Numbers 16:38

Translations

Modern

As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.”

Traditional

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.

Literal

As for the censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, because they presented them before the face of YHWH, and they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the sons of Israel.”

Latin

…in mortibus peccatorum: producatque ea in laminas, et affigat altari, eo quod oblatum sit in eis incensum Domino, et sanctificata sint, ut cernant ea pro signo et monimento filii Israël.

Original

Hebrew

English

As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.”

Notes

Numbers 16:38–40

Eleazar made a bronze sheet to cover the altar, replacing or adding to the earlier one (Exodus 38:2). Like the plain blue tassels in Numbers 15:37–41, it reminded the people of Israel to obey God.

Numbers 16:1–17:13

Another rebellion demanded a clear separation of duties between priests and Levites. This power struggle was more serious than previous rebellions against God's authority (chapter 11; 12:1–15; 14:1–45).

In these historical events, the rebels protested minor issues and questioned their leaders' actions. Yet, Moses reminded them that they were actually rebelling against God. As a result, the Israelites suffered deadly consequences for their rebellion.

Theme notes and profiles

Eleazar Moses Apostasy Remove the Evil Retribution The Dangers of Sin

Related verses

Ezekiel 14:8
I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb; I will cut him off from among My people. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
Numbers 26:10
And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire consumed 250 men. They serve as a warning sign.
2 Peter 2:6
…if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly;
Proverbs 20:2
The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.
Numbers 17:10
The LORD said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebellious, so that you may put an end to their grumbling against Me, lest they die.”
Habakkuk 2:10
You have plotted shame for your house by cutting off many peoples and forfeiting your life.
1 Kings 2:23
Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life.
Proverbs 1:18
But they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives.
1 Corinthians 10:11
Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.
Proverbs 8:36
But he who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”
Numbers 16:40
…just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his followers.

People

Israel: Patriarch, son of Isaac, father of twelve tribes

Glossary

Aaron Aaron’s Rod Courts and Trials Deuteronomy, Book of Eleazar Incense Jude, Letter of Kadesh, Kadesh-Barnea Korah Numbers, Book of Wilderness Wanderings

Topics

Altar of Incense: A Cover Made For, of the Censers of Korah Censer: Those Which Korah Used Were Converted Into Plates Israel: Rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram Token: Cover of the Altar

Numbers 16:38

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