the Lord will make known who they are that belong to Him. Prepare, then, and stand each with his censer on one side, and Aaron will stand on the other.”
On the following day, when the two hundred and fifty men were to appear before the Lord with their censers, Moses ordered the leaders of the revolt to come forth from their tents. But they impudently replied: “We will not come.” Then Moses went himself to their tents, accompanied by Aaron, and told the people to separate themselves from those wicked men, lest they should perish with them. Moses said: “If these men die the common death of men, the Lord did not send me; but if the earth, opening her mouth, swallow them down, and they go down alive into hell, you shall know that they have blasphemed the Lord.”
Hardly had Moses ended these words, when lo! the earth opened under the feet of these hardened sinners, and swallowed them up, with their tents, and all that belonged to them, and they went down alive into hell. At the same time fire came down[1] from heaven and destroyed the two hundred and fifty men who had taken sides with Core, Dathan and Abiron.
After this, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod, by their kindreds, of all the princes of the tribes, twelve rods[2], and write the name of every man upon his rod; and lay them up in the Tabernacle of the Covenant. Whomsoever of these I shall choose, his rod shall blossom.” Moses did as the Lord had commanded.
Next day, when Moses entered into the Tabernacle, he found that the rod of Aaron had budded and blossomed. He then brought out all the rods of the children of Israel, and each one received back his own rod. But the rod of Aaron he placed in the Ark[3] of the Covenant.
- ↑ Fire came down. The fire proceeded from the pillar of cloud and killed the 250 men who, with Core, had assumed the priestly office of offering incense in the Tabernacle.
- ↑ Rods. They were sticks cut from almond-trees.
- ↑ In the Ark. In the Ark of the Covenant, to be a lasting witness to the divine vocation of Aaron and his sons.
