Numbers 16:3-35

3They assembled together 1against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “23You have gone far enough! For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and 4the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

4When Moses heard this, 5he fell on his face; 5and he spoke to Korah and all his group, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will make known who is His, and 6who is holy, and will bring that one near to Himself; indeed, 7the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. 6Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and 8your whole group, 7and put fire in them, and place incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. 910You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”

8Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 911Is it too small an honor for you that the God of Israel has singled you out from the congregation of Israel, 12to bring you near to Himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; 10and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? But are you 13seeking the priesthood as well? 11Therefore you and your whole group are the ones gathered together 14against the Lord; but as for Aaron, 15who is he, that 16you grumble against him?”

12Then Moses sent 17a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. 13Is it 18not enough that you have brought us up out of a 19land flowing with milk and honey 20to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also appoint yourself as master over us? 14Indeed, you have not brought us 21into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of 22fields and vineyards. Would you 23gouge out the eyes of 24these men? We will not come up!”

15Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “25Pay no attention to their offering! 26I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.” 16Moses said to Korah, “You and all your group be present before the Lord tomorrow, you and they along with Aaron. 17And each of you take his censer and put incense on 27it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, 250 censers; also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.” 18So they took, each one his own censer, and put fire on 28it, and placed incense on 29it; and they stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. 19So Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And 30the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

20Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21“31Separate yourselves from among this congregation, 32so that I may consume them instantly.” 22But they fell on their faces and said, “God, 33the God of the spirits of 34humanity, 35when one person sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

23Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24“Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘36Get away from the areas around the 37tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’”

25Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, 26and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “38Get away now from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, 39or you will be swept away in all their sin!” 27So they moved away from the areas around the 40tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, along with their wives, 41their sons, and their little ones. 28Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that 42the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for it is not 43my doing. 29If these men die 44the death of all mankind, or 45if they suffer the 46fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. 30But 47if the Lord 48brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with everything that is theirs, and they 49descend alive into 50Sheol, then you will know that these men have been disrespectful to the Lord.”

31And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32and 51the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, and 52all the people who belonged to Korah with all their possessions. 33So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to 53Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34Then all Israel who were around them fled at their 54outcry, for they said, “The earth might swallow us!” 3555Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the 56250 men who were offering the incense.