Leviticus 10:1-7
Expanded Bible
God Destroys Nadab and Abihu
10 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their ·pans for burning incense [censers; firepans], put fire in them, and added incense; ·but they did not use the special fire Moses had commanded them to use in the presence of the Lord [L and they offered unholy/illicit/L strange fire such as he had not commanded them; C they failed, in some unknown way, to follow strict ritual protocol]. 2 So fire came down from the Lord and ·destroyed [consumed] Nadab and Abihu, and they died in front of the Lord. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord was speaking about when he said,
‘I ·must be respected as [or will show myself] holy
·by [or through] those who come near me;
before all the people
I must be ·given honor [glorified].’”
So Aaron did not say anything about the death of his sons.
4 Aaron’s uncle Uzziel had two sons named Mishael and Elzaphan. Moses said to them, “Come here and pick up your cousins’ bodies. Carry them outside the camp away from the front of the ·Holy Place [sanctuary].” 5 So Mishael and Elzaphan obeyed Moses and carried the bodies of Nadab and Abihu, still clothed in the special priest’s inner robes [Ex. 28:39–43], outside the camp.
6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his other sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Don’t show sadness by tearing your clothes or leaving your hair uncombed. If you do, you will die, and the Lord will be angry with all the ·people [community; congregation; assembly]. All the ·people [L house] of Israel, your relatives, may cry loudly about the Lord burning Nadab and Abihu, 7 but you must not even leave the Meeting Tent. If you go out of the entrance, you will die, because the ·Lord has appointed you to his service [L anointing oil of the Lord is on you].” So Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar obeyed Moses.
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Leviticus 10:1-7
Amplified Bible
The Sin of Nadab and Abihu
10 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective [ceremonial] censers, put fire in them, placed incense on it and offered [a]strange (unauthorized, unacceptable) fire before the Lord, [an act] which He had not commanded them to do. 2 And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord said:
‘I will be treated as holy by those who approach Me,
And before all the people I will be honored.’”
So Aaron, therefore, said nothing.
4 Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel who was Aaron’s uncle, and said to them, “Come here, carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary and take them outside the camp.” 5 So they came forward and carried them, still in their undertunics, outside the camp, as Moses had said. 6 Then Moses said to Aaron and to his [younger] sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not [b]uncover your heads nor let your hair hang loose nor tear your clothes [as expressions of mourning], so that you will not die [also] and so that He will not express His wrath and anger toward all the congregation. But your relatives, the whole house of Israel, may mourn the burning which the Lord has brought about. 7 You shall not even go out of the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, or you will die; for the Lord’s anointing oil is upon you.” So they did [everything] according to the word of Moses.
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- Leviticus 10:1 What made the fire “strange” cannot be determined. They may have taken the fire from an unauthorized source, or used incense that did not meet the divine specifications. In any case, God’s laws and requirements are not subject to modification by man.
- Leviticus 10:6 Lit unbind.
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