Daily Bread

³⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar^(A) son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers^(B) from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy— ³⁸ the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives.^(C) Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar,^(D) for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign^(E) to the Israelites.”

³⁹ So Eleazar the priest^(F) collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death,^(G) and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, ⁴⁰ as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense^(H) before the Lord,^(I) or he would become like Korah and his followers.^(J)

⁴¹ The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.

⁴² But when the assembly gathered in opposition^(K) to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord^(L) appeared. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴ and the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵ “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end^(M) to them at once.” And they fell facedown.

⁴⁶ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer^(N) and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly^(O) to make atonement^(P) for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord;^(Q) the plague^(R) has started.” ⁴⁷ So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people,^(S) but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. ⁴⁸ He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.^{(T) 49} But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.^{(U) 50} Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.^[a]