22. But the two men bowed down and prayed, “Our God, you gave these people life. Why would you punish everyone here when only one man has sinned?”
23. The Lord answered Moses,
24. “Tell the people to stay away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25. Moses walked over to Dathan and Abiram, and the other leaders of Israel followed.
26. Then Moses warned the people, “Get away from the tents of these sinful men! Don't touch anything that belongs to them or you'll be wiped out.”
27. So everyone moved away from those tents, except Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their families.
28. Moses said to the crowd, “The Lord has chosen me and told me to do these things—it wasn't my idea. And here's how you will know:
29. if these men die a natural death, it means the Lord hasn't chosen me.
30. But suppose the Lord does something that has never been done before. For example, what if a huge crack appears in the ground, and these men and their families fall into it and are buried alive, together with everything they own? Then you will know they have turned their backs on the Lord!”
31. As soon as Moses said this, the ground under the men opened up