Leviticus 10
English Standard Version
The Death of Nadab and Abihu
10 Now (A)Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, (B)each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered (C)unauthorized[a] fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire (D)came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among (E)those who are near me (F)I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” (G)And Aaron held his peace.
4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of (H)Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” 5 So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. 6 And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, (I)“Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and (J)wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled. 7 (K)And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, (L)for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.
8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 (M)“Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 10 You are to (N)distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and (O)you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”
12 Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his surviving sons: “Take the (P)grain offering that is left of the Lord's food offerings, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for (Q)it is most holy. 13 You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons' due, from the Lord's food offerings, for (R)so I am commanded. 14 But the (S)breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as your due and your sons' due from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the people of Israel. 15 (T)The thigh that is contributed and the breast that is waved they shall bring with the food offerings of the fat pieces to wave for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be yours and your sons' with you as a due forever, as the Lord has commanded.”
16 Now Moses diligently inquired about (U)the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it was burned up! And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the surviving sons of Aaron, saying, 17 (V)“Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since (W)it is a thing most holy and has been given to you that you may bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? 18 Behold, (X)its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly ought to have eaten it in the sanctuary, (Y)as I commanded.” 19 And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, (Z)today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, (AA)would the Lord have approved?” 20 And when Moses heard that, he approved.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 10:1 Or strange
Leviticus 10
New King James Version
The Profane Fire of Nadab and Abihu
10 Then (A)Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, (B)each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered (C)profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. 2 So (D)fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. 3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying:
‘By those (E)who come near Me
I must be regarded as holy;
And before all the people
I must be glorified.’ ”
So Aaron held his peace.
4 Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near, (F)carry your brethren from [a]before the sanctuary out of the camp.” 5 So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said.
6 And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, “Do not [b]uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and (G)wrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, [c]bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled. 7 (H)You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, (I)for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.
Conduct Prescribed for Priests
8 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying: 9 (J)“Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, 10 that you may (K)distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, 11 (L)and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.”
12 And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons who were left: (M)“Take the grain offering that remains of the offerings made by fire to the Lord, and eat it without leaven beside the altar; (N)for it is most holy. 13 You shall eat it in a (O)holy place, because it is your [d]due and your sons’ due, of the sacrifices made by fire to the Lord; for (P)so I have been commanded. 14 (Q)The breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering you shall eat in a clean place, you, your sons, and your (R)daughters with you; for they are your due and your sons’ (S)due, which are given from the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel. 15 (T)The thigh of the heave offering and the breast of the wave offering they shall bring with the offerings of fat made by fire, to offer as a wave offering before the Lord. And it shall be yours and your sons’ with you, by a statute forever, as the Lord has commanded.”
16 Then Moses made careful inquiry about (U)the goat of the sin offering, and there it was—burned up. And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying, 17 (V)“Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a holy place, since it is most holy, and God has given it to you to bear (W)the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? 18 See! (X)Its blood was not brought inside [e]the holy place; indeed you should have eaten it in a holy place, (Y)as I commanded.”
19 And Aaron said to Moses, “Look, (Z)this day they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and such things have befallen me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, (AA)would it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord?” 20 So when Moses heard that, he was content.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 10:4 in front of
- Leviticus 10:6 An act of mourning
- Leviticus 10:6 weep bitterly
- Leviticus 10:13 portion
- Leviticus 10:18 The Most Holy Place when capitalized
Leviticus 10
The Voice
The glory of God is a hard notion for us. The word often translated “glory” means essentially heaviness or weight. The Eternal One uniquely is the most substantial and most significant being in the cosmos. Only God is eternal. Only God has true substance. Creation runs out, wears out, and peters out eventually. In the Scriptures the term “glory” is used often for those unique times and places when God manifests Himself in some visible way. It is His epiphany, or manifestation, one might say. To see God’s glory is a fearsome thing. That’s why people fall on their faces and call out for mercy. Not many people have seen God’s glory, but those who do never forget it.
10 Nadab and Abihu, two of Aaron’s sons, took censers and filled them with embers; then they put incense on top of the fire and presented it to the Eternal One. This was a strange and unauthorized fire that the Eternal did not command them. 2 Flames erupted from before the Eternal and burned up Nadab and Abihu. They both died in the presence of the Eternal One.
Moses (to Aaron): 3 This is what the Eternal One was talking about when He said,
By those authorized to come near,
I will be treated as sacred.
In the eyes of all the people,
I will be honored.
Aaron remained silent.
4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel.
Moses: Make your way forward. Gather the dead bodies of your relatives from the front of the sanctuary, and carry them outside the camp.
5 So Mishael and Elzaphan did as Moses instructed; they came forward, picked them up—while they were still wearing their priestly tunics—and carried them outside the camp. 6 Moses spoke to Aaron and his sons, Eleazar and Ithamar.
Moses: Do not let your hair go unkempt or rip your garments in customary acts of mourning, or else you will die. Follow this instruction so that the Eternal One does not grow angry toward the entire community. Everyone else—our relatives, the entire community of Israel—can lament the great fire the Eternal One has produced that killed your sons. 7 Do not go beyond the entrance of the congregation tent. If you do, you will meet a quick death, for the Eternal’s anointing oil covers you.
Aaron and his sons followed Moses’ instructions.
8 The Eternal One addressed Aaron.
Eternal One: 9 You and your sons must not drink wine or any alcoholic drink before entering the congregation tent, lest you die. This directive stands for all time throughout your generations. 10 You must know the difference between the sacred and the profane, the ritually pure and the impure, 11 and teach the people of Israel the directives, which I have revealed to them through Moses.
God demanded that the priests stay entirely sober while performing their ritual duties to ensure good judgment and orderly worship.
Moses (to Aaron and his surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar): 12 You may take whatever grain is left from the fire-offerings devoted to the Eternal and eat it unleavened next to the altar; this is most sacred. 13 You are to eat it in a sacred space; it is your and your sons’ portion of the Eternal One’s fire-offerings, according to the commands I have given. 14 You, your sons, and your daughters may eat the breast of the wave offering and the thigh presented to God in some ritually pure place. The breast and thigh are your portion and your children’s portion from the sacrifices of the peace offerings brought by the people of Israel. 15 Have them bring the thigh that is contributed and the breast that is waved, along with the fire-offerings of fat, to present as a wave offering before the Eternal One. This will be your and your children’s portion for all time; it is your due as the Eternal has commanded.
16 Moses began asking for the goat for the purification offering, but he discovered that it had already been burned up. He was furious with Eleazar and Ithamar (Aaron’s surviving sons).
Moses (to Aaron’s sons): 17 Why did you disobey my instructions and not eat the purification offering in the area of the sanctuary? It is most sacred. God has given it to you so that you can take on the guilt of the community and cover their wrongs before the Eternal. 18 Look, its blood was never taken inside the sanctuary; therefore the rightful place for you to eat it was in the sanctuary as I commanded.
Aaron (to Moses): 19 Look, my sons offered their purification offering and their burnt offering to the Eternal One today. But think of all that has happened to me. Given the tragedy I have seen, would the Eternal have approved if I had eaten a purification offering today?
20 After Moses listened to what Aaron had to say, he was satisfied.
Leviticus 10
King James Version
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.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.