Numbers 16
Old Testament · Brenton Septuagint with Greek parallel
Numbers chapter 16 is given here in full, verse by verse, in Sir Lancelot Brenton's classic English translation of the Septuagint (LXX), with the Greek text of the Septuagint set beneath each verse. The text follows the Septuagint tradition received throughout the Orthodox Church.
Patristic commentary for this chapter has not yet been attached. The translator's notes for this chapter (7) follow the text. Related material may be found among the Church Fathers and the theology tables.
Numbers 16
1And Core the son of Isaar the son of Caath the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiron, sons of Eliab, and Aun the son of Phaleth the son of Ruben, spoke;Καὶ ἐλάλησε Κορὲ υἱὸς Ἰσαὰρ υἱοῦ Καὰθ υἱοῦ Λευί, καὶ Δαθὰν καὶ Ἀβειρὼν υἱοὶ Ἐλιάβ, καὶ Αὒν υἱὸς Φαλὲθ υἱοῦ Ῥουβήν·
2and rose up before Moses, and two hundred and fifty men of the sons of Israel, chiefs of the assembly, chosen councillors, and men of renown.καὶ ἀνέστησαν ἔναντι Μωυσῆ, καὶ ἄνδρες τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ πεντήκοντα καὶ διακόσιοι, ἀρχηγοὶ συναγωγῆς, σύγκλητοι βουλῆς, καὶ ἄνδρες ὀνομαστοί.
3They rose up against Moses and Aaron, and said, Let it be enough for you that all the congregation are holy, and the Lord is among them; and why do you set up yourselves against the congregation of the Lord?Συνέστησαν ἐπὶ Μωυσῆν καὶ Ἀαρὼν, καὶ εἶπαν, ἐχέτω ὑμῖν ὅτι πᾶσα ἡ συναγωγὴ πάντες ἅγιοι, καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς Κύριος· καὶ διατί κατανίστασθε ἐπὶ τὴν συναγωγὴν Κυρίου;
4And when Moses heard it, he fell on his face.Καὶ ἀκούσας Μωυσῆς, ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον.
5And he spoke to Core and all his assembly, saying, God has visited and known those that are his and who are holy, and has brought them to himself; and whom he has chosen for himself, he has brought to himself.Καὶ ἐλάλησε πρὸς Κόρε καὶ πρὸς πᾶσαν αὐτοῦ τὴν συναγωγὴν, λέγων, ἐπέσκεπται καὶ ἔγνω ὁ Θεὸς τοὺς ὄντας αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς ἁγίους, καὶ προσηγάγετο πρὸς ἑαυτόν· καὶ οὓς ἐξελέξατο ἑαυτῷ, προσηγάγετο πρὸς ἑαυτόν.
6This do you: take to yourselves censers, Core and all his company;Τοῦτο ποιήσατε· λάβετε ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς πυρεῖα Κορὲ, καὶ πᾶσα ἡ συναγωγὴ αὐτοῦ,
7and put fire on them, and put incense on them before the Lord to-morrow; and it shall come to pass that the man whom the Lord has chosen, he shall be holy: let it be enough for you, you sons of Levi.καὶ ἐπίθετε ἐπʼ αὐτὰ πῦρ, καὶ ἐπίθετε ἐπʼ αὐτὰ θυμίαμα ἔναντι Κυρίου αὔριον· καὶ ἔσται ὁ ἀνὴρ ὃν ἐκλέλεκται Κύριος, οὗτος ἅγιος· ἱκανούσθω ὑμῖν υἱοὶ Λευί.
8And Moses said to Core, Listen to me, you sons of Levi.Καὶ εἶπε Μωυσῆς πρὸς Κορὲ, εἰσακούσατέ μου υἱοὶ Λευί.
9Is it a little thing for you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, and brought you near to himself to minister in the services of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the tabernacle to minister for them?Μὴ μικρόν ἐστι τοῦτο ὑμῖν, ὅτι διέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ ὑμᾶς ἐκ συναγωγῆς Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ προσηγάγετο ὑμᾶς πρὸς ἑαυτὸν λειτουργεῖν τᾶς λειτουργίας τῆς σκηνῆς Κυρίου, καὶ παρίστασθαι ἔναντι τῆς σκηνῆς λατρεύειν αὐτοῖς;
10And he has brought you near and all your brethren the sons of Levi with you, and do you seek to be priests also?καὶ προσηγάγετό σε καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἀδελφούς σου υἱοὺς Λευὶ μετὰ σοῦ, καὶ ζητεῖτε καὶ ἱερατεύειν;
11Thus it is with you and all your congregation which is gathered together against God: and who is Aaron, that you murmur against him?Οὕτως σὺ καὶ πᾶσα ἡ συναγωγή σου ἡ συνηθροισμένη πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· καὶ Ἀαρὼν τίς ἐστιν, ὅτι διαγογγύζετε κατʼ αὐτοῦ;
12And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiron sons of Eliab; and they said, We * will not go up.Καὶ ἀπέστειλε Μωυσῆς καλέσαι Δαθὰν καὶ Ἀβειρὼν υἱοὺς Ἑλιάβ· καὶ εἶπαν, οὐκ ἀναβαίνομεν.
13Is it a little thing that you have brought us up † to a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, and that you altogether rule over us?Μὴ μικρὸν τοῦτο, ὅτι ἀνήγαγες ἡμᾶς εἰς γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι, ἀποκτεῖναι ἡμᾶς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, ὅτι κατάρχεις ἡμῶν;
14You are a prince, and have you brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, and have you given us an inheritance of land and vineyards? would you have ‡ put out the eyes of those men? we § will not go up.Ἀρχων εἶ· καὶ σὺ εἰς γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι εἰσήγαγες ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἔδωκας ἡμῖν κλῆρον ἀγροῦ καὶ ἀμπελῶνας; τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐκείνων ἄν ἐξέκοψας; οὐκ ἀναβαίνομεν.
15And Moses was exceeding indignant, and said to the Lord, Do you take no heed to their sacrifice: I have not taken away ** the desire of any one of them, neither have I hurt any one of them.Καὶ ἐβαρυθύμησε Μωυσῆς σφόδρα, καὶ εἶπε πρὸς Κύριον, μὴ πρόσχῃς εἰς τὴν θυσίαν αὐτῶν· οὐκ ἐπιθύμημα οὐδενὸς αὐτῶν εἴληφα, οὐδὲ ἐκάκωσα οὐδένα αὐτῶν.
16And Moses said to Core, Sanctify your company, and be ready before the Lord, you and Aaron and they, to-morrow.Καὶ εἶπε Μωυσῆς πρὸς Κορὲ, ἁγίασον τὴν συναγωγήν σου, καὶ γίνεσθε ἕτοιμοι ἔναντι Κυρίου σὺ καὶ Ἀαρὼν καὶ αὐτοὶ αὔριον·
17And take each man his censer, and you shall put incense upon them, and shall bring each one his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers, and you and Aaron shall bring each his censer.Καὶ λάβετε ἕκαστος τὸ πυρεῖον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐπιθήσετε ἐπʼ αὐτὰ θυμίαμα, καὶ προσάξετε ἔναντι Κυρίου ἕκαστος τὸ πυρεῖον αὐτοῦ, πεντήκοντα καὶ διακόσια πυρεῖα, καὶ σὺ καὶ Ἀαρὼν ἕκαστος τὸ πυρεῖον αὐτοῦ.
18And each man took his censer, and they put on them fire, and laid incense on them; and Moses and Aaron stood by the doors of the tabernacle of witness.Καὶ ἔλαβεν ἕκαστος τὸ πυρεῖον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐπέθηκαν ἐπʼ αὐτὰ πῦρ, καὶ ἐπέβαλον ἐπʼ αὐτὰ θυμίαμα· καὶ ἔστησαν παρὰ τὰς θύρας τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου Μωυσῆς καὶ Ἀαρών.
19And Core raised up against them all his company by the door of the tabernacle of witness; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.Καὶ ἐπισυνέστησεν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς Κορὲ τὴν πᾶσαν αὐτοῦ συναγωγὴν παρὰ τὴν θύραν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου· καὶ ὤφθη ἡ δόξα Κυρίου πάσῃ τῇ συναγωγῇ.
20And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,Καὶ ἐλάλησε Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν καὶ Ἀαρὼν, λέγων,
21Separate your selves from the midst of this congregation, and I will consume them at once.ἀποσχίσθητε ἐκ μέσου τῆς συναγωγῆς ταύτης, καὶ ἐξαναλώσω αὐτοὺς εἰσάπαξ.
22And they fell on their faces, and said, O God, the God of spirits and of all flesh, if one man has sinned, shall the wrath of the Lord be upon the whole congregation?Καὶ ἔπεσαν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν, καὶ εἶπαν, Θεὸς, Θεὸς τῶν πνευμάτων καὶ πάσης σαρκὸς, εἰ ἄνθρωπος εἷς ἥμαρτεν, ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν συναγωγὴν ὀργὴ Κυρίου;
23And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,Καὶ ἐλάλησε Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν, λέγων,
24Speak to the congregation, saying, Depart from the company of Core round about.λάλησον τῇ συναγωγῇ, λέγων, ἀναχωρήσατε κύκγῳ ἀπὸ τῆς συναγωγῆς Κορὲ.
25And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiron, and all the elders of Israel went with him.Καὶ ἀνέστη Μωυσῆς, καὶ ἐπορεύθη πρὸς Δαθὰν καὶ Ἀβειρὼν, καὶ συνεπορεύθησαν μετʼ αὐτοῦ πάντες οἱ πρεσβύτεροι Ἰσραήλ.
26And he spoke to the congregation, saying, Separate yourselves from the tents of these stubborn men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, lest you be consumed with them in all their sin.Καὶ ἐλάλησε πρὸς τὴν συναγωγὴν, λέγων, ἀποσχίσθητε ἀπὸ τῶν σκηνῶν τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῶν σκληρῶν τούτων, καὶ μὴ ἅπτεσθε ἀπὸ πάντων ὧν ἐστιν αὐτοῖς, μὴ συναπόλησθε ἐν πάσῃ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ αὐτῶν.
27And they stood aloof from the tent of Core round about; and Dathan and Abiron went forth and stood by the doors of their tents, and their wives and their children and their store.Καὶ ἀπέστησαν ἀπὸ τῆς σκηνῆς Κορὲ κύκλῳ· καὶ Δαθὰν καὶ Ἀβειρὼν ἐξῆλθον, καὶ εἱστήκεισαν παρὰ τὰς θύρας τῶν σκηνῶν αὐτῶν, καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν, καὶ τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν, καὶ ἡ ἀποσκευὴ αὐτῶν.
28And Moses said, Hereby shall you know that the Lord has sent me to perform all these works, that I have not done them of myself.Καὶ εἶπε Μωυσῆς, ἐν τούτῳ γνώσεσθε ὅτι Κύριος ἀπέστειλέ με ποιῆσαι πάντα τὰ ἔργα ταῦτα, ὅτι οὐκ ἀπʼ ἐμαυτοῦ.
29If these men shall die according to the death of all men, if also their visitation shall be according to the visitation of all men, then the Lord has not sent me.Εἰ κατὰ θάνατον πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἀποθανοῦνται οὗτοι, εἰ καὶ κατʼ ἐπίσκεψιν πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐπισκοπὴ ἔσται αὐτῶν, οὐχὶ Κύριος ἀπέσταλκέ με.
30But if the Lord shall show by a †† wonder, and the earth shall open her mouth and swallow them up, and their houses, and their tents, and all that belongs to them, and they shall go down alive into Hades, then you shall know that these men have provoked the Lord.Ἀλλʼ ἢ ἐν φάσματι δείξει Κύριος, καὶ ἀνοίξασα ἡ γῆ τὸ στόμα αὐτῆς καταπίεται αὐτοὺς, καὶ τοὺς οἴκους αὐτῶν, καὶ τὰς σκηνὰς αὐτῶν, καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἐστὶν αὐτοῖς, καὶ καταβήσονται ζῶντες εἰς ᾅδου, καὶ γνώσεσθε, ὅτι παρώξυναν οἱ ἄνθρωποι οὗτοι τὸν Κύριον.
31And when he ceased speaking all these words, the ground clave asunder beneath them.Ὡς δὲ ἐπαύσατο λαλῶν πάντας τοὺς λόγους τούτους, ἐῤῥάγη ἡ γῆ ὑποκάτω αὐτῶν.
32And the ground opened, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that were with Core, and their cattle.Καὶ ἠνοίχθη ἡ γῆ, καὶ κατέπιεν αὐτοὺς, καὶ τοὺς οἴκους αὐτῶν, καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοὺς ὄντας μετὰ Κορὲ, καὶ τὰ κτήνη αὐτῶν.
33And they went down and all that they had, alive into Hades; and the ground covered them, and they perished from the midst of the congregation.Καὶ κατέβησαν αὐτοὶ, καὶ ὅσα ἐστὶν αὐτῶν ζῶντα εἰς ᾅδου, καὶ ἐκάλυψεν αὐτοὺς ἡ γῆ, καὶ ἀπώλοντο ἐκ μέσου τῆς συναγωγῆς.
34And all Israel round about them fled from the sound of them, for ‡‡ they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.Καὶ πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ οἱ κύκλῳ αὐτῶν ἔφυγον ἀπὸ τῆς φωνῆς αὐτῶν, ὅτι λέγοντες, μή ποτε καταπίῃ ἡμᾶς ἡ γῆ.
35And fire went forth from the Lord, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.Καὶ πῦρ ἐξῆλθε παρὰ Κυρίου, καὶ κατέφαγε τοὺς πεντήκοντα καὶ διακοσίους ἄνδρας τοὺς προσφέροντας τὸ θυμίαμα.
36And the Lord said to Moses,
37and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, Take up the brazen censers out of the midst of the men that have been burnt, and scatter the strange fire yonder, for they have sanctified the censers
38of these sinners against their own souls, and do you make them beaten plates a covering to the altar, because they were brought before the Lord and hallowed; and they became a sign to the children of Israel.
39And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest took the brazen censers, which the men who had been burnt brought near, and they put them as a covering on the altar:
40a memorial to the children of Israel that no stranger might draw near, who is not of the seed of Aaron, to offer incense before the Lord; so he shall not be as Core and as they that conspired with him, as the Lord spoke to him by the hand of Moses.
41And the children of Israel murmured the next day against Moses and Aaron, saying, You have killed the people of the Lord.
42And it came to pass when the congregation combined against Moses and Aaron, that they ran impetuously to the tabernacle of witness; and the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
43And Moses and Aaron went in, in front of the tabernacle of witness.
44And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
45Depart out of the midst of this congregation, and I will consume them at once: and they fell upon their faces.
46And Moses said to Aaron, Take a censer, and put on it fire from the altar, and put incense on it, and carry it away quickly into the camp, and make atonement for them; for wrath is gone forth from the presence of the Lord, it has begun to destroy the people.
47And Aaron took as Moses spoke to him, and ran among the congregation, for already the plague had 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 ceased.
49And they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides those that died on account of Core.
50And Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the tabernacle of witness, and the plague ceased.
Translator's Notes
These notes come from the printed edition of Sir Lancelot Brenton's classic English translation of the Septuagint (LXX), and record where the Greek differs from the English rendering or admits more than one reading.
- v. 12*Gr. do not.
- v. 13†Some read, out of.
- v. 14‡Gr. cut out.
- v. 14§Gr. do not.
- v. 15**חפד for חפוד
- v. 30††Or, vision. Some copies read χάσματι
- v. 34‡‡Gr. saying.