Numbers 16:20-17:8

Complete Jewish Bible

(iii) ²⁰ Adonai said to Moshe and Aharon, ²¹ “Separate yourselves from this assembly; I’m going to destroy them right now!” ²² They fell on their faces and said, “Oh God, God of the spirits of all humankind, if one person sins, are you going to be angry with the entire assembly?” ²³ Adonai answered Moshe, ²⁴ “Tell the assembly to move away from the homes of Korach, Datan and Aviram.” ²⁵ Moshe got up and went to Datan and Aviram, and the leaders of Isra’el followed him. ²⁶ There he said to the assembly, “Leave the tents of these wicked men! Don’t touch anything that belongs to them, or you may be swept away in all their sins.” ²⁷ So they moved away from all around the area where Korach, Datan and Aviram lived.

Then Datan and Aviram came out and stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, sons and little ones. ²⁸ Moshe said, “Here is how you will know that Adonai has sent me to do all these things and that I haven’t done them out of my own ambition: ²⁹ if these men die a natural death like other people, only sharing the fate common to all humanity, then Adonai has not sent me. ³⁰ But if Adonai does something new — if the ground opens up and swallows them with everything they own, and they go down alive to Sh’ol — then you will understand that these men have had contempt for Adonai.”

³¹ The moment he finished speaking, the ground under them split apart — ³² the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households, all the people who had sided with Korach and everything they owned. ³³ So they and everything they owned went down alive into Sh’ol, the earth closed over them and their existence in the community ceased. ³⁴ All Isra’el around them fled at their shrieks, shouting, “The earth might swallow us too!” ³⁵ Then fire came out from Adonai and destroyed the 250 men who had offered the incense.

17 ^(16:36) Adonai said to Moshe, ^2 (16:37) “Tell El‘azar the son of Aharon the cohen to remove the fire pans from the fire, and scatter the smoldering coals at a distance, because they have become holy. ^3 (16:38) Also the fire pans of these men, whose sin cost them their lives, have become holy, because they were offered before Adonai. Therefore, have them hammered into plates to cover the altar. This will be a sign for the people of Isra’el.”

^4 (16:39) El‘azar the cohen took the brass fire pans which the men who had been burned to death had offered, and they hammered them into a covering for the altar, ^5 (16:40) to remind the people of Isra’el that an ordinary person, not descended from Aharon, is not to approach and burn incense before Adonai, if he wants to avoid the fate of Korach and his group — as Adonai had said to him through Moshe.

^6 (16:41) But the very next day, the whole community of the people of Isra’el complained against Moshe and Aharon: “You have killed Adonai’s people!” ^7 (16:42) However, as the community was assembling against Moshe and Aharon, they looked in the direction of the tent of meeting and saw the cloud cover it and the glory of Adonai appear. ^8 (16:43) Moshe and Aharon came to the front of the tent of meeting.