The earth opened up and swallowed them down, along with Korah. His followers died when the fire burned up 250 men. What happened to them was a warning to the Israelites.
The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to the land where they would settle down—they ate manna until they arrived at the border of Canaan.
Because of what happens to them, all the exiles of Judah in Babylon will curse others like this: “May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, burned alive by the king of Babylon!”
I will oppose anyone who does this and make any example of them that others will talk about. I will remove them from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
Have the incense burners of those who sinned at the expense of their own lives hammered into metal sheets as a covering for the altar, because they were offered before the Lord, and so have become holy. They will be a reminder to Israelites of what happened.”
“Our father died in the desert, but he wasn't one of Korah's followers who joined together to rebel against the Lord. No, he died from his own sins, and he didn't have any sons.
You saw what he did, right there among you, to Dothan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab of the tribe of Reuben, when the earth split open and swallowed them down—their families, their tents, and all their animals.
God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to total destruction, burning them to ash, as an example of what will happen to those who live evil lives.
In just the same way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns nearby that pursued immorality and perverted sex are provided as an example of those that experience the punishment of eternal fire.