31. As soon as Moses said this, the ground under the men opened up
32-33. and swallowed them alive, together with their families and everything they owned. Then the ground closed back up, and they were gone.
34. The rest of the Israelites heard their screams, so they ran off, shouting, “We don't want that to happen to us!”
35. Suddenly the Lord sent a fire that burnt up the two hundred and fifty men who had offered incense to him.
36. Then the Lord said to Moses,
37. “Tell Aaron's son Eleazar to take the fire pans from the smouldering fire and scatter the coals. The pans are now sacred,
38. because they were used for offering incense to me. Have them hammered into a thin layer of bronze as a covering for the altar. Those men died because of their sin, and now their fire pans will become a warning for the rest of the community.”
39. Eleazar collected the pans and had them hammered into a thin layer of bronze as a covering for the altar,
40. just as the Lord had told Moses. The pans were a warning to the Israelites that only Aaron's descendants would be allowed to offer incense to the Lord. Anyone else who tried would be punished like Korah and his followers.
41. The next day the people of Israel again complained against Moses and Aaron, “The two of you killed some of the Lord's people!”
42. As the people crowded around them, Moses and Aaron turned towards the sacred tent, and the Lord appeared in his glory in the cloud covering the tent.
43. So Moses and Aaron walked to the front of the tent,
44. where the Lord said to them,
45. “Stand back! I am going to wipe out these Israelites once and for all.”They immediately bowed down and prayed.
46. Then Moses told Aaron, “Grab your fire pan and fill it with hot coals from the altar. Put incense in it, then quickly take it to where the people are and offer it to the Lord, so they can be forgiven. The Lord is very angry, and people have already started dying!”