Study Desk

The men Moses had sent to explore the land had returned and spread complaints among all the people. They had given a bad report about the land.

But they were proud. They went toward the top of the mountains, but Moses and the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord did not leave the camp.

"‘The priest will remove that sin for all the Israelites so they will belong to the Lord . They are forgiven, because they didn't know they were sinning. For the wrong they did they brought offerings to the Lord , an offering by fire and a sin offering.

They came as a group to speak to Moses and Aaron and said, "You have gone too far. All the people are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. So why do you put yourselves above all the people of the Lord ?"

Then Moses called Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not come!

Korah gathered all his followers who were against Moses and Aaron, and they stood at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to everyone.

So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were standing outside their tents with their wives, children, and little babies.

But if the Lord does something new, you will know they have insulted the Lord . The ground will open and swallow them. They will be buried alive and will go to the place of the dead, and everything that belongs to them will go with them."

The earth opened and swallowed them and all their families. All Korah's men and everything they owned went down.

They were buried alive, going to the place of the dead, and everything they owned went with them. Then the earth covered them. They died and were gone from the community.

Take the pans of these men who sinned and lost their lives, and hammer them into flat sheets that will be used to cover the altar. They are holy, because they were presented to the Lord , and they will be a sign to the Israelites."

When the people gathered to complain against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Meeting Tent, and the cloud covered it. The glory of the Lord appeared.

So Moses brought out to the Israelites all the walking sticks from the Lord 's presence. They all looked, and each man took back his stick.

Bring with you your fellow Levites from your tribe, and they will help you and your sons serve in the Tent of the Agreement.

They are under your control, to do all the work that needs to be done in the Tent. But they must not go near the things in the Holy Place or near the altar. If they do, both you and they will die.

They will join you in taking care of the Meeting Tent. They must do the work at the Tent, and no one else may come near you.

Your share of the holy offerings is that part which is not burned. When the people bring me gifts as most holy offerings, whether they are grain or sin or penalty offerings, they will be set apart for you and your sons.

"And I give you all the best olive oil and all the best new wine and grain. This is what the Israelites give to me, the Lord , from the first crops they harvest.

They must wash themselves with the cleansing water on the third day and on the seventh day; then they will be clean. But if they do not wash themselves on the third day and the seventh day, they cannot be clean.

If those who touch a dead person's body stay unclean and go to the Lord 's Holy Tent, it becomes unclean; they must be cut off from Israel. If the cleansing water is not sprinkled on them, they are unclean and will stay unclean.