Then Moses sent a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up.
Parallel translations
- WEB Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, “We won’t come up!
- KJV And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:
- BSB Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come!
- NKJV And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up!
- NLT Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they replied, “We refuse to come before you!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, but they refused to come. Their open defiance showed hardened rebellion.
Overview
Dathan and Abiram brazenly refuse Moses' call, displaying contempt for his God-given authority. Their refusal to even appear marks a deepening of the rebellion into outright insolence. Such hardness of heart against God's word is a warning against the stubborn refusal to heed God's call to repentance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Isa 3:5The people will be oppressed, everyone by another, and everyone by his neighbor. The child will behave himself proudly against the old man, and the base against the honorable.
- Jude 1:8Yet in the same way, these also in their dreaming defile the flesh, despise authority, and slander celestial beings.
- Prov 29:9If a wise man goes to court with a foolish man, the fool rages or scoffs, and there is no peace.
- 1 Pet 2:13–14Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether to the king, as supreme;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 16:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.