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
Contemporary English Version
Nadab and Abihu
10 Nadab and Abihu were two of Aaron's sons, but they disobeyed the Lord by burning incense to him on a fire pan, when they were not supposed to.[a] 2 Suddenly the Lord sent fiery flames and burned them to death. 3 Then Moses told Aaron that this was exactly what the Lord had meant when he said:
“I demand respect
from my priests,
and I will be praised
by everyone!”
Aaron was speechless.
4 Moses sent for Mishael and Elzaphan, the two sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel. Then he told them, “Take these two dead relatives of yours outside the camp far from the entrance to the sacred tent.” 5 So they dragged the dead men away by their clothes.
6 Then Moses told Aaron and his other two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar:
Don't show your sorrow by messing up your hair and tearing your priestly clothes, or the Lord will get angry. He will kill the three of you and punish everyone else. It's all right for your relatives, the people of Israel, to mourn for those he destroyed by fire. 7 But you are the Lord's chosen priests, and you must not leave the sacred tent, or you will die.
Aaron and his two sons obeyed Moses.
8 The Lord said to Aaron:
9 When you or your sons enter the sacred tent, you must never drink beer or wine. If you do, you will die right there! This law will never change. 10 You must learn the difference between what is holy and what isn't holy and between the clean and the unclean. 11 You must also teach the people of Israel everything that I commanded Moses to say to them.
12 (A) Moses told Aaron and his two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar:
The grain sacrifice that was offered to give thanks to the Lord[b] is very holy. So make bread without yeast from the part that wasn't sent up in smoke and eat it beside the altar. 13 The Lord has said that this belongs to you and your sons, and that it must be eaten in a holy place. 14-15 (B) But the choice ribs and the hind leg that were lifted up[c] may be eaten by your entire family, as long as you do so in an acceptable place.[d] These parts are yours from the sacrifices that the people offer to ask the Lord's blessing.[e] This is what the Lord has commanded, and it will never change.
16 When Moses asked around and learned that the ram for the sin sacrifice had already been burned on the altar, he became angry with Eleazar and Ithamar and said, 17 (C) “Why didn't you eat the meat from this sacrifice in an acceptable place? It is very holy, and the Lord has given you this sacrifice to remove Israel's sin and guilt. 18 Whenever an animal's blood isn't brought into the sacred tent, I commanded you to eat its meat in an acceptable place, but you burned it instead.”
19 Their father Aaron replied, “Today two of my sons offered the sacrifice for sin and the sacrifice to please the Lord, and look what has happened to me! Would the Lord have approved if I had eaten the sacrifice for sin?”
20 Moses was satisfied with Aaron's reply.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
