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Leviticus 10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Nadab and Abihu

10 Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his censer, put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and they offered unholy fire before the Lord, such as he had not commanded them.(A) 2 And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.(B) 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said,

‘Through those who are near me
    I will show myself holy,
and before all the people
    I will be glorified.’ ”

And Aaron was silent.(C)

4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come forward and carry your kinsmen away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.”(D) 5 They came forward and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had ordered. 6 And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not dishevel your hair and do not tear your vestments, or you will die, and wrath will strike all the congregation; but your kindred, the whole house of Israel, may mourn the burning that the Lord has sent.(E) 7 You shall not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is on you.” And they did as Moses had ordered.(F)

8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron, 9 “Drink no wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons, when you enter the tent of meeting, that you may not die; it is a statute forever throughout your generations.(G) 10 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common and between the unclean and the clean,(H) 11 and you are to teach the Israelites all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them through Moses.”(I)

12 Moses spoke to Aaron and to his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that is left from the Lord’s offerings by fire,[a] and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy;(J) 13 you shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due, from the offerings by fire[b] to the Lord, for so I am commanded. 14 But the breast that is elevated and the thigh that is raised, you and your sons and daughters as well may eat in any clean place, for they have been assigned to you and your children from the sacrifices of well-being of the Israelites.(K) 15 The thigh that is raised and the breast that is elevated they shall bring, together with the offerings by fire[c] of the fat, to raise for an elevation offering before the Lord; they are to be your due and that of your children forever, as the Lord has commanded.”(L)

16 Then Moses made inquiry about the goat of the purification offering, and it had already been burned! He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and said, 17 “Why did you not eat the purification offering in the sacred area? For it is most holy, and God[d] has given it to you that you may remove the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement on their behalf before the Lord.(M) 18 Its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You should certainly have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded.” 19 And Aaron spoke to Moses, “See, today they offered their purification offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have befallen me! If I had eaten the purification offering today, would it have been agreeable to the Lord?”(N) 20 And when Moses heard that, he agreed.

Footnotes

  1. 10.12 Or the Lord’s gifts
  2. 10.13 Or the gifts
  3. 10.15 Or the gifts
  4. 10.17 Heb he
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Leviticus 10
Lexham English Bible

The Deaths of Nadab and Abihu

10 And Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his censer, and they put fire in them and placed incense on it;[a] then[b] they presented before[c] Yahweh illegitimate fire, which he had not commanded them. 2 So[d] fire went out from before[e] Yahweh, and it consumed them so that[f] they died before[g] Yahweh. 3 Therefore[h] Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Yahweh spoke, saying, ‘Among those who are close to me I will show myself holy, and in the presence of[i] all the people I will display my glory.’”[j] So[k] Aaron was silent.

4 Then[l] Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan the sons of Uzziel, Aaron’s uncle, and he said to them, “Come forward.[m] Carry your brothers from the front of[n] the sanctuary to outside the camp.”[o] 5 So[p] they came forward,[q] and they carried them outside the camp[r] in their tunics, just as Moses had ordered.

6 Then[s] Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “You must not let your hair hang loosely, and you must not tear your garments, so that[t] you will not die and he[u] will be angry with all the community. But[v] your brothers, all the house of Israel, may weep because of the burning that Yahweh caused,[w] 7 but[x] you must not go out from the entrance to[y] the tent of assembly lest you die, because Yahweh’s anointing oil is on you.” So[z] they did according to Moses’ word.

Lasting Statutes

8 Then[aa] Yahweh spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 “You and your sons with you may not drink wine or[ab] strong drink when you come to the tent of assembly, so that[ac] you will not die—it is a lasting statute for your[ad] generations— 10 and to distinguish between the holy and the unholy,[ae] as well as[af] between the unclean and the clean, 11 and to teach the Israelites[ag] all the rules that Yahweh has spoken to them through[ah] Moses.”

12 Then[ai] Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “As for the remaining parts,[aj] take the remainder of the grain offering from Yahweh’s offerings made by fire and eat it, the unleavened bread, beside the altar, because it is a most holy thing.[ak] 13 And you shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your allotted portion and the allotted portion of your sons from Yahweh’s offerings made by fire, for so I have been commanded. 14 And the wave offering’s breast section and the upper thigh of the contribution offering you[al] must eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, because they are given as your allotted portion and your sons’ allotted portion from the sacrifices of the Israelites’[am] fellowship offerings. 15 They must bring the thigh of the contribution offering and the breast section of the wave offering in addition to the offerings made by fire, consisting of the fat portions, to wave as a wave offering before[an] Yahweh; and it will be for you and for your sons with you as a lasting rule, just as Yahweh had commanded.”

The Problem of the Uneaten Sin Offering

16 Then[ao] Moses sought all over for the goat of the sin offering and behold, it was burned up. So[ap] he was angry with Aaron’s remaining sons Eleazar and Ithamar, saying, 17 “Why did you not eat the sin offering on the sanctuary’s site, because it is a most holy thing?[aq] And he gave it to you to remove the community’s guilt, to make atonement for them before[ar] Yahweh. 18 Look, its blood was not brought inside the sanctuary.[as] Certainly you should have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded.”

19 So[at] Aaron said to Moses, “Look, today they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before[au] Yahweh, and things such as these have happened to me, and if I were to eat a sin offering today, would it have been good in Yahweh’s eyes?” 20 When[av] Moses heard, it[aw] was good in his eyes.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 10:1 That is, the fire
  2. Leviticus 10:1 Or “and”
  3. Leviticus 10:1 Literally “to the faces of”
  4. Leviticus 10:2 Or “And”
  5. Leviticus 10:2 Literally “from to the faces of”
  6. Leviticus 10:2 Or “and”
  7. Leviticus 10:2 Literally “to the faces of”
  8. Leviticus 10:3 Or “And”
  9. Leviticus 10:3 Literally “upon the faces of”
  10. Leviticus 10:3 Or “I will be glorified”
  11. Leviticus 10:3 Or “And”
  12. Leviticus 10:4 Or “And”
  13. Leviticus 10:4 Or “Come near” or “Approach”
  14. Leviticus 10:4 Literally “the faces of”
  15. Leviticus 10:4 Literally “from an outside place of the camp”
  16. Leviticus 10:5 Or “And”
  17. Leviticus 10:5 Or “came near” or “approached”
  18. Leviticus 10:5 Literally “to from an outside place of the camp”
  19. Leviticus 10:6 Or “And”
  20. Leviticus 10:6 Or “and”
  21. Leviticus 10:6 That is, God
  22. Leviticus 10:6 Or “And”
  23. Leviticus 10:6 Literally “the burning that Yahweh burned”
  24. Leviticus 10:7 Or “and”
  25. Leviticus 10:7 Or “of”
  26. Leviticus 10:7 Or “And”
  27. Leviticus 10:8 Or “And”
  28. Leviticus 10:9 Or “and”
  29. Leviticus 10:9 Or “and”
  30. Leviticus 10:9 Plural
  31. Leviticus 10:10 Or “the common”
  32. Leviticus 10:10 Or “and”
  33. Leviticus 10:11 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  34. Leviticus 10:11 Literally “by the hand of”
  35. Leviticus 10:12 Or “And”
  36. Leviticus 10:12 Implied by plural form of noun and the immediate context
  37. Leviticus 10:12 Literally “a holiness of holinesses”
  38. Leviticus 10:14 Plural
  39. Leviticus 10:14 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  40. Leviticus 10:15 Literally “to the faces of”
  41. Leviticus 10:16 Or “And”
  42. Leviticus 10:16 Or “And”
  43. Leviticus 10:17 Literally “a holiness of holinesses”
  44. Leviticus 10:17 Literally “to the faces of”
  45. Leviticus 10:18 Or “to the sanctuary inside” or “to the sanctuary within”
  46. Leviticus 10:19 Or “And”
  47. Leviticus 10:19 Literally “to the faces of”
  48. Leviticus 10:20 Or “And”
  49. Leviticus 10:20 Or “and it”
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Leviticus 9
Leviticus 11
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