1 Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, along with Dathan, Abiram (sons of Eliab), and On, son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben, took action.

Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:

2 They rose up against Moses, accompanied by 250 leaders of Israel, men of reputation who had been chosen to represent the assembly.

And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:

3 They gathered against Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have taken too much upon yourselves! The whole community is holy, each one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you set yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?"

And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

4 When Moses heard this, he fell face down.

And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:

5 Then he spoke to Korah and all his followers, saying, "In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to Him, who is holy, and whom He permits to approach Him. The one He chooses, He will bring near to Himself.

And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.

6 "Do this: Take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your followers.

This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;

7 Put fire in them and place incense on them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow. The man the Lord chooses will be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!"

And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.

8 Moses also said to Korah, "Listen now, you sons of Levi!

And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:

9 Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has set you apart from the rest of the Israelite community to bring you near to Himself to do the work of the Lord's tabernacle and to stand before the assembly to minister to them?

Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?

10 He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near to Him, but now you are demanding the priesthood as well!

And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?

11 Therefore, it is against the Lord that you and all your followers have gathered. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?"

For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?

12 Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not come!

And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:

13 Isn't it 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?

Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?

14 What's more, you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you intend to gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come!"

Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.

15 Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, "Do not accept their offering. I have not taken even a single donkey from them, nor have I wronged any one of them."

And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.

16 Moses said to Korah, "You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you, they, and Aaron.

And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:

17 Each man is to take his censer, put incense in it, and present it before the Lord—250 censers in all. You and Aaron are also to do the same, each with his censer.

And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.

18 So each of them took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.

19 When Korah had assembled the entire community against them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole assembly.

And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.

20 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

21 "Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once."

Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.

22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?"

And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?

23 Then the Lord said to Moses,

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

24 "Say to the assembly, 'Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.'"

Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.

And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.

26 He warned the assembly, "Move away from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins."

And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.

27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children, and little ones at the entrances to their tents.

So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.

28 Then 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:

And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.

29 If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the Lord has not sent me.

If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.

30 But if the Lord brings about something unprecedented and the ground opens its mouth to swallow them and everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.

But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.

31 As soon as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split apart.

And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:

32 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, along with all of Korah's men and all their possessions.

And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.

33 They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished from the community.

They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

34 All the Israelites around them ran away at their cries, saying, 'The earth might swallow us too!'

And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.

35 Then fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering incense.

And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.