1Blandt israelitterne var der en mand, der hed Kora, søn af Jitzhar, der igen var søn af Kehat, som var en af Levis sønner. Kora gjorde oprør imod Moses, og han blev bakket op af Datan og Abiram, der var sønner af den Eliab, som var søn af Pallu.[1] De var fra Rubens stamme. (1.Mos 46,9; 4.Mos 26,5)2250 andre mænd gik med i oprøret mod Moses, og de var alle sammen ansete og folkevalgte ledere.3Alle disse mænd gik nu til Moses og Aron og sagde: „Nu må det være nok med det præstestyre. Vi kan vel alle træde frem for Herren og ofre til ham. Hvorfor ophøjer I jer selv over Herrens folk?”4Da Moses hørte det, kastede han sig fortvivlet ned med ansigtet mod jorden,5og han sagde til Kora og hans tilhængere: „Vent til i morgen, så vil Herren vise, hvem der hører ham til, og hvem der er indviet til at træde frem for ham.6-7Kora, du og dine tilhængere skal komme tilbage i morgen med hver jeres røgelseskar, tænd op i dem og brænd røgelse for Herren. Så får vi at se, hvem Herren har udvalgt som præster. I levitter er gået for vidt!”8-9Moses sagde videre til Kora: „Er I levitter nu ikke længere tilfredse med den særstilling, Israels Gud har givet jer? Har han ikke udvalgt jer til på folkets vegne at hjælpe med arbejdet ved Herrens bolig?10Han har givet jer denne særlige tjeneste for ham. Vil I nu også være præster?11Det er Herren selv, ikke Aron og hans sønner, du og dine tilhængere gør oprør imod.”12Derefter sendte Moses bud efter Datan og Abiram, men de sendte følgende besked tilbage: „Vi kommer ikke.13Det er jo dig, der har lokket os bort fra det frugtbare Egypten, for at vi skulle dø her i ørkenen. Vil du stadig påstå, at du er Guds udvalgte leder?14Hvad med det vidunderlige land med frugtbare marker og vingårde, du lovede os? Hvor er det blevet af? Tror du ikke, folk har øjne i hovedet? Vi vil ikke have noget med dig at gøre mere.”15Da blev Moses meget vred, og han sagde til Herren: „Lad være med at anerkende deres røgelsesofre. Jeg har aldrig forurettet nogen af dem eller stjålet så meget som et æsel fra dem.”16Derpå sagde han til Kora: „Husk nu at komme tilbage i morgen sammen med dine tilhængere, så I kan træde frem for Herren sammen med Aron.17Sørg for, at alle de 250 mænd kommer med hver deres røgelseskar. Du selv og Aron skal også komme med hver jeres røgelsesoffer.”18Næste dags morgen kom de med deres røgelseskar med ild i. Efter at de havde lagt røgelse på, stillede de sig op sammen med Moses og Aron ved åbenbaringsteltets indgang.19I mellemtiden havde Kora fået en stor del af folket over på sin side, og nu stod de og ventede på, hvad der ville ske. Da viste Herrens herlighed sig for folket,20og Herren sagde til Moses og Aron:21„Træk jer væk fra dette folk, så jeg kan komme til at udrydde dem.”22Men Moses og Aron kastede sig ned for Herren med ansigtet mod jorden. „Åh Gud, du som er livets ophav,” bad de, „er det nødvendigt at slå hele folket ihjel på grund af en enkelt mands synd?”23Da svarede Herren:24„Så sig til folket, at de, der befinder sig i nærheden af Koras, Datans og Abirams telte, skal fjerne sig langt væk.”25Så skyndte Moses sig hen til Datans og Abirams telte, og folkets ledere fulgte i hælene på ham.26„Skynd jer at komme væk fra disse onde mænds telte,” advarede han de omkringstående. „I må ikke røre nogen af deres ejendele, for så mister I livet på grund af deres synd.”27Folket trak sig skyndsomt væk fra Koras, Datans og Abirams telte. Datan og Abiram kom ud og stillede sig foran døren til deres telte sammen med deres koner og børn.28Da sagde Moses til folket: „Nu skal I få at se, at jeg ikke er en selvbestaltet leder iblandt jer, men at det er Herren, som har sendt mig, for at jeg skal udføre den opgave, han har givet mig.29Hvis disse mennesker dør en naturlig død som alle andre, så har Herren ikke udvalgt mig,30men hvis Herren griber ind og lader jorden åbne sig, så den opsluger dem sammen med deres ejendele, og de ryger direkte ned i dødsriget, så er det bevis på, at disse mænd har forhånet Herren.”31Næppe var Moses færdig med at tale, før jorden revnede under dem32og åbnede sig som et vældigt gab, og gabet opslugte de oprørske mænd, deres familier og deres ejendele,33så de røg lige lukt ned i dødsriget. Jordens gab lukkede sig over dem, og dermed var de udryddet af folket.34Men israelitterne flygtede skrækslagne ved lyden af deres skrig. De var bange for at lide samme skæbne.35I det samme fór der ild ud fra Herren og opbrændte de 250 mænd, der stod med deres røgelsesofre.
1Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. (2.Mos 6,16; 2.Mos 6,18; 2.Mos 6,21; 4.Mos 26,9; 4.Mos 27,3; Judas 1,11)2And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men.3They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” (2.Mos 19,6; 4.Mos 16,7; Salm 106,16)4When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, (4.Mos 14,5; 4.Mos 20,6)5and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show who is his,[1] and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him. (2.Mos 28,1; 3.Mos 10,3; 4.Mos 3,10; 4.Mos 16,3; 4.Mos 17,5; 1.Sam 2,28; Salm 65,4; Salm 105,26; Ez 40,46; Ez 44,15; 2.Tim 2,19)6Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company; (3.Mos 10,1)7put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” (4.Mos 16,3)8And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi:9is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, (4.Mos 8,14; 4.Mos 16,13; 5.Mos 10,8; 1.Sam 18,23; Es 7,13; Ez 16,20)10and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also?11Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?” (2.Mos 16,8; 1.Kor 3,5)12And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up.13Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us? (2.Mos 2,14; 2.Mos 3,8; 4.Mos 16,9; Ap G 7,27; Ap G 7,35)14Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.”15And Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.” (1.Mos 4,4; 1.Sam 12,3; Ap G 20,33; 2.Kor 7,2)16And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, before the Lord, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. (2.Mos 16,9; 1.Sam 12,3; 1.Sam 12,7)17And let every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the Lord his censer, 250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.” (4.Mos 16,6; 4.Mos 16,35)18So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.19Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation. (3.Mos 9,23)20And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,21“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” (1.Mos 19,17; 1.Mos 19,22; 2.Mos 33,5; 4.Mos 16,45; Salm 73,19; Jer 51,6; Åb 18,4)22And they fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?” (1.Mos 18,23; 4.Mos 14,5; 4.Mos 16,45; 4.Mos 20,6; 4.Mos 27,16; 2.Sam 24,17; Job 12,10; Præd 12,7; Es 57,16; Zak 12,1)23And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,24“Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”25Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.26And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” (1.Mos 19,12; Es 52,11; 2.Kor 6,17; Åb 18,4)27So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. (2.Mos 33,8)28And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. (Jer 23,16; Ez 13,2; Ez 13,17)29If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. (1.Kong 22,28)30But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.” (1.Mos 4,11; 4.Mos 16,33; Salm 55,15)31And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. (4.Mos 26,10; 4.Mos 27,3; 5.Mos 11,6; Salm 106,17)32And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. (4.Mos 26,11; 1.Krøn 6,22; 1.Krøn 6,27)33So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. (Judas 1,11)34And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!”35And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering the incense. (3.Mos 10,2; 4.Mos 11,1; 4.Mos 16,17; Salm 106,18)36[2] Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,37“Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze. Then scatter the fire far and wide, for they have become holy.38As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the Lord, and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel.” (4.Mos 17,10; 4.Mos 26,10; 1.Kong 2,23; Ord 20,2; Hab 2,10)39So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar,40to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the Lord, lest he become like Korah and his company—as the Lord said to him through Moses. (4.Mos 3,10; 2.Krøn 26,18)41But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” (4.Mos 14,2)42And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. (2.Mos 40,34; 3.Mos 9,23; 4.Mos 16,19)43And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting,44and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,45“Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. (4.Mos 16,21; 4.Mos 16,22; 4.Mos 16,24)46And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.” (3.Mos 10,6; 4.Mos 8,19; 4.Mos 11,33; 1.Krøn 27,24)47So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people.48And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. (4.Mos 16,50; 4.Mos 25,8; 2.Sam 24,25; Salm 106,30)49Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. (4.Mos 27,3)50And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.