Numbers 16:19-38

New King James Version

¹⁹ And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then ^(A)the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ^21 (B)“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may ^(C)consume them in a moment.”

²² Then they ^(D)fell^[a] on their faces, and said, “O God, ^(E)the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the ^(F)congregation?”

²³ So the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ”

²⁵ Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶ And he spoke to the congregation, saying, ^(G)“Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.” ²⁷ So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little ^(H)children.

²⁸ And Moses said: ^(I)“By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them ^(J)of my own will. ²⁹ If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are ^(K)visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But if the Lord creates ^(L)a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they ^(M)go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.”

^31 (N)Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, ³² and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and ^(O)all the men with Korah, with all their goods. ³³ So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. ³⁴ Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also!”

³⁵ And ^(P)a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.

³⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to pick up the censers out of the blaze, for ^(Q)they are holy, and scatter the fire some distance away. ³⁸ The censers of ^(R)these men who sinned ^[b]against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the Lord, therefore they are holy; ^(S)and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.”