹And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of them a staff, a staff for each father’s house, of all their princes according to the houses of their fathers, twelve staves: thou shalt write each one’s name upon his staff. ³And Aaron’s name shalt thou write upon the staff of Levi; for one staff shall be for each head of their fathers’ houses. ⁴And thou shalt lay them up in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. ⁵And it shall come to pass, that the man whom I shall choose, his staff shall bud forth; and I will make to cease from before me the murmurings of the children of Israel, that they murmur against you. ⁶And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and all their princes gave him a staff, one staff for each prince according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staves, and the staff of Aaron was among their staves. ⁷And Moses laid the staves before Jehovah in the tent of the testimony.

⁸And it came to pass, when on the morrow Moses went into the tent of the testimony, behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and ripened almonds. ⁹And Moses brought out all the staves from before Jehovah to all the children of Israel, and they looked and took each one his staff. ¹⁰And Jehovah said to Moses, Bring Aaron’s staff again before the testimony, to be kept as a token for the sons of rebellion, that thou mayest put an end to their murmurings before me, that they may not die. ¹¹And Moses did so: as Jehovah had commanded him, so did he. ¹²And the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, Lo, we expire, we perish, we all perish. ¹³Every one that comes at all near to the tabernacle of Jehovah shall die: shall we then expire altogether?