Bible in Basic English
So you and all your band have come together against the Lord; and Aaron, who is he, that you are crying out against him?
Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: and they said, We will not come up:
Is it not enough that you have taken us from a land flowing with milk and honey, to put us to death in the waste land, but now you are desiring to make yourself a chief over us?
And more than this, you have not taken us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us a heritage of fields and vine-gardens: will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.
Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, Give no attention to their offering: not one of their asses have I taken, or done wrong to any of them.
And Moses said to Korah, You and all your band are to come before the Lord tomorrow, you and they and Aaron:
And let every man take a vessel for burning perfumes, and put sweet spices in them; let every man take his vessel before the Lord, two hundred and fifty vessels; you and Aaron and everyone with his vessel.
So every man took his vessel and they put fire in them, with spices, and came to the door of the Tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.
And Korah made all the people come together against them to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the glory of the Lord was seen by all the people.
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them.
Then falling down on their faces they said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, because of one man's sin will your wrath be moved against all the people?
And the Lord said to Moses,
Say to the people, Come away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram.
So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the responsible men of Israel went with him.
And he said to the people, Come away now from the tents of these evil men, without touching anything of theirs, or you may be taken in the punishment of their sins.
So on every side they went away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram: and Dathan and Abiram came out to the door of their tents, with their wives and their sons and their little ones.
And Moses said, Now you will see that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and I have not done them of myself.
If these men have the common death of men, or if the natural fate of all men overtakes them, then the Lord has not sent me.
But if the Lord does something new, opening the earth to take them in, with everything which is theirs, and they go down living into the underworld, then it will be clear to you that the Lord has not been honoured by these men.
And while these words were on his lips, the earth under them was parted in two;
And the earth, opening her mouth, took them in, with their families, and all the men who were joined to Korah, and their goods.
So they and all theirs went down living into the underworld, and the earth was shut over them, and they were cut off from among the meeting of the people.
And all Israel round about them went in flight at their cry, For fear, said they, that we go down into the heart of the earth.
Then fire came out from the Lord, burning up the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the perfume.
And the Lord said to Moses,
Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he is to take out of the flames the vessels with the perfumes in them, turning the fire out of them, for they are holy;
And let the vessels of those men, who with their lives have made payment for their sin, be hammered out into plates as a cover for the altar; for they have been offered before the Lord and are holy; so that they may be a sign to the children of Israel.
So Eleazar the priest took the brass vessels which had been offered by those who were burned up, and they were hammered out to make a cover for the altar:
To be a sign, kept in memory for ever by the children of Israel, that no man who is not of the seed of Aaron has the right of burning spices before the Lord, so that he may not be like Korah and his band: as the Lord said to him by the mouth of Moses.
But on the day after, all the children of Israel made an outcry against Moses and against Aaron, saying, You have put to death the Lord's people.
Now when the people had come together against Moses and Aaron, looking in the direction of the Tent of meeting, they saw the cloud covering it, and the glory of the Lord came before their eyes.
Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of meeting.
And the Lord said to Moses,
Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them. And they went down on their faces.
And Moses said to Aaron, Take your vessel and put in it fire from the altar, and sweet spices, and take it quickly into the meeting of the people, and make them free from sin: for wrath has gone out from the Lord, and the disease is starting.
And at the words of Moses, Aaron took his vessel, and went running among the people; and even then the disease had made a start among them; and he put spices in his vessel to take away the sin of the people.
And he took his place between the dead and the living: and the disease was stopped.
Now fourteen thousand, seven hundred deaths were caused by that disease, in addition to those who came to their end because of what Korah had done.
Then Aaron went back to Moses to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the disease came to a stop.
— Numbers 16:11-1964, Bible in Basic English
“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 hast 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, said 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 the 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 they 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. ”
And Moses said to Korah, Give ear now, you sons of Levi:
Does it seem only a small thing to you that the God of Israel has made you separate from the rest of Israel, letting you come near himself to do the work of the House of the Lord, and to take your place before the people to do what has to be done for them;
Letting you, and all your brothers the sons of Levi, come near to him? and would you now be priests?
So you and all your band have come together against the Lord; and Aaron, who is he, that you are crying out against him?
Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: and they said, We will not come up:
Is it not enough that you have taken us from a land flowing with milk and honey, to put us to death in the waste land, but now you are desiring to make yourself a chief over us?
And more than this, you have not taken us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us a heritage of fields and vine-gardens: will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.
Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, Give no attention to their offering: not one of their asses have I taken, or done wrong to any of them.
And Moses said to Korah, You and all your band are to come before the Lord tomorrow, you and they and Aaron:
And let every man take a vessel for burning perfumes, and put sweet spices in them; let every man take his vessel before the Lord, two hundred and fifty vessels; you and Aaron and everyone with his vessel.
So every man took his vessel and they put fire in them, with spices, and came to the door of the Tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.
And Korah made all the people come together against them to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the glory of the Lord was seen by all the people.
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them.
Then falling down on their faces they said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, because of one man's sin will your wrath be moved against all the people?
And the Lord said to Moses,
Say to the people, Come away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram.
So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the responsible men of Israel went with him.
And he said to the people, Come away now from the tents of these evil men, without touching anything of theirs, or you may be taken in the punishment of their sins.
So on every side they went away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram: and Dathan and Abiram came out to the door of their tents, with their wives and their sons and their little ones.
And Moses said, Now you will see that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and I have not done them of myself.
If these men have the common death of men, or if the natural fate of all men overtakes them, then the Lord has not sent me.
But if the Lord does something new, opening the earth to take them in, with everything which is theirs, and they go down living into the underworld, then it will be clear to you that the Lord has not been honoured by these men.
And while these words were on his lips, the earth under them was parted in two;
And the earth, opening her mouth, took them in, with their families, and all the men who were joined to Korah, and their goods.
So they and all theirs went down living into the underworld, and the earth was shut over them, and they were cut off from among the meeting of the people.
And all Israel round about them went in flight at their cry, For fear, said they, that we go down into the heart of the earth.
Then fire came out from the Lord, burning up the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the perfume.
And the Lord said to Moses,
Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he is to take out of the flames the vessels with the perfumes in them, turning the fire out of them, for they are holy;
And let the vessels of those men, who with their lives have made payment for their sin, be hammered out into plates as a cover for the altar; for they have been offered before the Lord and are holy; so that they may be a sign to the children of Israel.
So Eleazar the priest took the brass vessels which had been offered by those who were burned up, and they were hammered out to make a cover for the altar:
To be a sign, kept in memory for ever by the children of Israel, that no man who is not of the seed of Aaron has the right of burning spices before the Lord, so that he may not be like Korah and his band: as the Lord said to him by the mouth of Moses.
But on the day after, all the children of Israel made an outcry against Moses and against Aaron, saying, You have put to death the Lord's people.
Now when the people had come together against Moses and Aaron, looking in the direction of the Tent of meeting, they saw the cloud covering it, and the glory of the Lord came before their eyes.
Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of meeting.
And the Lord said to Moses,
Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them. And they went down on their faces.
And Moses said to Aaron, Take your vessel and put in it fire from the altar, and sweet spices, and take it quickly into the meeting of the people, and make them free from sin: for wrath has gone out from the Lord, and the disease is starting.
And at the words of Moses, Aaron took his vessel, and went running among the people; and even then the disease had made a start among them; and he put spices in his vessel to take away the sin of the people.
And he took his place between the dead and the living: and the disease was stopped.
Now fourteen thousand, seven hundred deaths were caused by that disease, in addition to those who came to their end because of what Korah had done.
Then Aaron went back to Moses to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the disease came to a stop.