The censers of these men who sinned against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the Lord, therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.”
Parallel translations
- WEB even the censers of these sinners against their own lives. Let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar, for they offered them before Yahweh. Therefore they are holy. They shall be a sign to the children of Israel.”
- KJV 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.
- BSB 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.”
- NASB As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their own lives, have them made into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy; and they shall serve as a sign to the sons of Israel.”
- NLT Take the incense burners of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and hammer the metal into a thin sheet to overlay the altar. Since these burners were used in the Lord’s presence, they have become holy. Let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel.”
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
The censers of these sinners were to be hammered into plating for the altar as a sign to Israel. Their judgment became a lasting warning.
Overview
The censers of the rebels, made holy by contact with God's service, are turned into a covering for the altar as a permanent reminder. The memorial would warn future generations against the sin of presuming to approach God uninvited. It teaches that God can turn even the instruments of rebellion into a testimony to his holiness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Prov 20:2The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion. He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.
- 2 Pet 2:6and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly;
- Num 26:10and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died; at the time the fire devoured two hundred fifty men, and they became a sign.
- Ezek 14:8I will set my face against that man, and will make him an astonishment, for a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from among my people; and you will know that I am Yahweh.
- 1 Kgs 2:23Then king Solomon swore by Yahweh, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.
- Num 17:10Yahweh said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the children of rebellion; that you may make an end of their murmurings against me, that they not die.”
- Hab 2:10You have devised shame to your house, by cutting off many peoples, and have sinned against your soul.
- Prov 8:36But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death.”
- Num 16:40to be a memorial to the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger, who isn’t of the offspring of Aaron, would come near to burn incense before Yahweh, that he not be as Korah, and as his company; as Yahweh spoke to him by Moses.
- Prov 1:18but these lay wait for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives.
- 1 Cor 10:11Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
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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 16:38 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
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