Jude

Jude New International Version (NIV)

1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,

To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for[a]Jesus Christ:

2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

The Sin and Doom of Ungodly People

3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. 

4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about[b] long ago have secretly slipped in among you.They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord[c] at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.

6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

8 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 

9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”[d] 10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.

11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.

12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 

13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 

15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”[e] 

16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

A Call to Persevere

17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.

18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”

 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 

23 save others by snatching them from the fire;to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.[f]

Doxology

24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—

 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Footnotes:

1. Jude 1:1 Or by; or in
2. Jude 1:4 Or individuals who were marked out for condemnation
3. Jude 1:5 Some early manuscripts Jesus
4. Jude 1:9 Jude is alluding to the Jewish Testament of Moses (approximately the first century a.d.).
5. Jude 1:15 From the Jewish First Book of Enoch (approximately the first century b.c.)
6. Jude 1:23 The Greek manuscripts of these verses vary at several points.

Obsercvation Questions

Who is Jude? (verse 1)

Who is this letter written to? (verse 1)

What is extended to those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ? (verse 2)

The Sin and Doom of Ungodly People

What was Jude eager to write about? (verse 3)

What was Jude compelled to write about? (verse 3)

Who has secretly slipped in among the believers? (verse 4)

What do those who have secretly slipped in among the believers pervert the grace of our God into? (verse 4)

Do those who have secretly slipped in among the believers deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord? (verse 4)

Did Jude think the believers already know that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe? (verse 5)

What happened to the angles who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling? (verse 6)

What did Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns do? (verse 7)

Who serves as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire? (verse 7)

On what strength do these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings? (verse 8)

What was the archangel Michael disputing with the devil about? (verse 9)

What did the archangel Michael say? (verse 9)

What do these ungodly people slander? (verse 10)

What will destroy them? (verse 10)

What does Jude say about those who have secretly slipped in among the believers? (verse 4-16)

What way have they taken? (verse 11)

Have they rushed for profit? (verse 11)

Have they been destroyed in Korah's rebellion? (verse 11)

What kind of shepherds are those who have slipped in among the believers? (verse 12)

What are these people described as? (verse 12-13)

What has been reserved for those who have slipped in among the believers? (verse 13)

What did Enoch prophesy about them? (verse 14-16)

Do these people grumble? (verse 16)

Do these people find fault? (verse 16)

What do these people follow? (verse 16)

Who do these people boast about? (verse 16)

Why do these people flatter others? (verse 16)

A Call to Persevere

What did the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretell? (verse 17-18)

What kind people divide the body of Christ? (verse 18-19)

What do these people follow? (verse 19)

Do these people have the Spirit? (verse 19)

How do we keep ourselves in God's love? (verse 20-21)

What do we wait for? (verse 21)

Who are we to be merciful to? (verse 22)

How are we to treat others? (verse 22-23)

Doxology

Is there someone who is able to keep us from stumping? (verse 24)

Is there someone who is able to present us before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy? (verse 24)

How is all authority God's? (verse 25)

Application

Remember & Remind a brother or sister that 

 "the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt,

 but later destroyed those who did not believe"

"the angels who did not keep their positions of authority 

but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, 

bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. "

"Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns

 gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion.

 They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire."

Thoughts

"...contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people." - from verse 3

 "Though you already know this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe." - verse 5

"...building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit"

This is active- not passive.

 "To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—

 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." 

References

the way of Cain:

Genesis 4 

Cain and Abel

 Adam[a] made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.[b] She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth[c] a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lordlooked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?  If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[d] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.  Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

 But the Lord said to him, “Not so[e]; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeanceseven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.  So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod,[f] east of Eden.

 Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.  To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

 Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.  Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes.  Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of[g] bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.

 Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
    wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
    a young man for injuring me.
 If Cain is avenged seven times,
    then Lamech seventy-seven times.”

 Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,[h] saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”  Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.

At that time people began to call on[i] the name of the Lord.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 4:1 Or The man
2. Genesis 4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for brought forth or acquired.
3. Genesis 4:1 Or have acquired
4. Genesis 4:8 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text does not have “Let’s go out to the field.”
5. Genesis 4:15 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew Very well
6. Genesis 4:16 Nod means wandering (see verses 12 and 14).
7. Genesis 4:22 Or who instructed all who work in
8. Genesis 4:25 Seth probably means granted.
9. Genesis 4:26 Or to proclaim

Balaam's Error:

Numbers 22-24 New International Version (NIV)

Balak Summons Balaam

 Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho.

 Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites.

 The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.”

So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River, in his native land. Balak said:

“A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.  Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”

 The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.

 “Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them, “and I will report back to you with the answer the Lord gives me.” So the Moabite officials stayed with him.

 God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”

 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: ‘A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.’”

 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”

 The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

 So the Moabite officials returned to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

 Then Balak sent other officials, more numerous and more distinguished than the first.  They came to Balaam and said:

“This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me,  because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me.”

 But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God.  Now spend the night here so that I can find out what else the Lord will tell me.”

 That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.”

Balaam’s Donkey

 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials.  But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.  When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road.

 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides.  When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.

 Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”

 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”

“No,” he said.

 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lordstanding in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

 The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.[a]  The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”

 Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”

 The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.

 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory.  Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?”

 “Well, I have come to you now,” Balaam replied. “But I can’t say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.”

 Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth.  Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the officials who were with him.  The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he could see the outskirts of the Israelite camp.

Balaam’s First Message

 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”  Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you.” Then he went off to a barren height.

 God met with him, and Balaam said, “I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”

 The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”

 So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials. Then Balaam spoke his message:

“Balak brought me from Aram,
    the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.
‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me;
    come, denounce Israel.’
 How can I curse
    those whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce
    those whom the Lord has not denounced?
 From the rocky peaks I see them,
    from the heights I view them.
I see a people who live apart
    and do not consider themselves one of the nations.
 Who can count the dust of Jacob
    or number even a fourth of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
    and may my final end be like theirs!”

 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!”

 He answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

Balaam’s Second Message

 Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will not see them all but only the outskirts of their camp. And from there, curse them for me.”  So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah,and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there.”

 The Lord met with Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”

 So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the Moabite officials. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”

 Then he spoke his message:

“Arise, Balak, and listen;
    hear me, son of Zippor.
 God is not human, that he should lie,
    not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
    Does he promise and not fulfill?
 I have received a command to bless;
    he has blessed, and I cannot change it.

 “No misfortune is seen in Jacob,
    no misery observed[b] in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
    the shout of the King is among them.
 God brought them out of Egypt;
    they have the strength of a wild ox.
 There is no divination against[c] Jacob,
    no evil omens against[d] Israel.
It will now be said of Jacob
    and of Israel, ‘See what God has done!’
 The people rise like a lioness;
    they rouse themselves like a lion
that does not rest till it devours its prey
    and drinks the blood of its victims.”

 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”

 Balaam answered, “Did I not tell you I must do whatever the Lord says?”

Balaam’s Third Message

 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, let me take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there.”  And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland.

 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”  Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to divination as at other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness. When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him and he spoke his message:

“The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,
    the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,
 the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,
    who sees a vision from the Almighty,[e]
    who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

 “How beautiful are your tents, Jacob,
    your dwelling places, Israel!

 “Like valleys they spread out,
    like gardens beside a river,
like aloes planted by the Lord,
    like cedars beside the waters.
 Water will flow from their buckets;
    their seed will have abundant water.

“Their king will be greater than Agag;
    their kingdom will be exalted.

 “God brought them out of Egypt;
    they have the strength of a wild ox.
They devour hostile nations
    and break their bones in pieces;
    with their arrows they pierce them.
 Like a lion they crouch and lie down,
    like a lioness—who dares to rouse them?

“May those who bless you be blessed
    and those who curse you be cursed!”

 Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed themthese three times.  Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded.”

 Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell the messengers you sent me,  ‘Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord—and I must say only what the Lord says’?  Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come.”

Balaam’s Fourth Message

 Then he spoke his message:

“The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,
    the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,
 the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,
    who has knowledge from the Most High,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
    who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

 “I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
    a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
    the skulls[f] of[g] all the people of Sheth.[h]
 Edom will be conquered;
    Seir, his enemy, will be conquered,
    but Israel will grow strong.
 A ruler will come out of Jacob
    and destroy the survivors of the city.”

Balaam’s Fifth Message

 Then Balaam saw Amalek and spoke his message:

“Amalek was first among the nations,
    but their end will be utter destruction.”

Balaam’s Sixth Message

 Then he saw the Kenites and spoke his message:

“Your dwelling place is secure,
    your nest is set in a rock;
 yet you Kenites will be destroyed
    when Ashur takes you captive.”

Balaam’s Seventh Message

 Then he spoke his message:

“Alas! Who can live when God does this?[i]
     Ships will come from the shores of Cyprus;
they will subdue Ashur and Eber,
    but they too will come to ruin.”

 Then Balaam got up and returned home, and Balak went his own way.

Footnotes:

1. Numbers 22:32 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
2. Numbers 23:21 Or He has not looked on Jacob’s offenses / or on the wrongs found
3. Numbers 23:23 Or in
4. Numbers 23:23 Or in
5. Numbers 24:4 Hebrew Shaddai; also in verse 16
6. Numbers 24:17 Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Jer. 48:45); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
7. Numbers 24:17 Or possibly Moab, / batter
8. Numbers 24:17 Or all the noisy boasters
9. Numbers 24:23 Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew The people from the islands will gather from the north.

Korah's Rebellion:

Numbers 16

Korah, Dathan and Abiram

 Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent[a] and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.  They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”

 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.  Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy,and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him.  You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers and tomorrow put burning coals and incense in them before the Lord. The man the Lord chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!”

 Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites! Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?  He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too. It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?”

 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come!  Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you also want to lord it over us!  Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to treat these men like slaves[b]? No, we will not come!”

 Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”

 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lordtomorrow—you and they and Aaron.  Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before the Lord. You and Aaron are to present your censers also.” So each of them took his censer, put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the entire assembly. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Separate yourselvesfrom this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”

 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?”

 Then the Lord said to Moses,  “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.  He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men!Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”  So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents.

 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lordbrings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.”

As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”

And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.

 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy—  the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites.”

 So 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, as 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.

The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.

 But 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. Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, and the Lord said to Moses,  “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” And they fell facedown.

 Then 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.”  So 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. He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.[c]

Footnotes:

1. Numbers 16:1 Or Peleth—took men
2. Numbers 16:14 Or to deceive these men; Hebrew Will you gouge out the eyes of these men
3. Numbers 16:50 In Hebrew texts 16:36-50 is numbered 17:1-15.