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The sons of Korah, however, did not die.
Numbers 26:11 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Notwithstanding, the sons of Korah didn’t die.
  • KJV Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not.
  • BSB However, the line of Korah did not die out.
  • NKJV Nevertheless the children of Korah did not die.
  • NLT However, the sons of Korah did not die that day.

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

Notably, the sons of Korah did not die in the rebellion. God's judgment was tempered with mercy on Korah's line.

Overview

Although Korah perished, his descendants were spared, a striking note of grace amid judgment. The sons of Korah later appear as faithful temple singers, credited with several psalms. Their survival shows that God's mercy can preserve a line even after a father's grievous sin, and that descendants are not bound by an ancestor's guilt.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Exod 6:24The sons of Korah: Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites.
  • Ps 42:1For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, God.
  • Ps 46:1For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
  • Num 16:5He said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning, Yahweh will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him. Even him whom he shall choose, he will cause to come near to him.
  • Ps 45:1For the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A contemplation by the sons of Korah. A wedding song. My heart overflows with a noble theme. I recite my verses for the king. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.
  • Ps 47:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. Oh clap your hands, all you nations. Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
  • Ps 49:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,
  • Num 16:33So they, and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol. The earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly.
  • Ps 44:1For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. A contemplative psalm. We have heard with our ears, God; our fathers have told us, what work you did in their days, in the days of old.
  • Ps 48:1A Song. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.
  • Deut 24:16The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers. Every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
  • 1 Chr 6:22–28The sons of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son,
  • Ps 50:1A Psalm by Asaph. The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, speaks, and calls the earth from sunrise to sunset.

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 26:11YouTube · 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 26:11 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.