Limitless Word
But those who died by the plague were 14,700 in number, besides those who died on account of Korah.
Numbers 16:49 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Now those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides those who died about the matter of Korah.
  • KJV Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
  • BSB But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah.
  • NKJV Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident.
  • NLT But 14,700 people died in that plague, in addition to those who had died in the affair involving Korah.

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

14,700 people died in the plague, besides those who perished with Korah, showing the deadly seriousness of rebellion against God.

Overview

The large death toll underscores how grievous Israel's persistent rebellion was in God's sight and how necessary atonement is. The number, additional to Korah's company, marks the cumulative cost of sin. Yet the plague stopped because of priestly intercession, holding together God's justice and His provided mercy.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Num 25:9Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
  • Num 16:32–35The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households, all of Korah’s men, and all their goods.
  • 1 Chr 21:14So Yahweh sent a pestilence on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell.
  • Heb 2:1–3Therefore we ought to pay greater attention to the things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away.
  • Heb 12:25See that you don’t refuse him who speaks. For if they didn’t escape when they refused him who warned on the earth, how much more will we not escape who turn away from him who warns from heaven,
  • Heb 10:28–29A man who disregards Moses’ law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Numbers videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Numbers 16:49YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on NumbersMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 16:49 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.