10 Nadab and Abihu were sons of Aaron. [ a ] They put hot material in the pots that they used to burn incense. They threw incense over the hot material. They offered the incense to the Lord . This was a wrong thing to do. The Lord had not told them that they should do it. So it was wrong. 2 The Lord was angry and he sent fire to burn them. They died there in front of the Lord 's altar. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the Lord said,
“People may come near to me. But those people must see that I am holy.
All the people must give honour to me.” ’
Aaron did not reply.
4 Mishael and Elzaphan were sons of Aaron's father's brother, Uzziel. Moses said to them, ‘Carry Nadab and Abihu away from the altar. Take your cousins outside the camp.’ 5 Nadab and Abihu were still wearing their robes. Mishael and Elzaphan carried Nadab and Abihu outside the camp. Moses had told them that they must do that.
6 Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, ‘Comb your hair. Do not tear your clothes. If you do that, you will die. And the Lord will be angry with all the people. But Israel's people can show that they are sad. They are sad because the Lord has killed Nadab and Abihu with fire. 7 If you go away from the door of the Tent of Meeting you will die. You will die because the Lord 's holy oil is on you.’ So Aaron and his sons did as Moses had said.
8 The Lord then said to Aaron, 9 ‘Do not drink wine before you go into the Tent of Meeting. And do not drink anything that contains alcohol. If you do, you will die. This rule is for you and for all your sons and grandsons. 10 You must know what is holy. And you must know what is not holy. You must know what you can use. And you must know what you must not use to worship me. 11 You must teach Israel's people all the rules that I, the Lord , gave to them by Moses.’
12 Moses said to Aaron and to his two other sons Eleazar and Ithamar, ‘The grain offering is most holy. Take the part that you did not burn in front of the Lord . And make it into bread. Do not use yeast. Take it to the side of the altar and eat it. 13 Eat it in a holy place. The Lord has said that it is your part of the grain offering. It is for you and for your sons. 14 You and your sons and daughters can eat the meat of the ribs that you held up to God. And all your family can eat the top part of the leg. Eat the meat in a place that is clean and ready for God's use. It is your part of the people's friendship offering. 15 Bring the top of the leg and the meat of the ribs. Lift them up to the Lord . The Lord has given them to you and to your children. Lift them up with the fat parts of the burnt offering. He told you that you should do this.’
16 Moses looked for the goat that was to atone for the people's sin. Moses was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, sons of Aaron. He was angry because they had burnt the goat. 17 Moses said to them, ‘This gift was for the Lord . It was a very holy gift. It was to atone for the people's sins. Why did you not take it to the holy place and eat it? 18 You did not bring the blood into the holy place. I told you that you must eat its meat in the Tent of Meeting.’ 19 Aaron said to Moses, ‘My sons sacrificed their gifts to the Lord today. But very bad things have happened to me today. I would not have given the Lord any pleasure if I had eaten the sin offering today.’ 20 When Moses heard this, he was not angry any longer.
10 Then Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu made a mistake. They took their incense dishes and put some fire and incense in them. But they did not use the fire that was on the altar—they took fire from some other place and brought it to the Lord . This was not what he had commanded. 2 So fire came from the Lord and destroyed Nadab and Abihu, and they died there in front of the Lord .
3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “The Lord says, ‘The priests who come near me must respect me. I must be holy to them and to all the people.’” So Aaron did not say anything about his sons dying.
4 Aaron’s uncle Uzziel had two sons. They were Mishael and Elzaphan. Moses said to these sons, “Come here and get your cousins’ bodies and carry them away from this holy place and take them outside the camp.”
5 So Mishael and Elzaphan obeyed Moses. They carried the bodies of Nadab and Abihu outside the camp. Nadab and Abihu were still wearing their special woven shirts.
6 Then Moses spoke to Aaron and his other sons Eleazar and Ithamar. He said, “Don’t show any sadness! Don’t tear your clothes or mess up your hair! [ a ] If you do anything to show your sadness, you will be killed, and the Lord will show his anger against everyone. But let all the other people of Israel, your relatives, cry for those the Lord destroyed with fire. 7 But you must not even leave the entrance of the Meeting Tent. If you leave, you will die because the Lord ’s anointing oil is on you.” So Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar obeyed Moses.
8 Then the Lord said to Aaron, 9 “You and your sons must not drink wine or beer when you come into the Meeting Tent. If you do, you will die. This law continues forever through your generations. 10 You must be able to clearly tell the difference between what is holy and what is not holy, between what is clean and what is unclean. 11 And you must teach the people about all the laws that the Lord gave them through Moses.”
12 Aaron had two sons who were still alive, Eleazar and Ithamar. Moses said to Aaron and his two sons, “When people give sacrifices as a gift to the Lord , some of the grain offering is not burned. Use that grain to make bread without yeast. You priests must eat that bread near the altar because that grain is very holy. 13 The portion of food for you and your sons will come from the special gifts to the Lord , so you must eat that food in a holy place.
14 “You, your sons, and your daughters may all eat the breast and thigh that were lifted up before the Lord as an offering. But you must eat these in a place that is clean because they come from the fellowship offerings. They are your share of those offerings that the Israelites give to God. 15 The people must bring the gifts of fat from their animals as part of the sacrifice. They must also bring the thigh of the fellowship offering and the breast that is lifted up to show it is offered in front of the Lord . Then it will be your share of the offering. It will belong to you and your children. That part of the sacrifices will be your share forever, just as the Lord said.”
16 Moses looked for the goat of the sin offering, but it was already burned up. Moses became very angry with Aaron’s other sons Eleazar and Ithamar. Moses said, 17 “Why did you not eat the sin offering in the holy area! That meat is very holy! God gave it to you to carry away the guilt of the people—to make the people pure before the Lord . 18 That goat’s blood was not brought into the Holy Place. So you should have eaten the meat in the holy area, just as I commanded!”
19 But Aaron said to Moses, “Look, today they brought their sin offering and burnt offering before the Lord . But you know what happened to me today! Do you think the Lord would be happy if I ate the sin offering today?”
20 When Moses heard this, he agreed.
10 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord , which he commanded them not.
2 And there went out fire from the Lord , and devoured them, and they died before the Lord .
3 Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.
5 So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said.
6 And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled.
7 And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.
8 And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying,
9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
11 And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
12 And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take the meat offering that remaineth of the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar: for it is most holy:
13 And ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy due, and thy sons' due, of the sacrifices of the Lord made by fire: for so I am commanded.
14 And the wave breast and heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they be thy due, and thy sons' due, which are given out of the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel.
15 The heave shoulder and the wave breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave offering before the Lord ; and it shall be thine, and thy sons' with thee, by a statute for ever; as the Lord hath commanded.
16 And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left alive, saying,
17 Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord ?
18 Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded.
19 And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord ; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord ?
20 And when Moses heard that, he was content.
10 Now ( A ) Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective ( B ) firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on [ a ] the fire and offered [ b ] strange fire before the Lord , which He had not commanded them. 2 ( C ) And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord . 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the Lord spoke, saying,
‘By those who ( D ) come near Me I [ c ] ( E ) will be treated as holy,
And before all the people I will ( F ) be honored.’”
So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.
4 Moses called also to ( G ) Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come forward, carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to an area outside of the camp.” 5 So they came forward and carried them, still in their ( H ) tunics, to an area outside the camp, just as Moses had said. 6 Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “ ( I ) Do not [ d ] uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, so that you do not die and He does not ( J ) become wrathful against all the congregation. But your [ e ] kinsmen, the entire house of Israel, shall weep for the burning which the Lord has [ f ] brought about. 7 You shall not even go out from the doorway of the tent of meeting, or you will die; for ( K ) the Lord ’ s anointing oil is upon you.” So they did according to the word of Moses.
8 The Lord then spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 “ ( L ) Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you do not die—it is a permanent statute throughout your generations— 10 and ( M ) to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and ( N ) so as to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them through Moses.”
12 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his surviving sons, ( O ) Eleazar and Ithamar, “ ( P ) Take the grain offering that is left over from the Lord ’ s offerings by fire and eat it as unleavened bread beside the altar, for it is most holy. 13 You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your allotted portion and your sons’ allotted portion from the Lord ’ s offerings by fire; for so I have been commanded. 14 ( Q ) The breast of the wave offering, however, and the thigh of the offering you may eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you; for they have been given as your allotted portion and your sons’ allotted portion from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the sons of Israel. 15 They shall bring ( R ) the thigh offered by lifting up and the breast offered by waving, along with the offerings by fire of the portions of fat, to present as a wave offering before the Lord ; so it shall be a thing perpetually due you and your sons with you, just as the Lord has commanded.”
16 But Moses searched carefully for the ( S ) goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned! So he was angry with Aaron’s surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar, saying, 17 “Why ( T ) did you not eat the sin offering at the [ g ] holy place? For it is most holy, and [ h ] He gave it to you to take away ( U ) the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord . 18 Behold, ( V ) since its blood had not been brought inside, into the sanctuary, you certainly should have ( W ) eaten it in the sanctuary, just as I commanded!” 19 But Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, this very day they ( X ) presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord . When things like these happened to me, if I had eaten a sin offering today, would it have been good in the sight of the Lord ?” 20 When Moses heard that , it was good in his sight.
10 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu ( A ) took their censers, ( B ) put fire in them ( C ) and added incense; ( D ) and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord , ( E ) contrary to his command. ( F ) 2 So fire came out ( G ) from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, ( H ) and they died before the Lord . ( I ) 3 Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke of when he said:
“‘Among those who approach me ( J )
I will be proved holy; ( K )
in the sight of all the people
I will be honored. ( L ) ’”
Aaron remained silent.
4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, ( M ) sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, ( N ) and said to them, “Come here; carry your cousins outside the camp, ( O ) away from the front of the sanctuary. ( P ) ” 5 So they came and carried them, still in their tunics, ( Q ) outside the camp, as Moses ordered.
6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, ( R ) “Do not let your hair become unkempt [ a ] ( S ) and do not tear your clothes, ( T ) or you will die and the Lord will be angry with the whole community. ( U ) But your relatives, all the Israelites, may mourn ( V ) for those the Lord has destroyed by fire. 7 Do not leave the entrance to the tent of meeting ( W ) or you will die, because the Lord ’s anointing oil ( X ) is on you.” So they did as Moses said.
8 Then the Lord said to Aaron, 9 “You and your sons are not to drink wine ( Y ) or other fermented drink ( Z ) whenever you go into the tent of meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance ( AA ) for the generations to come, 10 so that you can distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, ( AB ) 11 and so you can teach ( AC ) the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses. ( AD ) ”
12 Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering ( AE ) left over from the food offerings prepared without yeast and presented to the Lord and eat it beside the altar, ( AF ) for it is most holy. 13 Eat it in the sanctuary area, ( AG ) because it is your share and your sons’ share of the food offerings presented to the Lord ; for so I have been commanded. ( AH ) 14 But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast ( AI ) that was waved and the thigh that was presented. Eat them in a ceremonially clean place; ( AJ ) they have been given to you and your children as your share of the Israelites’ fellowship offerings. 15 The thigh ( AK ) that was presented and the breast that was waved must be brought with the fat portions of the food offerings, to be waved before the Lord as a wave offering. ( AL ) This will be the perpetual share for you and your children, as the Lord has commanded.”
16 When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering [ b ] ( AM ) and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked, 17 “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering ( AN ) in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt ( AO ) of the community by making atonement for them before the Lord . 18 Since its blood was not taken into the Holy Place, ( AP ) you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I commanded. ( AQ ) ”
19 Aaron replied to Moses, “Today they sacrificed their sin offering and their burnt offering ( AR ) before the Lord , but such things as this have happened to me. Would the Lord have been pleased if I had eaten the sin offering today?” 20 When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.
