Numbers 16:20–35

²⁰The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²¹“Separate yourselves^s from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”^t

²²But Moses and Aaron fell facedown^u and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things,^v will you be angry with the entire assembly^w when only one man sins?”^x

²³Then the Lord said to Moses, ²⁴“Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’ ”

²⁵Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel^y followed him. ²⁶He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men!^z Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away^a because of all their sins.^b” ²⁷So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.^c Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children^d and little ones at the entrances to their tents.^e

²⁸Then Moses said, “This is how you will know^f that the Lord has sent me^g to do all these things and that it was not my idea: ²⁹If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me.^{h 30}But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouthⁱ and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead,^j then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.^k”

³¹As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart^{l 32}and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them^m and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. ³³They went down alive into the realm of the dead,ⁿ with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. ³⁴At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”

³⁵And fire came out from the Lord^o and consumed^p the 250 men who were offering the incense.