17. The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;it covered the assembly of Abiram.
18. Fire blazed throughout their assembly;flames consumed the wicked.
19. At Horeb they made a calfand worshiped the cast metal image.
20. They exchanged their glory for the image of a grass-eating ox.
21. They forgot God their Savior,who did great things in Egypt,
22. wonderful works in the land of Ham, awe-inspiring acts at the Red Sea.
23. So He said He would have destroyed them —if Moses His chosen onehad not stood before Him in the breachto turn His wrath away from destroying them.
24. They despised the pleasant landand did not believe His promise.
25. They grumbled in their tentsand did not listen to the Lord’s voice.
26. So He raised His hand against them with an oaththat He would make them fall in the desert
27. and would disperse their descendants among the nations,scattering them throughout the lands.
28. They aligned themselves with Baal of Peorand ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.
29. They provoked the Lord with their deeds,and a plague broke out against them.