Numbers 16:26-47

²⁶He/I told the people, “Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them! If you touch anything, you will die because of their sins!”

²⁷So all the people moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came out of their tents with their wives and children and babies, and stood at the entrances of their tents.

²⁸Then Moses/I said, “I was not the one who decided to do all these things that I have done. It was Yahweh who chose me and sent me to do them. And now he will prove that to you.

²⁹If these men die in a normal way, then it will be clear that Yahweh did not choose me.

³⁰But if Yahweh does something that has never happened before, if he causes the ground that is under their feet to open up and swallow these men and their families and all their possessions, and they fall into the opening and are buried while they are still alive, then you will know that these men have insulted Yahweh.”

³¹As soon as Moses/I said this, the ground split open beneath those men.

³²It swallowed them and their families and all those who were standing there with Korah and all of their possessions.

³³They fell into the opening in the ground while they were still alive, and all their possessions fell into the opening also. They disappeared, and the ground closed back up again.

³⁴They screamed as they fell, and all the people who were standing nearby heard them scream. The people were terrified and cried out as they ran away, saying, “ We do not want the ground to swallow us also!”

³⁵And then a fire from Yahweh came down from the sky and burned up the 250 men who were burning the incense!

³⁶Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

³⁷“Tell Aaron's son Eleazar to take the pans that had incense in them away from the fire and to scatter the burning coals. The pans that those men were carrying are ◄holy/dedicated to me► because they burned incense to me in them.

³⁸Those men have now died because of their sin; so Eleazar must take their pans and hammer the metal to make it become very thin. He must make a covering for the altar with that metal. Those pans were used to offer incense to me, so they are ◄holy/dedicated to me►. What happened to those pans will now warn the Israeli people.”

³⁹So Eleazar the priest collected the 250 pans for burning incense that had been used by the men who died in the fire. He hammered the pans very thin to make a covering for the altar, as Yahweh told Moses/me should be done.

⁴⁰That warned the Israeli people that only those who were descendants of Aaron were permitted to burn incense for an offering to Yahweh. If anyone else did that, the same thing that happened to Korah and those who were with him would happen to them.

⁴¹But the following morning, all the Israeli people started to complain against Aaron and Moses/me, saying “You have killed many people who belonged to Yahweh!”

⁴²When all the people gathered together to protest about what Aaron and Moses/I had done, they looked at the Sacred Tent and saw that the sacred cloud had covered it, and the glory of Yahweh had appeared.

⁴³Aaron and Moses/I went and stood in front of the Sacred Tent.

⁴⁴Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

⁴⁵“Get away from these people, in order that I can get rid of them immediately without injuring you two!” But Aaron and Moses/I prostrated themselves/ourselves on the ground and prayed.

⁴⁶Moses/I said to Aaron, “Quickly take another pan and put in it some burning/hot coals from the altar. Put incense in the pan, and carry it out among the people to atone for the sins of the people. Yahweh is very angry with them, and I know that a ◄severe plague/bad sickness► has already started among them.”

⁴⁷So Aaron did what Moses/I told him. He took the burning incense out among the people. The plague had already started to strike the people, but Aaron continued to burn the incense so that God would forgive them for the sins they had committed.