4. When Moses heard this, he bowed his face to the ground to show he was not being proud.
5. Then Moses said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who belongs to him. He will show who is holy, and he will bring that man near to him. He will choose him and bring that man near to him.
6. So Korah, you and all your followers should do this:
7. Tomorrow put fire and incense in some special pans. Then bring those pans before the Lord. He will choose the man who is holy. You Levites have gone too far—you are wrong!”
8. Moses also said to Korah, “You Levites, listen to me.
9. You should be happy that the God of Israel chose you to be different from the rest of the Israelites. He lets you come near to him to do the special work in the Lord’S Holy Tent to help the Israelites worship him. Isn’t that enough?
37-38. “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to get all the incense pans from the fire. Tell him to scatter the coals and ashes. These men sinned against me, and their sin cost them their lives. But the incense pans are still holy. The pans became holy when people gave them to the Lord. Hammer the pans into flat sheets. Use the metal sheets to cover the altar. This will be a warning to all the Israelites.”
39. So Eleazar the priest gathered together all the bronze pans that the men had brought. These men were all burned up, but the pans were still there. Then Eleazar told some men to hammer the pans into flat metal. Then he put the metal sheets on the altar.
40. He did this the way the Lord commanded him through Moses. This was a sign to help the Israelites remember that only someone from the family of Aaron should burn incense before the Lord. Any other person who burns incense before the Lord will die like Korah and his followers.
41. The next day all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron. They said, “You killed the Lord’S people.”
42. Moses and Aaron were standing at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. The people gathered together at that place to complain against Moses and Aaron. But when they looked toward the Meeting Tent, the cloud covered it and the Glory of the Lord appeared there.
43. Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Meeting Tent.
44. The Lord said to Moses,
45. “Move away from these people so that I can destroy them now.” So Moses and Aaron bowed with their faces to the ground.