As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split apart.
Parallel translations
- KJV And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
- BSB As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open,
- NKJV Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them,
- NASB And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open;
- NLT He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
As Moses finished speaking, the ground beneath the rebels split apart. God's judgment came swiftly and exactly as foretold.
Overview
The very moment Moses concludes, the earth ruptures, confirming his word with immediate divine action. The precise timing displays God's direct intervention and Moses' true authority. This swift fulfillment shows that God's word does not fail and that judgment, when it comes, is certain (Numbers 23:19).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Num 27:3“Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against Yahweh in the company of Korah, but he died in his own sin. He had no sons.
- Deut 11:6and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben; how the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the middle of all Israel;
- Ps 106:17–18The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
- Num 26:10–11and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died; at the time the fire devoured two hundred fifty men, and they became a sign.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 16:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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