Numbers 16:21

16:21 “Separate yourselves ¹  from among this community, ²  that I may consume them in an instant.”

Numbers 16:24

16:24 “Tell the community: ‘Get away ³  from around the homes of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’”

Numbers 16:26

16:26 And he said to the community, “Move away from the tents of these wicked ⁴  men, and do not touch anything they have, lest you be destroyed because ⁵  of all their sins.” ⁶ 

¹ tn The verb is הִבָּדְלוּ (hibbadÿlu), the Niphal imperative of בָּדַל (badal). This is the same word that was just used when Moses reminded the Levites that they had been separated from the community to serve the Lord.

² sn The group of people siding with Korah is meant, and not the entire community of the people of Israel. They are an assembly of rebels, their “community” consisting in their common plot.

³ tn The motif of “going up” is still present; here the Hebrew text says “go up” (the Niphal imperative – “go up yourselves”) from their tents, meaning, move away from them.

⁴ tn The word רָשָׁע (rasha’) has the sense of a guilty criminal. The word “wicked” sometimes gives the wrong connotation. These men were opposing the Lord, and so were condemned as criminals – they were guilty. The idea of “wickedness” therefore applies in that sense.

⁵ tn The preposition bet (בְּ) in this line is causal – “on account of their sins.”

⁶ sn The impression is that the people did not hear what the Lord said to Moses, but only what Moses said to the people as a result. They saw the brilliant cloud, and perhaps heard the sound of his voice, but the relaying of the instructions indicates they did not hear the actual instruction from the Lord himself.