Numbers 16:25-35

New American Standard Bible

²⁵Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, ²⁶and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “^(A)Get away now from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, ^(B)or you will be swept away in all their sin!” ²⁷So they moved away from the areas around the ^[a]tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, along with their wives, ^(C)their sons, and their little ones. ²⁸Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that ^(D)the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for it is not ^[b]my doing. ²⁹If these men die ^[c]the death of all mankind, or ^[d]if they suffer the ^(E)fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰But ^(F)if the Lord ^[e]brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with everything that is theirs, and they ^(G)descend alive into ^[f]Sheol, then you will know that these men have been disrespectful to the Lord.”

³¹And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; ³²and ^(H)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, and ^(I)all the people who belonged to Korah with all their possessions. ³³So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to ^[g]Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. ³⁴Then all Israel who were around them fled at their ^[h]outcry, for they said, “The earth might swallow us!” ³⁵^(J)Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the ^(K)250 men who were offering the incense.

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Footnotes

Numbers 16:27 Lit dwelling place
Numbers 16:28 Lit from my heart
Numbers 16:29 Lit like the death
Numbers 16:29 Lit the visitation of all men is visited upon them
Numbers 16:30 Lit creates
Numbers 16:30 I.e., the netherworld
Numbers 16:33 I.e., the netherworld
Numbers 16:34 Or voice

Numbers 16:25-35

New International Version

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

²⁸Then Moses said, “This is how you will know^(H) that the Lord has sent me^(I) 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.^(J) ³⁰But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth^(K) and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead,^(L) then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.^(M)”

³¹As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart^(N) ³²and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them^(O) and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. ³³They went down alive into the realm of the dead,^(P) 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!”