16Korah 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. ³They 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?”

⁴When Moses heard this, he threw himself on the ground and prayed. ⁵Then 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. ^6–7Tomorrow morning you and your followers take firepans, 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!”

⁸Moses continued to speak to Korah. “Listen, you Levites! ⁹Do you consider it a small matter that the God of Israel has set you apart from the rest of the community, so that you can approach him, perform your service in the Lord’s Tent, and minister to the community and serve them? ¹⁰He has let you and all the other Levites have this honour—and now you are trying to get the priesthood too! ¹¹When you complain against Aaron, it is really against the Lord that you and your followers are rebelling.”

¹²Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, but they said, “We will not come! ¹³Isn’t it enough that you have brought us out of the fertile land of Egypt to kill us here in the wilderness? Do you also have to lord it over us? ¹⁴You certainly have not brought us into a fertile land or given us fields and vineyards as our possession, and now you are trying to deceive us. We will not come!”

¹⁵Moses was angry and said to the Lord, “Do not accept any offerings these men bring. I have not wronged any of them; I have not even taken one of their donkeys.”

¹⁶Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow you and your 250 followers must come to the Tent of the Lord’s presence; Aaron will also be there. ¹⁷Each of you will take his firepan, put incense on it, and then present it at the altar.” ¹⁸So every man took his firepan, put live coals and incense on it, and stood at the entrance of the Tent with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹Then Korah gathered the whole community, and they stood facing Moses and Aaron at the entrance of the Tent. Suddenly the dazzling light of the Lord’s presence appeared to the whole community,

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