¹Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, took, and Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On, son of Peleth, sons of Reuben.

²They rose up before Moses, and men from the people of Israel, two hundred and fifty, chiefs of the congregation, those called to the appointed meeting, men of name.

³They assembled against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “Enough for you! For all the congregation, every one of them, are holy, and in their midst is Yahweh. Why then do you lift yourselves up over the assembly of Yahweh?”

⁴Moses heard, and fell on his face.

⁵He spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, “In the morning Yahweh will make known the one who is his, the holy one, and will bring near him to himself; and the one whom he chooses, him he will bring near to himself.”

⁶Do this: take fire-pans for yourselves, Korah and all his company,

⁷and put fire in them, and set incense on them before Yahweh tomorrow. And it will be that the man whom Yahweh chooses, he is the holy one. Enough for you, sons of Levi!

⁸Moses said to Korah, “Listen, please, sons of Levi:

⁹Is it too little for you that the God of Israel has set apart you from the congregation of Israel, to bring near you to himself, to serve in the service of the dwelling place of Yahweh, and to stand before the congregation to attend them?

¹⁰He has brought near you, and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, with you. Yet you seek the priesthood also?

¹¹Therefore you and all your company are the ones gathered against Yahweh. And Aaron, what is he, that you grumble against him?

¹²Moses sent to summon Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up.”

¹³Is it too little that you brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to put us to death in the wilderness, that you must make yourself ruler over us — and rule as well?

¹⁴Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of field and vineyard. Will you gouge out the eyes of those men? We will not come up.

¹⁵Moses burned with anger, greatly. He said to Yahweh, “Do not turn toward their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed a single one of them.”

¹⁶Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company, be before Yahweh tomorrow: you, and they, and Aaron.”

¹⁷Take, each man his fire-pan, and put incense on them, and bring each man his fire-pan before Yahweh: two hundred and fifty fire-pans; and you and Aaron, each man his fire-pan.

¹⁸They took each man his fire-pan, put fire on them, set incense on them, and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting, along with Moses and Aaron.

¹⁹Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and the weightiness of Yahweh appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

²¹Separate yourselves from the middle of this congregation, and I will make an end of them in a moment.

²²They fell on their faces and said, “O God, God of the breaths of all flesh, will one man sin, and will you be angry against the whole congregation?”

²³Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁴Speak to the congregation, saying, “Take yourselves away from around the dwelling place of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

²⁵Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel went after him.

²⁶He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Turn away, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, lest you be swept away in all their sins.”

²⁷So they took themselves away from the dwelling place of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, all around; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.

²⁸Moses said, “By this you will know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works: that it was not from my own heart,

²⁹If these die like the death of all humankind, and the visitation of all humankind is visited on them, Yahweh has not sent me.

³⁰And if Yahweh creates a new thing, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them down and all that is theirs, and they go down alive to Sheol, then you will know that these men have scorned Yahweh.

³¹It happened, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground that was under them split open.

³²The land opened wide its mouth and swallowed them down, and their houses, and every human who belonged to Korah, and all the property.

³³They went down alive to Sheol, they and all that was theirs; the land covered over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.

³⁴And all Israel who were around them fled at the sound of them, for they said, 'Lest the land swallow us down!'

³⁵And a fire went out from Yahweh, and ate the two hundred and fifty men who were bringing near the incense.

³⁶Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

³⁷Say to Eleazar son of Aaron the priest that he is to lift up the fire-pans from among the burning, and scatter the fire out beyond; for they are set apart.

³⁸The fire-pans of these sinners against their own living selves: make them into hammered sheets, a plating for the altar; for they brought them near before the face of Yahweh, and they were set apart, and they shall become a sign for the children of Israel.

³⁹Eleazar the priest took the bronze fire-pans that the burned ones had brought near, and they hammered them out as plating for the altar,

⁴⁰a reminder for the children of Israel, so that no man, no stranger who is not of the seed of Aaron, may draw near to make incense smoke before the face of Yahweh, and not become like Korah and like his congregation, just as Yahweh had spoken by the hand of Moses to him.

⁴¹The next day all the congregation of the children of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, 'You have put to death the people of Yahweh.'

⁴²It happened, when the congregation assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting, and look, the cloud covered it, and the weightiness of Yahweh appeared.

⁴³Moses and Aaron came to the face of the tent of meeting.

⁴⁴Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

⁴⁵Rise up out of the midst of this congregation, and I will finish them in a blink. And they fell on their faces.

⁴⁶Moses said to Aaron, 'Take the fire-pan, put fire on it from off the altar, and set incense, and go quickly to the congregation and cover over them; for wrath has gone out from the face of Yahweh, the blow has begun.'

⁴⁷Aaron took it just as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and look, the blow had begun among the people. And he put on the incense, and covered over the people.

⁴⁸He stood between the dead and between the living, and the plague was restrained.

⁴⁹Those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides those who died over the word of Korah.

⁵⁰Aaron returned to Moses, at the door of the tent of meeting, and the plague was restrained.