1 Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, took men, along with Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben,
2 and they rose up against Moses together with two hundred and fifty men of the children of Israel, chiefs of the congregation, men called to the assembly, men of name.
3 They banded together against Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You take too much on yourselves! The whole congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you set yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?"
4 When Moses heard this, he fell face down.
5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers, "In the morning the LORD will make known who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will let that one come near to him; whoever he chooses he will let come near to him.
6 This is what you are to do, Korah and all your followers: take censers,
7 and tomorrow put fire in them and place incense on them before the LORD. The man the LORD chooses is the one who is holy. You sons of Levi take too much on yourselves!"
8 Moses also said to Korah, "Listen now, you sons of Levi.
9 Is it too little for you that the God of Israel has set you apart from the congregation of Israel and brought you near to himself, to do the work of the LORD's tabernacle and to stand before the congregation and minister to them?
10 He has brought you near, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you—and now you seek the priesthood as well?
11 That is why you and all your followers have banded together against the LORD. As for Aaron, who is he that you murmur against him?"
12 Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not come up!
13 Is it not enough that you brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also lord it over us?
14 You have certainly not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us fields and vineyards as an inheritance. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!"
15 Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, "Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as one donkey from them, nor have I wronged any one of them."
16 Moses said to Korah, "Tomorrow you and all your followers are to appear before the LORD—you, they, and Aaron.
17 Each of you is to take his censer, put incense in it, and bring it before the LORD—two hundred and fifty censers; you and Aaron too, each with his censer."
18 So every man took his censer, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.
19 When Korah had gathered the whole congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole congregation.
20 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
21 "Separate yourselves from this congregation, so I can consume them in an instant."
22 But they fell face down and said, "O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will you be angry with the whole congregation?"
23 The LORD said to Moses,
24 "Tell the congregation: Move away from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram."
25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel went with him.
26 He said to the congregation, "Move away, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins."
27 So they moved away from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing at the entrance of their tents with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.
28 Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things, and that it was not my own idea:
29 If these men die the way all people die, and meet the fate all people meet, then the LORD has not sent me.
30 But if the LORD does something entirely new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them along with everything they have, and they go down alive to Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt."
31 The moment he finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open.
32 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah's men, and all their possessions.
33 They went down alive to Sheol, with everything that was theirs; the earth closed over them, and they vanished from among the assembly.
34 At their cries all Israel around them fled, saying, "The earth may swallow us too!"
35 Then fire came out from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.
36 The LORD said to Moses,
37 "Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pick up the censers from the burning and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy—
38 the censers of these men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Have them hammered into thin sheets to plate the altar, since they were presented before the LORD and so became holy. They will serve as a sign to the children of Israel."
39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers that the men who were burned up had presented, and they were hammered out to plate the altar,
40 as a memorial for the children of Israel, so that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron would come near to burn incense before the LORD and become like Korah and his followers—just as the LORD had told him through Moses.
41 The very next day the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You are the ones who killed the LORD's people."
42 As the congregation was gathering against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting, and there the cloud was covering it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.
43 Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting,
44 and the LORD said to Moses,
45 "Get away from this congregation, so I can consume them in an instant." But they fell face down.
46 Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, put fire from the altar in it, place incense on it, and hurry to the congregation to make atonement for them. Wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has started."
47 Aaron took it as Moses had told him and ran into the middle of the assembly, and there the plague had already started among the people. He put on the incense and made atonement for the people.
48 He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was halted.
49 Fourteen thousand seven hundred died in the plague, not counting those who died because of Korah.
50 Then Aaron went back to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and the plague had been halted.