Numbers:16

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* And behold Core the son of Isaar , the son of Caath , the son of Levi , and Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab , and Hon the son of Pheleth of the children of Ruben , * Rose lap against Moses , and with them two hundred and fifty others of the children of Israel , leading men of the synagogue , and who in the time of assembly were called by name . * And when they had stood up against Moses and Aaron , they said : Let it be enough for you , that all the multitude consisteth of holy ones , and the Lord is among them : Why lift you up yourselves above the people of the Lord ? * When Moses heard this , he fell flat on his face : * And speaking to Core and all the multitude , he said : In the morning the Lord will make known who belong to him , and the holy he will join to himself : and whom he shall choose , they shall approach to him . * Do this therefore : Take every man of you your censers , thou Core , and all thy company . * And putting fire in them to morrow , put incense upon it before the Lord : and whomsoever he shall choose , the same shall be holy : you take too much upon you , ye sons of Levi . * And he said again to Core : Hear ye sons of Levi . * Is it a small thing unto you , that the God of Israel hath spared you from all the people , and joined you to himself , that you should serve him in the service of the tabernacle , and should stand before the congregation of the people , and should minister to him ? * Did he therefore make thee and all thy brethren the sons of Levi to approach unto him , that you should challenge to yourselves the priesthood also , * And that all thy company should stand against the Lord ? for what is Aaron that you murmur against him ? * Then Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab . But they answered : We will not come . * Is it a small matter to thee , that thou hast brought us out of a land that flowed with milk and honey , to kill us in the desert , except thou rule also like a lord over us ? * Thou best brought us indeed into a land that floweth with rivers of milk and honey , and hast given us possessions of fields and vineyards ; wilt thou also pull out our eyes ? We will not come . * Moses therefore being very angry , raid to the Lord : Respect not their sacrifices : thou knowest that I have not taken of them so much as a young ass at any time , nor have injured any of them . * And he said to Core : Do thou and thy congregation stand apart before the Lord to morrow , and Aaron apart . * Take every one of you censers , and put incense upon them , offering to the Lord two hundred and fifty censers : let Aaron also hold his censer . * When they had done this , Moses and Aaron standing , * And had drawn up all the multitude against them to the door of the tabernacle , the glory of the Lord appeared to them all . * And the Lord speaking to Moses and Aaron , said : * Separate yourselves from among this congregation , that I may presently destroy them . * They fell flat on their face , and said : O most mighty , the God of the spirits of all flesh , for one man 's sin shall thy wrath rage against all ? * And the Lord said to Moses : * Command the whole people to separate themselves from the tents of Core and Dathan and Abiron . * And Moses arose , and went to Dathan and Abiron : and the ancients of Israel following him , * He said to the multitude : Depart from the tents of these wicked men , and touch nothing of theirs , lest you be involved in their sins . * And when they were departed from their tents round about , Dathan and Abiron coming out stood in the entry of their pavilions with their wives and children , and all the people . * And Moses said : By this you shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all things that you see , and that I have not forged them of my own head : * If these men die the common death of men , and if they be visited with a plague , wherewith others also are wont to be visited , the Lord did not send me . * But if the Lord do a new thing , and the earth opening her mouth swallow them down , and all things that belong to them , and they go down alive into hell , you shall know that they have blasphemed the Lord . * And immediately as he had made an end of speaking , the earth broke asunder under their feet : * And opening her mouth , devoured them with their tents and all their substance . * And they went down alive into hell the ground closing upon them , and they perished from among the people . * But all Israel , that was standing round about , fled at the cry of them that were perishing : saying : Lest perhaps the earth swallow us up also . * And a fire coming out from the Lord , destroyed the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense . * And the Lord spoke to Moses , saying : * Command Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers that lie in the burning , and to scatter the fire of one side and the other : because they are sanctified * In the deaths of the sinners : and let him beat them into plates , and fasten them to the altar , because incense hath been offered in them to the Lord , and they are sanctified , that the children of Israel may see them for a sign and a memorial . * Then Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers , wherein they had offered , whom the burning fire had devoured , and beat them into plates , fastening them to the altar : * That the children of Israel might have for the time to come wherewith they should be admonished , that no stranger or any one that is not of seed of Aaron should come near to offer incense to the Lord , lest he should suffer as Core suffered , and all his congregation , according as the Lord spoke to Moses . * The following day all the multitude of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron , saying : You have killed the people of the Lord . * And when there arose a sedition , and the tumult increased , * Moses and Aaron fled to the tabernacle of the covenant . And when the were gone into it , the cloud covered it , and the glory of the Lord appeared . * And the Lord said to Moses : * Get you out from the midst of this multitude , this moment will I destroy them . And as they were lying on the ground , * Moses said to Aaron : Take the censer , and putting fire in it from the altar , put incense upon it , and go quickly to the people to pray for them : for already wrath is gone out from the Lord , and the plague rageth . * When Aaron had done this , and had run to the midst of the multitude which the burning fire was now destroying , he offered the incense : * And standing between the dead and the living , he prayed for the people , and the plague ceased . * And the number of them that were slain was fourteen thousand and seven hundred men , besides them that had perished in the sedition of Core . * And Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant after the destruction was over .

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