39. So Eleazar the priest gathered all the bronze pans. These were the pans brought by the men who were burned up. Eleazar had the pans hammered into flat sheets to put on the altar.
40. This is what the Lord had commanded him through Moses. These sheets were to remind the Israelites that only descendants of Aaron should burn incense before the Lord. Anyone else would die like Korah and his followers.
41. The next day all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron. They said, “You have killed the Lord’s people.”
42. The people gathered to complain against Moses and Aaron. But when they turned toward the Meeting Tent, the cloud covered it. The glory of the Lord appeared.
43. Then Moses and Aaron went in front of the Meeting Tent.
44. The Lord said to Moses,
45. “Move away from these people. In a minute I am going to destroy them.” So Moses and Aaron bowed facedown.
46. Then Moses said to Aaron, “Get your pan. Put fire from the altar and incense in it. Hurry to the people and remove their sin. The Lord is angry with them. The sickness has already started.”
47. So Aaron did as Moses said. He ran to the middle of all the people. The sickness had already started among them. So Aaron offered the incense to remove their sin.
48. He stood between the living and the dead. And the sickness stopped there.
49. But 14,700 people died from that sickness. There were also those who died because of Korah.
50. Then Aaron went back to Moses at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. The terrible sickness had been stopped.