Korah, Dathan and Abiram

16 Korah^(A) son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram^(B), sons of Eliab,^(C) and On son of Peleth—became insolent^{[a] 2} and rose up against Moses.^(D) With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.^{(E) 3} They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron^(F) and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy,^(G) every one of them, and the Lord is with them.^(H) Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”^(I)

⁴ When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.^{(J) 5} Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy,^(K) and he will have that person come near him.^(L) The man he chooses^(M) he will cause to come near him. ⁶ You, Korah, and all your followers^(N) are to do this: Take censers^{(O) 7} and tomorrow put burning coals^(P) and incense^(Q) in them before the Lord. The man the Lord chooses^(R) will be the one who is holy.^(S) You Levites have gone too far!”

²⁵ Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel^(A) followed him. ²⁶ He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men!^(B) Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away^(C) because of all their sins.^(D)” ²⁷ So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.^(E) Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children^(F) and little ones at the entrances to their tents.^(G)

²⁸ Then Moses said, “This is how you will know^(H) that the Lord has sent me^(I) to do all these things and that it was not my idea: ²⁹ If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me.^{(J) 30} But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth^(K) and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead,^(L) then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.^(M)”

³¹ As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart^{(N) 32} and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them^(O) and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. ³³ They went down alive into the realm of the dead,^(P) 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^(Q) and consumed^(R) the 250 men who were offering the incense.

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^(A) to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord^(B) 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^(C) to them at once.” And they fell facedown.

⁴⁶ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer^(D) and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly^(E) to make atonement^(F) for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord;^(G) the plague^(H) 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,^(I) but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. ⁴⁸ He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.^{(J) 49} But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.^{(K) 50} Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.^[a]