Numbers 16:32–50

³²The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah’s people, ^zand all their possessions. ³³They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. ³⁴At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, “The earth may swallow us too!” ³⁵Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were presenting the incense. ^a

^36bThen the Lord spoke to Moses: ³⁷“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the firepans from the burning debris, because they are holy, and scatter the fire far away. ³⁸As for the firepans of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, make them into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, for they presented them before the Lord, and the firepans are holy. They will be a sign to the Israelites.”

³⁹So Eleazar the priest took the bronze firepans that those who were burned had presented, and they were hammered into plating for the altar, ⁴⁰just as the Lord commanded him through Moses. It was to be a reminder for the Israelites that no unauthorized person outside the lineage of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the Lord ^cand become like Korah and his followers.

⁴¹The next day the entire Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron, ^dsaying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!” ⁴²When the community assembled against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the Lord’s glory appeared.

⁴³Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴and the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵“Get away from this community so that I may consume them instantly.” ^eBut they fell facedown.

⁴⁶Then Moses told Aaron, “Take your firepan, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the community and make atonement for them, because wrath has come from the Lord; the plague has begun.” ⁴⁷So Aaron took his firepan as Moses had ordered, ran into the middle of the assembly, and saw that the plague had begun among the people. After he added incense, he made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was halted. ⁴⁹But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who died because of the Korah incident. ⁵⁰Aaron then returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, since the plague had been halted. ^f