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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) And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.(B) 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)

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) They came forward and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had ordered. 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) 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)

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The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

10 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord.

Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said,

‘I will display my holiness
    through those who come near me.
I will display my glory
    before all the people.’”

And Aaron was silent.

Then Moses called for Mishael and Elzaphan, Aaron’s cousins, the sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel. He said to them, “Come forward and carry away the bodies of your relatives from in front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.” So they came forward and picked them up by their garments and carried them out of the camp, just as Moses had commanded.

Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not show grief by leaving your hair uncombed[a] or by tearing your clothes. If you do, you will die, and the Lord’s anger will strike the whole community of Israel. However, the rest of the Israelites, your relatives, may mourn because of the Lord’s fiery destruction of Nadab and Abihu. But you must not leave the entrance of the Tabernacle[b] or you will die, for you have been anointed with the Lord’s anointing oil.” So they did as Moses commanded.

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Footnotes

  1. 10:6 Or by uncovering your heads.
  2. 10:7 Hebrew Tent of Meeting; also in 10:9.