³⁶The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ³⁷“Speak to the priest Eleazar. He is the son of Aaron. Remind him that the shallow cups are holy. He must take them out of the fire. He must scatter the burning coals away from there. ³⁸The men who sinned used those cups. And it cost them their lives. Hammer the cups into bronze sheets that will cover the altar. The cups were offered to the Lord. They have become holy. Let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel.”

³⁹So the priest Eleazar collected the bronze incense cups. They had been brought by the men who had been burned up. He had them hammered out to cover the altar. ⁴⁰He did just as the Lord had directed Moses to tell him to do. The covering would be a reminder to the people of Israel. It would remind them that no one except a son of Aaron should come and burn incense to the Lord. If people other than priests did that, they would become like Korah and his followers.

⁴¹The next day the whole community of Israel told Moses and Aaron they weren’t happy with them. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.

⁴²The community gathered together to oppose Moses and Aaron. The people walked toward the Tent of Meeting. Suddenly the cloud covered it. The glory of the Lord appeared. ⁴³Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting. ⁴⁴The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ⁴⁵“Get away from these people. Then I can put an end to all of them at once.” And Moses and Aaron fell with their faces to the ground.

⁴⁶Moses said to Aaron, “Take your incense cup. Put incense in it. And put fire from the altar in it. Then hurry to the people and pay for their sin. The Lord has sent his anger. The plague has started.”

⁴⁷So Aaron did as Moses said. He ran in among the people. The plague had already started among them. But Aaron offered the incense and paid for their sin. ⁴⁸He stood between those who were alive and those who were dead. And the plague stopped. ⁴⁹But 14,700 people died from the plague. That doesn’t include those who had died because of what Korah did. ⁵⁰Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The plague had stopped.

Aaron’s Wooden Staff Produces Buds

17The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ²“Speak to the people of Israel. Get 12 wooden staffs from them. Get one from the leader of each of Israel’s tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. ³Write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi. There must be one staff for the head of each of Israel’s tribes.

⁴“Put the staffs in the Tent of Meeting. Place them in front of the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. That is where I meet with you. ⁵The staff that belongs to the man I choose will begin to grow new shoots. The people of Israel are never happy with what you do. I will put an end to what they are saying.”

⁶So Moses spoke to the people of Israel. Their leaders gave him 12 wooden staffs. They gave one for the leader of each of Israel’s tribes. Aaron’s staff was among them. ⁷Moses put the staffs in front of the Lord in the tent where the tablets of the covenant were kept.

⁸The next day Moses entered the tent. He looked at Aaron’s staff. It stood for the tribe of Levi. Moses saw that it had not only begun to grow new shoots. It had also produced buds and flowers and almonds.

⁹Then Moses brought out all of the staffs from in front of the Lord. He brought them to all of the people of Israel. They looked at them. And each man took his own staff.

¹⁰The Lord said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. The staff will be kept there as a warning to those who refuse to obey. They are never happy with what I do. Aaron’s staff will put an end to what they are saying. Then they will not die.” ¹¹Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.

¹²The people of Israel said to Moses, “We’ll die! We are lost! All of us are lost! ¹³Anyone who even comes near the Lord’s holy tent will die. Are all of us going to die?”

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