³¹ Just as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open. ³² The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah’s people,^(A) and all their possessions. ³³ They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. ³⁴ At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, “The earth may swallow us too!” ³⁵ Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were presenting the incense.^(B)

⁴¹ The next day the entire Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron,^(A) saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!” ⁴² When the community assembled against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the Lord’s glory 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 community so that I may consume them instantly.”^(B) But they fell facedown.

⁴⁶ Then Moses told Aaron, “Take your firepan, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the community and make atonement for them, because wrath has come from the Lord; the plague has begun.” ⁴⁷ So Aaron took his firepan as Moses had ordered, ran into the middle of the assembly, and saw that the plague had begun among the people. After he added incense, he made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was halted. ⁴⁹ But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who died because of the Korah incident. ⁵⁰ Aaron then returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, since the plague had been halted.^(C)