³²It opened its mouth. It swallowed up those men. In fact, it swallowed up everyone who lived in their houses. It swallowed all of Korah’s men. And it swallowed up everything they owned. ³³They went down into the grave alive. Everything they owned went down with them. The ground closed over them. They died. And so they disappeared from the community.

³⁴All of the people of Israel who were around them heard their cries. They ran away from them. They shouted, “The ground is going to swallow us up too!”

³⁵Then the Lord sent down fire. It burned up the 250 men who were offering the incense.

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.

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