17. Then the ground opened up and swallowed Dathanand closed over Abiram’s group.
18. A fire burned among their followers,and flames burned up the wicked.
19. The people made a gold calf at Mount Sinaiand worshiped a metal statue.
20. They exchanged their glorious Godfor a statue of a bull that eats grass.
21. They forgot the God who saved them,who had done great things in Egypt,
22. who had done miracles in Egyptand amazing things by the Red Sea.
23. So God said he would destroy them.But Moses, his chosen one, stood before himand stopped God’s anger from destroying them.
24. Then they refused to go into the beautiful land of Canaan;they did not believe what God promised.
25. They grumbled in their tentsand did not obey the Lord.
26. So he swore to themthat they would die in the desert.
27. He said their children would be killed by other nationsand that they would be scattered among other countries.
28. They joined in worshiping Baal at Peorand ate meat that had been sacrificed to lifeless statues.
29. They made the Lord angry by what they did,so many people became sick with a terrible disease.
30. But Phinehas prayed to the Lord,and the disease stopped.