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

²⁸ Then Moses said, “This is how you will know^(H) that the Lord has sent me^(I) 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.^{(J) 30} But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth^(K) and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead,^(L) then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.^(M)”

³¹ As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart^{(N) 32} and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them^(O) and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. ³³ They went down alive into the realm of the dead,^(P) 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!”