⁸ Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”^[a] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.^(A)

⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”^(B)

“I don’t know,^(C)” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

¹⁰ The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.^{(D) 11} Now you are under a curse^(E) and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you.^(F) You will be a restless wanderer^(G) on the earth.^(H)”

¹³ Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. ¹⁴ Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence;^(I) I will be a restless wanderer on the earth,^(J) and whoever finds me will kill me.”^(K)

¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Not so^[b]; anyone who kills Cain^(L) will suffer vengeance^(M) seven times over.^(N)” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. ¹⁶ So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence^(O) and lived in the land of Nod,^[c] east of Eden.^(P)

¹² Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one^(A) and murdered his brother.^(B) And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.^(C)

¹⁵ “Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. ¹⁶ “They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice^(A) and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the Peor incident,^(B) so that a plague^(C) struck the Lord’s people.

¹⁵ They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam^(A) son of Bezer,^[a] who loved the wages of wickedness.

¹⁹ When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them^(A) at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord^(B) appeared to the entire assembly. ²⁰ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²¹ “Separate yourselves^(C) from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”^(D)

²² But Moses and Aaron fell facedown^(E) and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things,^(F) will you be angry with the entire assembly^(G) when only one man sins?”^(H)

²³ Then the Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

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

²⁸ Then Moses said, “This is how you will know^(P) that the Lord has sent me^(Q) to do all these things and that it was not my idea: ²⁹ If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me.^{(R) 30} But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth^(S) and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead,^(T) then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.^(U)”

³¹ As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart^{(V) 32} and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them^(W) and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. ³³ They went down alive into the realm of the dead,^(X) with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. ³⁴ At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”

³⁵ And fire came out from the Lord^(Y) and consumed^(Z) the 250 men who were offering the incense.