1Now Korah, who was the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, took Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, all sons of Reuben, along with some other men.
2They rose up against Moses, along with 250 respected Israelite leaders, who were members of the community and had been chosen for the assembly.
3They gathered together against Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The entire community is holy, every one of them, and Yahweh is among them. Why do you put yourselves above Yahweh’s assembly?”
4When Moses heard this, he fell face down on the ground.
5He then said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning, Yahweh will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will bring that person near to him. The one he chooses, he will bring near.
6Do this: You, Korah, and all your followers, take censers.
7Put fire in them and place incense on them before Yahweh tomorrow. The man whom Yahweh chooses will be the holy one. You Levites have gone too far!”
8Moses also said to Korah, “Listen now, you Levites!
9Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has set you apart from the community of Israel to bring you near to himself, so that you can do the work in Yahweh’s Tabernacle and stand before the community to serve them?
10He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near. Are you now trying to claim the priesthood as well?
11Therefore, you and all your company are gathered against Yahweh! What is Aaron, that you complain against him?”
12Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come!
13Is it a small thing that you have brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness, and now you want to make yourself a prince over us?
14What’s more, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us fields and vineyards as an inheritance. Do you think we are blind? We will not come!”
15Moses became very angry and said to Yahweh, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken even one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any of them.”
16Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow, you and all your followers, along with Aaron, must present yourselves before Yahweh.”
17“Each of you, including Aaron, must take a censer, put incense in it, and bring your censer before Yahweh. There will be two hundred fifty censers in total.”
18So each person took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting with Moses and Aaron.
19Korah gathered the entire community opposite them at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Then the glory of Yahweh appeared to everyone.
20Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron,
21Separate yourselves from this community so I can destroy them instantly!
22They fell on their faces and said, "God, the God who gives life to all people, if one man sins, will you be angry with the whole community?"
23Yahweh said to Moses,
24"Tell the community: 'Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!'"
25Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26He spoke to the community, saying, "Please move away from the tents of these wicked men and don't touch anything that belongs to them, otherwise you might be destroyed because of all their sins!"
27So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram on all sides. Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents with their wives, their sons, and their little children.
28Moses said, "By this you will know that Yahweh sent me to do all these things; they are not from my own ideas.
29If these men die a normal death like everyone else, or if they experience what all people experience, then Yahweh has not sent me.
30But if Yahweh does something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and everything belonging to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will understand that these men have disrespected Yahweh."
31As he finished saying all these words, the ground beneath them split apart.
32The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, along with their families, all of Korah's men, and all their possessions.
33So they and everything belonging to them went down alive into the grave. The earth closed over them, and they disappeared from the assembly.
34All the Israelites around them fled at their cry, saying, "Lest the earth swallow us too!"
35Fire came out from Yahweh and consumed the two hundred fifty men who were offering the incense.
36Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
37"Tell Eleazar, Aaron's son, the priest, to pick up the incense burners from the fire and scatter the fire away from the camp, because they are holy.
38The incense burners of these men who sinned against their own lives should be flattened into plates to cover the altar, because they offered them before Yahweh. Therefore, they are holy. They will be a sign to the people of Israel."
39Eleazar the priest took the bronze incense burners that those who were burned had offered, and they hammered them into a covering for the altar.
40This was to serve as a reminder to the people of Israel that no unauthorized person, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to burn incense before Yahweh, so that he would not become like Korah and his group, just as Yahweh had warned through Moses.
41But the next day, the entire community of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed Yahweh's people!"
42When the community gathered against Moses and Aaron, they looked toward the Meeting Tent. Suddenly, a cloud covered it, and Yahweh's glory appeared.
43Moses and Aaron went to the entrance of the Meeting Tent.
44Yahweh said to Moses,
45"Get away from this community so I can destroy them in an instant!" Moses and Aaron immediately fell to the ground.
46Moses told Aaron, "Take your censer, put fire from the altar in it, add incense, and quickly carry it to the community to make atonement for them. Because Yahweh is angry, and the plague has already begun."
47Aaron did as Moses said and ran into the middle of the assembly. The plague had indeed begun among the people. He put on the incense and made atonement for the people.
48He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped.
49Fourteen thousand seven hundred people died from the plague, in addition to those who died because of Korah's rebellion.
50Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, and the plague had stopped.