38. Take the incense burners of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and hammer the metal into a thin sheet to overlay the altar. Since these burners were used in the lord’s presence, they have become holy. Let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel.”
39. So Eleazar the priest collected the 250 bronze incense burners that had been used by the men who died in the fire, and the bronze was hammered into a thin sheet to overlay the altar.
40. This would warn the Israelites that no unauthorized person—no one who was not a descendant of Aaron—should ever enter the lord’s presence to burn incense. If anyone did, the same thing would happen to him as happened to Korah and his followers. So the lord’s instructions to Moses were carried out.
41. But the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the lord’s people!”
42. As the community gathered to protest against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tabernacle and saw that the cloud had covered it, and the glorious presence of the lord appeared.