Numbers 16:31

31 As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart

Numbers 16:31 in Other Translations

31 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:

31 And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart.

31 He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them.

31 The words were hardly out of his mouth when the Earth split open.

31 And it came to pass, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them;

31 As soon as he had finished saying all this, the ground under them split,

31 Just as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open.

31 As soon as Moses finished speaking all of those words, what he had said came true. The ground under them broke open.

Numbers 16:31 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 16:31

And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all
these things
As soon as he had finished his discourse, which was addressed to the congregation, and, according to Josephus ^F21, after a long prayer to God, which that writer gives at large; immediately so it was,

that the ground clave asunder that [was] under them;
on which they stood, not from any natural cause, as by subterranean volcano, forcibly making their way and bursting the earth, and so getting vent, which has been thought to be the cause of earthquakes; but this was by the immediate hand and almighty power of God, and came to pass just as Moses suggested it would, and as soon as he had uttered his words, which made it the more observable.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F21 Antiqu. l. 4. c. 3. Sect. 2.

Numbers 16:31 In-Context

29 If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me.

30 But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.”

31 As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart

32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions.

33 They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 64:1-2; Ezekiel 47:1-12; Micah 1:3-4; Zechariah 14:4