33. So they went down alive into the grave, along with all their belongings. The earth closed over them, and they all vanished from among the people of Israel.
34. All the people around them fled when they heard their screams. “The earth will swallow us, too!” they cried.
35. Then fire blazed forth from the lord and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense.
36. And the lord said to Moses,
37. “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pull all the incense burners from the fire, for they are holy. Also tell him to scatter the burning coals.
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.