- And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments, throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribbon of blue. And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that you seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you use to go a whoring; that you may remember and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.
- Now Korah (the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi), and Dathan and Abiram (the sons of Eliab), and On the son of Peleth — sons of Reuben — took men, and they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel — two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown — and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, You take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you lift up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?
- And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face. And he spoke unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even tomorrow, the Lord will show who are his and who is holy, and will cause him to come near unto him, even him whom he has chosen will he cause to come near unto him. This do: Take censers — Korah, and all his company — and put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow. And it shall be that the man whom the Lord does choose, he shall be holy. You take too much upon you, you sons of Levi.
- And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, you sons of Levi: Does it seem but a small thing unto you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? And he has brought you near to him, and all your brethren the sons of Levi with you; and do you seek the high priesthood also? — for which cause both you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord. And what is Aaron, that you murmur against him?
- And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, who said, We will not come up. Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land that flows with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except you make yourself altogether a prince over us? Moreover, you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.
- And Moses was very angry and said unto the Lord, Respect not their offering. I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them. And Moses said unto Korah, You and all your company be before the Lord — you, and they, and Aaron — tomorrow. And take every man his censer and put incense in them, and bring before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each of you his censer. And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron. And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation. And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell upon 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?
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get yourselves up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spoke unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins. So they got up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood in the door of their tents (and their wives, and their sons, and their little children). And Moses said, Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they are visited after the visitation of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth and swallow them up with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit, then you shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord.
- And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground cleaved asunder that was under them. And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them, for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred fifty men that offered incense.
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning and scatter the fire away from here, for they are hallowed — the 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. And Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers with which they that were burned had offered, and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar, to be a memorial unto the children of Israel that no stranger who 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.
- But on the next day, all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, You have killed the people of the Lord. And 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. And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Get yourself up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. And 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. And 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. And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides them that died about the matter of Korah. And Aaron returned unto Moses, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the plague was stopped.
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod, according to the house of their fathers — of all their princes according to the house of their fathers, twelve rods. Write every man’s name upon his rod. And you shall write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi, for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. And you shall lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation, before the testimony, where I will meet with you. And it shall come to pass that the man’s rod whom I shall choose shall blossom. And I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you. And Moses spoke unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods. And the rod of Aaron was among their rods. And Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of witness.
- And it came to pass that on the next day, Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. And Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord unto all the children of Israel, and they looked, and took every man his rod. And the Lord said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels, and you shall quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not. And Moses did so; as the Lord commanded him, so did he. And the children of Israel spoke unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. Whoever comes anywhere near unto the tabernacle of the Lord shall die. Shall we be consumed with dying?
- And the Lord said unto Aaron, You, and your sons, and your father’s house with you shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary. And you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. And your brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, bring with you, that they may be joined unto you and minister unto you. But you and your sons with you shall minister before the tabernacle of witness. And they shall keep your charge and the charge of all the tabernacle, only they shall not come near the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor you also, die. And they shall be joined unto you, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation for all the service of the tabernacle, and a stranger shall not come near unto you. And you shall keep the charge of the sanctuary and the charge of the altar, that there be no wrath anymore upon the children of Israel. And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel. To you they are given as a gift for the Lord to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. Therefore, you and your sons with you shall keep your priest’s office for everything of the altar and within the veil, and you shall serve. I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift. And the stranger that comes near shall be put to death.
- And the Lord spoke unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given you the charge of my heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel. Unto you have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to your sons, by an ordinance for ever. This shall be yours: of the most holy things reserved from the fire. Every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy, for you and for your sons. In the most holy place shall you eat it — every male shall eat it; it shall be holy unto you. And this is yours: the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel, I have given them unto you, and to your sons, and to your daughters with you, by a statute for ever. Everyone that is clean in your house shall eat of it. All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given you. And whatever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone that is clean in your house shall eat of it. Everything devoted in Israel shall be yours. Everything that opens the womb in all flesh, which they bring unto the Lord, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be yours. Nevertheless, the first born of man shall you surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shall you redeem. And those that are to be redeemed, from a month old shall you redeem according to your estimation for the money of five shekels after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shall burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savor unto the Lord. And the flesh of them shall be yours, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are yours. All the heave offerings of the holy things which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord have I given you, and your sons, and your daughters with you, by a statute for ever. It is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord, unto you and to your seed with you.
- And the Lord spoke unto Aaron, You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any part among them. I am your part and your inheritance among the children of Israel. And behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come near the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin and die. But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a statute for ever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance. But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit; therefore, I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Thus speak unto the Levites and say unto them: When you take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it for the Lord, even a tenth part of the tithe. And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress. Thus you also shall offer a heave offering unto the Lord of all your tithes which you receive of the children of Israel, and you shall give thereof the Lord’s heave offering to Aaron the priest. Out of all your gifts you shall offer every heave offering of the Lord, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it. Therefore, you shall say unto them, When you have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshing floor and as the increase of the winepress. And you shall eat it in every place, you and your households, for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation. And you shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have heaved from it the best of it. Neither shall you pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest you die.
- And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: Speak unto the children of Israel that they bring you a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke. And you shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth outside the camp; and one shall slay her before his face. And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times. And one shall burn the heifer in his sight: her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung shall he burn. And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water; and afterward, he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until sunset. And he that burns her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until sunset. And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up outside the camp in a clean place. And it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation; it is a purification for sin. And he that gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until sunset. And it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourns among them, for a statute for ever.
- He that touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean. But if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. Whoever touches the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifies not himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. And that soul shall be cut off from Israel. Because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.
- This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days. And every open vessel which has no covering bound upon it is unclean. And whoever touches one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. And for an unclean person, they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put upon them in a vessel. And a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the people that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave. And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day. And on the seventh day, he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at sunset.
- But the man that shall be unclean and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord; the water of separation has not been sprinkled upon him, he is unclean. And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkles the water of separation shall wash his clothes, and he that touches the water of separation shall be unclean until sunset. And whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean. And the soul that touches it shall be unclean until sunset.
Chapter 9