Numbers 16:4-35

⁴When Moses heard this, he fell flat on his face:

⁵And speaking to Core and all the multitude, he said: In the morning the Lord will make known who belong to him, and the holy he will join to himself: and whom he shall choose, they shall approach to him.

⁶Do this therefore: Take every man of you your censers, thou Core, and all thy company.

⁷And putting fire in them tomorrow, put incense upon it before the Lord: and whomsoever he shall choose, the same shall be holy: you take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.

⁸And he said again to Core: Hear ye sons of Levi.

⁹Is it a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath spared you from all the people, and joined you to himself, that you should serve him in the service of the tabernacle, and should stand before the congregation of the people, and should minister to him?

¹⁰Did he therefore make thee and all thy brethren the sons of Levi to approach unto him, that you should challenge to yourselves the priesthood also,

¹¹And that all thy company should stand against the Lord? for what is Aaron that you murmur against him?

¹²Then Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab. But they answered: We will not come.

¹³Is it a small matter to thee, that thou hast brought us out of a land that flowed with milk and honey, to kill us in the desert, except thou rule also like a lord over us?

¹⁴Thou best brought us indeed into a land that floweth with rivers of milk and honey, and hast given us possessions of fields and vineyards; wilt thou also pull out our eyes? We will not come.

¹⁵Moses therefore being very angry, raid to the Lord: Respect not their sacrifices: thou knowest that I have not taken of them so much as a young ass at any time, nor have injured any of them.

¹⁶And he said to Core: Do thou and thy congregation stand apart before the Lord tomorrow, and Aaron apart.

¹⁷Take every one of you censers, and put incense upon them, offering to the Lord two hundred and fifty censers: let Aaron also hold his censer.

¹⁸When they had done this, Moses and Aaron standing,

¹⁹And had drawn up all the multitude against them to the door of the tabernacle, the glory of the Lord appeared to them all.

²⁰And the Lord speaking to Moses and Aaron, said:

²¹Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may presently destroy them.

²²They fell flat on their face, and said: O most mighty, the God of the spirits of all flesh, for one man’s sin shall thy wrath rage against all?

²³And the Lord said to Moses:

²⁴Command the whole people to separate themselves from the tents of Core and Dathan and Abiron.

²⁵And Moses arose, and went to Dathan and Abiron: and the ancients of Israel following him,

²⁶He said to the multitude: Depart from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be involved in their sins.

²⁷And when they were departed from their tents round about, Dathan and Abiron coming out stood in the entry of their pavilions with their wives and children, and all the people.

²⁸And Moses said: By this you shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all things that you see, and that I have not forged them of my own head:

²⁹If these men die the common death of men, and if they be visited with a plague, wherewith others also are wont to be visited, the Lord did not send me.

³⁰But if the Lord do a new thing, and the earth opening her mouth swallow them down, and all things that belong to them, and they go down alive into hell, you shall know that they have blasphemed the Lord.

³¹And immediately as he had made an end of speaking, the earth broke asunder under their feet:

³²And opening her mouth, devoured them with their tents and all their substance.

³³And they went down alive into hell the ground closing upon them, and they perished from among the people.

³⁴But all Israel, that was standing round about, fled at the cry of them that were perishing: saying: Lest perhaps the earth swallow us up also.

³⁵And a fire coming out from the Lord, destroyed the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense.