Numbers 16:12-44

¹²And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said: 'We will not come up;

¹³is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but thou must needs make thyself also a prince over us?

¹⁴Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards; wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.'

¹⁵And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD: 'Respect not Thou their offering; I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.'

¹⁶And Moses said unto Korah: 'Be thou and all thy congregation before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow;

¹⁷and take ye every man his fire-pan, and put incense upon them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his fire-pan, two hundred and fifty fire-pans; thou also, and Aaron, each his fire-pan.'

¹⁸And they took every man his fire-pan, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood at the door of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.

¹⁹And Korah assembled all the congregation against them unto the door of the tent of meeting; and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.

²⁰And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying:

²¹'Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.'

²²And they fell upon their faces, and said: 'O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt Thou be wroth with all the congregation?'

²³And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:

²⁴'Speak unto the congregation, saying: Get you up from about the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.'

²⁵And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.

²⁶And he spoke unto the congregation, saying: 'Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be swept away in all their sins.'

²⁷So they got them up from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side; and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, and their sons, and their little ones.

²⁸And Moses said: 'Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works, and that I have not done them of mine own mind.

²⁹If these men die the common death of all men, and be visited after the visitation of all men, then the LORD hath not sent Me.

³⁰But if the LORD make a new thing, and the ground open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down alive into the pit, then ye shall understand that these men have despised the LORD.'

³¹And it came to pass, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground did cleave asunder that was under them.

³²And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.

³³So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit; and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the assembly.

³⁴And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them; for they said: 'Lest the earth swallow us up.'

³⁵And fire came forth from the LORD, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense.

³⁶(17-1) And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:

³⁷(17-2) 'Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the fire-pans out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are become holy;

³⁸(17-3) even the fire-pans of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar — for they are become holy, because they were offered before the LORD — that they may be a sign unto the children of Israel.'

³⁹(17-4) And Eleazar the priest took the brazen fire-pans, which they that were burnt had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar,

⁴⁰(17-5) to be a memorial unto the children of Israel, to the end that no common man, that is not of the seed of Aaron, draw near to burn incense before the LORD; that he fare not as Korah, and as his company; as the LORD spoke unto him by the hand of Moses.

⁴¹(17-6) But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying: 'Ye have killed the people of the LORD.'

⁴²(17-7) And it came to pass, when the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting; and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.

⁴³(17-8) And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting.

⁴⁴(17-9) And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: