Numbers 16:3

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

They gathered against Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have taken too much upon yourselves! The whole community is holy, each one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you set yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?"

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיִּֽקָּהֲל֞וּ עַל־מֹשֶׁ֣ה וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֲלֵהֶם֮ רַב־לָכֶם֒ כִּ֤י כָל־הָֽעֵדָה֙ כֻּלָּ֣ם קְדֹשִׁ֔ים וּבְתוֹכָ֖ם יְהוָ֑ה וּמַדּ֥וּעַ תִּֽתְנַשְּׂא֖וּ עַל־קְהַ֥ל יְהוָֽה׃

Transliteration

And wayyiqqāhălû against-Mōšeh and against-ʾAhărōn and wayyōʾmərû to-them, much-for-you, for all-the-ʿēdâ all-of-them qədōšîm and in-midst-of-them YHWH; and why titnassəʾû over-assembly-of YHWH

Grammar Details

• *wayyiqqāhălû*: waw-consecutive + Niphal imperfect, 3rd masculine plural - and they assembled/gathered themselves
• *Mōšeh*: proper noun, masculine singular - Moses
• *ʾAhărōn*: proper noun, masculine singular - Aaron
• *wayyōʾmərû*: waw-consecutive + Qal imperfect, 3rd masculine plural - and they said
• *ʿēdâ*: noun, feminine singular - congregation/assembly
• *qədōšîm*: adjective, masculine plural - holy ones/sacred
• *YHWH*: proper noun - the LORD/Yahweh
• *titnassəʾû*: Hitpael imperfect, 2nd masculine plural - you exalt yourselves/lift yourselves up

Word Meanings

• *wayyiqqāhălû ʿal*: gathered against/assembled against
• *rab-lākem*: too much for you/you take too much upon yourselves/enough for you
• *qədōšîm*: holy/set apart/consecrated
• *titnassəʾû*: exalt yourselves/lift yourselves up/set yourselves above

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: why then do you lift yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and Jehovah is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of Jehovah?

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  and they gathered the selues together agenst Moses and Aaron and sayed vnto them: ye haue done ynough. For all the multitude are holy euery one of them and the Lorde is amonge them. Why therfore heue ye youre selues vpp aboue the congregacion of the Lorde.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  And they gathered them selues agaynst Moses & Aaro & sayde vnto them: Ye make to moch adoo, for all the congregacion is holy euery one, and the LORDE is amonge them: Why lifte ye youre selues vp then aboue the congregacion of the LORDE?

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Who gathered themselues together against Moses, and against Aaron, and sayde vnto them, Ye take too much vpon you, seeing all the Congregation is holie, euery one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherfore then lift ye your selues aboue the Congregation of the Lorde?

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And they gathered them selues together agaynst Moyses and Aaron, and sayde vnto them: Ye take much vpon you, seyng all the multitude are holy euery one of them, and the Lorde is among them: Why lyft you your selues vp aboue the congregation of the Lord?

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, [Ye take] too much upon you, seeing all the congregation [are] holy, every one of them, and the LORD [is] among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take too much on you, seeing all the congregation are holy, everyone of them, and Yahweh is among them: why then lift yourselves up above the assembly of Yahweh?

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  and they are assembled against Moses and against Aaron, and say unto them, `Enough of you! for all the company -- all of them `are' holy, and in their midst `is' Jehovah; and wherefore do ye lift yourselves up above the assembly of Jehovah?'

• American Standard Version (1901)

  and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and Jehovah is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of Jehovah?

• American Standard Version (1901)

  and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and Jehovah is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of Jehovah?

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  They came together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take overmuch on yourselves, seeing that all the people are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; why then have you put yourselves in authority over the people of the Lord?

• World English Bible (2000)

  and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, "You take too much on yourself, since all the congregation are holy, everyone of them, and Yahweh is among them: why then lift yourselves up above the assembly of Yahweh?"

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  And they assembled against Moses and Aaron, saying to them,“You take too much upon yourselves, seeing that the whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the community of the LORD.

Referenced Verses

• Ps 106:16 : 16 They envied Moses in the camp, and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD.
• Exod 19:6 : 6 You will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.
• Num 14:14 : 14 They will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, LORD, are among these people, that you, LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
• Num 16:7 : 7 Put fire in them and place incense on them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow. The man the Lord chooses will be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!"
• Num 16:11 : 11 Therefore, it is against the Lord that you and all your followers have gathered. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?"
• Num 35:34 : 34 Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.
• Ezra 9:2 : 2 They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and they have mingled the holy seed with the peoples of the lands. Furthermore, the leaders and officials have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.
• Ps 68:17 : 17 Why do you gaze with envy, you many-peaked mountains, at the mountain God has chosen for His dwelling? Yes, the LORD will dwell there forever.
• Exod 29:45-46 : 45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.
• Num 12:1-2 : 1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 They said, 'Is it only through Moses that the LORD has spoken? Hasn't He also spoken through us?' And the LORD heard this.
• Num 14:1-4 : 1 Then the entire assembly raised their voices and cried, and the people wept throughout that night. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole community said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt or in this wilderness! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt? 4 And they said to each other, "Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.
• Isa 1:11-16 : 11 "What is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed animals; I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats. 12 When you come to appear before Me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of My courts? 13 Do not bring any more meaningless offerings; your incense is detestable to Me. New Moons, Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity combined with solemn assembly. 14 Your New Moons and appointed festivals My soul hates. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you. Even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean. Remove your evil deeds from My sight; stop doing evil.
• Jer 7:3-9 : 3 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place.' 4 Do not trust deceitful words, saying: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’ 5 For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice between a person and their neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or follow other gods, bringing harm upon yourselves, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors forever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my name, and say, ‘We are safe,’ only to go on doing all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it,’ declares the LORD. 12 Now go to my place in Shiloh, where I first caused my name to dwell. See what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.
• Matt 3:9-9 : 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 10 Even now the axe is laid at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
• Acts 7:39 : 39 But our ancestors were unwilling to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.
• Acts 7:51 : 51 You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors did.
• Rom 2:28-29 : 28 For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 But a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. Such a person’s praise is not from people, but from God.