1 Now Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, took action, along with Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben. 2 They rose up before Moses, together with two hundred fifty men from the Israelites, leaders of the congregation, men called to the assembly, men of renown. 3 They assembled against Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole congregation, every one of them, is holy, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” 4 When Moses heard it, he fell on his face. 5 He spoke to Korah and all his company and said, “In the morning the LORD will make known who belongs to him and who is holy, and bring him near to himself. The one he chooses, he will bring near to himself. 6 Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company, 7 put fire in them, and put incense on them before the LORD tomorrow. The man the LORD chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” 8 Moses said to Korah, “Listen, please, sons of Levi. 9 Is it too little for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to bring you near to himself, to perform the service of the LORD's tabernacle and to stand before the congregation to serve them? 10 He has brought you near, and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, with you. Do you seek the priesthood as well? 11 Therefore you and all your company are gathered against the LORD. As for Aaron, what is he that you grumble against him?” 12 Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it too little that you brought us up from a land flowing with milk and honey to put us to death in the wilderness, that you must also lord it over us? 14 You have not even brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of those men? We will not come up!” 15 Moses was very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them.” 16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company shall be before the LORD tomorrow, you, they, and Aaron. 17 Each of you shall take his censer, put incense on them, and present his censer before the LORD, two hundred fifty censers; you and Aaron also, each with his censer.” 18 Each took his censer, put fire in them, and placed incense on them. They stood at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, with Moses and Aaron. 19 Korah assembled the whole congregation against them at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole congregation.

20 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and said, 21 “Separate yourselves from the midst of this congregation, and I will consume them in an instant.” 22 They fell on their faces and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with the whole congregation?”

23 The LORD spoke to Moses and said, 24 “Speak to the congregation and say, ‘Move away from around the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ” 25 Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 He spoke to the congregation and said, “Please turn away from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything belonging to them, lest you be swept away in all their sins.” 27 They moved away from around the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. 28 Moses said, “By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that they are not from my own heart. 29 If these men die as all people die, and the fate of all people overtakes them, then the LORD has not sent me. 30 But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them, and they go down alive to Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD.” 31 As soon as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split apart. 32 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, all the people belonging to Korah, and all their possessions. 33 They and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol. The earth covered them, and they perished from among the assembly. 34 All Israel around them fled at their cry, for they said, “The earth might swallow us!” 35 Fire came out from the LORD and consumed the two hundred fifty men presenting the incense.

36 The LORD spoke to Moses and said, 37 “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to lift the censers from among the burned remains. Scatter the fire farther away, for they have become holy. 38 As for the censers of these men who sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered sheets as a covering for the altar, for they presented them before the LORD and they became holy. They shall be a sign to the Israelites.” 39 Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers presented by those who were burned, and they were hammered into a covering for the altar, 40 as a memorial to the Israelites, so that no unauthorized man who is not a descendant of Aaron would draw near to burn incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his company, as the LORD had spoken to him through Moses. 41 The next day the whole congregation of the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have put the LORD's people to death!” 42 When the congregation assembled against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tent of Meeting, and there the cloud had covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. 43 Moses and Aaron came before the Tent of Meeting.

44 The LORD spoke to Moses and said, 45 “Move away from the midst of this congregation, and I will consume them in an instant.” And they fell on their faces. 46 Moses said to Aaron, “Take the censer, put fire from the altar in it, add incense, and carry it quickly to the congregation. Make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from before the LORD; the plague has begun.” 47 Aaron took it as Moses had spoken and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already begun 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 stopped. 49 Those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the matter of Korah. 50 Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and the plague had been stopped.