³¹ As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart^{(A) 32} and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them^(B) and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. ³³ They went down alive into the realm of the dead,^(C) with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. ³⁴ At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”

³⁵ And fire came out from the Lord^(D) and consumed^(E) the 250 men who were offering the incense.

³⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar^(F) son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers^(G) from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy— ³⁸ the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives.^(H) Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar,^(I) for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign^(J) to the Israelites.”

³⁹ So Eleazar the priest^(K) collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death,^(L) and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, ⁴⁰ as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense^(M) before the Lord,^(N) or he would become like Korah and his followers.^(O)

⁴¹ The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.

⁴² But when the assembly gathered in opposition^(P) to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord^(Q) appeared. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴ and the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵ “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end^(R) to them at once.” And they fell facedown.

⁴⁶ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer^(S) and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly^(T) to make atonement^(U) for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord;^(V) the plague^(W) has started.” ⁴⁷ So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people,^(X) but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. ⁴⁸ He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.^{(Y) 49} But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.^{(Z) 50} Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.^[a]

The Budding of Aaron’s Staff

17 ^[b]The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs^(AA) from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes.^(AB) Write the name of each man on his staff. ³ On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name,^(AC) for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. ⁴ Place them in the tent of meeting^(AD) in front of the ark of the covenant law,^(AE) where I meet with you.^{(AF) 5} The staff belonging to the man I choose^(AG) will sprout,^(AH) and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling^(AI) against you by the Israelites.”

⁶ So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron’s staff was among them. ⁷ Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law.^(AJ)

⁸ The next day Moses entered the tent^(AK) and saw that Aaron’s staff,^(AL) which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.^{(AM) 9} Then Moses brought out all the staffs^(AN) from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each of the leaders took his own staff.

¹⁰ The Lord said to Moses, “Put back Aaron’s staff^(AO) in front of the ark of the covenant law, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious.^(AP) This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.” ¹¹ Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.

¹² The Israelites said to Moses, “We will die! We are lost, we are all lost!^{(AQ) 13} Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die.^(AR) Are we all going to die?”

Peter Disowns Jesus^(A)

⁶⁶ While Peter was below in the courtyard,^(B) one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. ⁶⁷ When she saw Peter warming himself,^(C) she looked closely at him.

“You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,”^(D) she said.

⁶⁸ But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,”^(E) he said, and went out into the entryway.^[a]

⁶⁹ When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.” ⁷⁰ Again he denied it.^(F)

After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”^(G)

⁷¹ He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”^(H)

⁷² Immediately the rooster crowed the second time.^[b] Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice^[c] you will disown me three times.”^(I) And he broke down and wept.