Numbers 16:38-50
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 16
38As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their own lives, have them made into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy; and they shall serve as a sign to the sons of Israel.' 39So the priest Eleazar took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as plating for the altar, 40as a reminder to the sons of Israel so that no layman, anyone who was not of the descendants of Aaron, would approach to burn incense before the Lord; then he would not become like Korah and his group—just as the Lord had spoken to him through Moses.
41But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, 'You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord’S people!'
42It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared.
43Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting,
44and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
45Get away from among this congregation so that I may consume them instantly.' Then they fell on their faces.
46And Moses said to Aaron, 'Take your censer and put fire in it from the altar, and place incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord, the plague has begun!'
47Then Aaron took it just as Moses had spoken, and he ran into the midst of the assembly; and behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people.
48And he took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was brought to a halt.
49But those who died by the plague were 14,700 in number, besides those who died on account of Korah.
50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been brought to a halt.
King James Version
Chapter 16
38The censers of these sinners 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. 39And 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: 40To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the Lord; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the Lord said to him by the hand of Moses.
41But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord.
42And 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.
43And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
44And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
45Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
46And 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 plague is begun.
47And 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.
48And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
49Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
50And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
Christian Standard Bible
39So the priest Eleazar took the bronze firepans that those who were burned had presented, and they were hammered into plating for the altar,
40just as the Lord commanded him through Moses. It was to be a reminder for the Israelites that no unauthorized person outside the lineage of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the Lord and become like Korah and his followers.
41The next day the entire Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the Lord’s people!"
42When the community assembled against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the Lord’s glory appeared.
43Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting,
44and the Lord said to Moses,
45"Get away from this community so that I may consume them instantly." But they fell facedown.
46Then Moses told Aaron, "Take your firepan, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the community and make atonement for them, because wrath has come from the Lord; the plague has begun."
47So Aaron took his firepan as Moses had ordered, ran into the middle of the assembly, and saw that the plague had begun among the people. After he added incense, he made atonement for the people.
48He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was halted.
49But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who died because of the Korah incident.
50Aaron then returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, since the plague had been halted.
New Living Translation
39So Eleazar the priest collected the 250 bronze incense burners that had been used by the men who died in the fire, and the bronze was hammered into a thin sheet to overlay the altar.
40This would warn the Israelites that no unauthorized person — no one who was not a descendant of Aaron — should ever enter the Lord’s presence to burn incense. If anyone did, the same thing would happen to him as happened to Korah and his followers. So the Lord’s instructions to Moses were carried out.
41But the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, 'You have killed the Lord’s people!'
42As the community gathered to protest against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tabernacle and saw that the cloud had covered it, and the glorious presence of the Lord appeared.
43Moses and Aaron came and stood in front of the Tabernacle,
44and the Lord said to Moses,
45Get away from all these people so that I can instantly destroy them!' But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground.
47Aaron did as Moses told him and ran out among the people. The plague had already begun to strike down the people, but Aaron burned the incense and purified the people.
48He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped.
49But 14,700 people died in that plague, in addition to those who had died in the affair involving Korah.
50Then because the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle.
English Standard Version
Chapter 16
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." 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.
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."
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.
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.
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."
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.
49Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah.
50And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.
New International Version
39So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar,
40as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the Lord, or he would become like Korah and his followers.
42But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared.
43Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting,
44and the Lord said to Moses,
45"Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." And they fell facedown.
46Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord; the plague has started."
47So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them.
48He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.
49But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.
50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.
New King James Version
Chapter 16
38The censers of these men who sinned against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the Lord, therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.” 39So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned up had presented, and they were hammered out as a covering on the altar, 40to be a memorial to the children of Israel that no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his companions, just as the Lord had said to him through Moses.
41On the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.”
42Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
43Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting.
46So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from the Lord. The plague has begun.”
47Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people.
48And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped.
49Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident.
50So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the plague had stopped.
