Old/New Testament
Moses Appoints the Priests
8 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Take Aaron and his sons with him and the clothes, the anointing oil, the bull of the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread. 3 Then gather the people together at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.”
4 Moses did what the Lord commanded him. The people met together at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. 5 Then Moses said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded must be done.”
6 Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water. 7 Moses put the woven shirt on Aaron and tied the cloth belt around him. Then Moses put the robe and the ephod on Aaron and tied the beautiful cloth belt around him. 8 Moses put the judgment pouch on Aaron and put the Urim and Thummim inside its pocket. 9 He also put the turban on Aaron’s head. He put the strip of gold on the front of the turban. This strip of gold is the holy crown. Moses did this just as the Lord had commanded.
10 Then Moses took the anointing oil and sprinkled it on the Holy Tent and on everything in it. In this way he made them holy. 11 He sprinkled some of the anointing oil on the altar seven times. He sprinkled the oil on the altar, on all its tools and dishes, and on the bowl and its base. In this way he made them holy. 12 He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head to make him holy. 13 Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons forward. He put their woven shirts on them, tied belts around them, and put cloth caps on their heads. He did everything just as the Lord had commanded.
14 Then Moses brought out the bull of the sin offering. Aaron and his sons put their hands on the bull’s head. 15 Then Moses killed the bull and collected its blood. He used his finger to put some of the blood on all the corners of the altar. In this way he made the altar ready for sacrifices. Then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar to make the altar ready for sacrifices to make the people pure. 16 Moses took all the fat from the inner parts of the bull. He took the fat part of the liver with the two kidneys and the fat on them. Then he burned them on the altar. 17 Moses took the bull’s skin, its meat, and its body waste outside the camp. He burned these things in a fire outside the camp. He did everything just as the Lord commanded him.
18 Then Moses brought the ram of the burnt offering. Aaron and his sons put their hands on the ram’s head. 19 Then Moses killed the ram. He sprinkled the blood around on the altar. 20-21 He cut the ram into pieces. He washed the inner parts and legs with water. Then he burned the whole ram on the altar. He burned the head, the pieces, and the fat as a burnt offering. It was a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord. Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded.
22 Then Moses brought the other ram. This ram was used for appointing Aaron and his sons to become priests. Aaron and his sons put their hands on the ram’s head. 23 Then Moses killed the ram. He put some of its blood on the tip of Aaron’s ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons close to the altar. He put some of the blood on the tip of their right ears, on the thumb of their right hands, and on the big toe of their right feet. Then he sprinkled the blood around on the altar. 25 He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat on the inner parts, the fat covering of the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh. 26 A basket of unleavened bread is put before the Lord each day. Moses took one of those loaves of bread, one loaf of bread mixed with oil, and one unleavened wafer. He put these pieces of bread on the fat and on the right thigh of the ram. 27 Then he put all of it in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Moses lifted these pieces to show he was offering them before the Lord. 28 Then Moses took these things from the hands of Aaron and his sons and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering. So this was the offering for appointing Aaron and his sons as priests. It was a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord. 29 Moses took the breast and lifted it to show he had presented it to the Lord. It was Moses’ share of the ram for appointing the priests. This was just as the Lord had commanded him.
30 Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar. He sprinkled some on Aaron and on Aaron’s clothes. He sprinkled some on Aaron’s sons who were with Aaron and on their clothes. In this way Moses made Aaron, his clothes, his sons, and his sons’ clothes holy.
31 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “I told you, ‘Aaron and his sons must eat these things.’ So take the basket of bread and meat from the ceremony for appointing the priests. Boil that meat at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Eat the meat and bread at that place. Do this as I told you. 32 If any of the meat or bread is left, burn it. 33 The ceremony for appointing the priests will last for seven days. You must not leave the entrance of the Meeting Tent until that time is finished. 34 Everything we did today was what the Lord commanded us to do in order to make you pure. 35 You must stay at the entrance of the Meeting Tent day and night for seven days. If you don’t obey the Lord’s commands, you will die! The Lord gave me these commands.”
36 So Aaron and his sons did everything that the Lord had commanded Moses.
God Accepts the Priests
9 On the eighth day, Moses called for Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. 2 He said to Aaron, “Take a bull and a ram. There must be nothing wrong with them. The bull will be a sin offering, and the ram will be a burnt offering. Offer these animals to the Lord. 3 Tell the Israelites, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and take a calf and a lamb for a burnt offering. The calf and the lamb must each be one year old. There must be nothing wrong with them. 4 Take a bull and a ram for fellowship offerings. Take these animals and a grain offering mixed with oil for an offering to the Lord. Do this because the Lord will appear to you today.’”
5 So all the people came to the Meeting Tent. They all brought the things that Moses had commanded. All the people stood before the Lord. 6 Moses said, “You must do what the Lord commanded. Then the Glory of the Lord will appear to you.”
7 Then Moses told Aaron: “Go do what the Lord commanded. Go to the altar and offer sin offerings and burnt offerings. Do what will make you and the people pure. Take the people’s sacrifices and make them pure.”
8 So Aaron went to the altar. He killed the bull for the sin offering. This sin offering was for himself. 9 Then the sons of Aaron brought the blood to Aaron. Aaron put his finger in the blood and put it on the corners of the altar. Then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar. 10 He took the fat, the kidneys, and the fat part of the liver from the sin offering. He burned them on the altar just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 11 Then Aaron burned the meat and skin on a fire outside the camp.
12 Next, Aaron killed the animal for the burnt offering. His sons brought the blood to him, and he sprinkled the blood around on the altar. 13 Aaron’s sons gave the pieces and head of the burnt offering to Aaron, and he burned them on the altar. 14 He also washed the inner parts and the legs of the burnt offering and burned them on the altar.
15 Then Aaron brought the people’s offering. He killed the goat of the sin offering that was for the people. He offered the goat for sin, like the earlier sin offering. 16 He brought the burnt offering and offered it, just as the Lord had commanded. 17 He brought the grain offering to the altar. He took a handful of the grain and put it on the altar beside that morning’s daily sacrifice.
18 Aaron also killed the bull and the ram that were the fellowship offerings from the people. His sons brought the blood to him, and he sprinkled this blood around on the altar. 19 Aaron’s sons also brought him the fat of the bull and the ram. They brought the fat tail, the fat covering the inner parts, the kidneys, and the fat part of the liver. 20 Aaron’s sons put these fat parts on the breasts of the bull and the ram. Aaron burned them on the altar. 21 He lifted the breasts and the gift of the right thigh to show he was offering them before the Lord, just as Moses had commanded.
22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them. After he finished offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the fellowship offerings, he came down from the altar.
23 Moses and Aaron went into the Meeting Tent. They came out and blessed the people. Then the Glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24 Fire came out from the Lord and burned the burnt offering and fat on the altar. When all the people saw this, they shouted with joy and then bowed to the ground to show their respect.
God Destroys Nadab and Abihu
10 Then Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu made a mistake. They took their incense dishes and put some fire and incense in them. But they did not use the fire that was on the altar—they took fire from some other place and brought it to the Lord. This was not what he had commanded. 2 So fire came from the Lord and destroyed Nadab and Abihu, and they died there in front of the Lord.
3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “The Lord says, ‘The priests who come near me must respect me. I must be holy to them and to all the people.’” So Aaron did not say anything about his sons dying.
4 Aaron’s uncle Uzziel had two sons. They were Mishael and Elzaphan. Moses said to these sons, “Come here and get your cousins’ bodies and carry them away from this holy place and take them outside the camp.”
5 So Mishael and Elzaphan obeyed Moses. They carried the bodies of Nadab and Abihu outside the camp. Nadab and Abihu were still wearing their special woven shirts.
6 Then Moses spoke to Aaron and his other sons Eleazar and Ithamar. He said, “Don’t show any sadness! Don’t tear your clothes or mess up your hair![a] If you do anything to show your sadness, you will be killed, and the Lord will show his anger against everyone. But let all the other people of Israel, your relatives, cry for those the Lord destroyed with fire. 7 But you must not even leave the entrance of the Meeting Tent. If you leave, you will die because the Lord’s anointing oil is on you.” So Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar obeyed Moses.
8 Then the Lord said to Aaron, 9 “You and your sons must not drink wine or beer when you come into the Meeting Tent. If you do, you will die. This law continues forever through your generations. 10 You must be able to clearly tell the difference between what is holy and what is not holy, between what is clean and what is unclean. 11 And you must teach the people about all the laws that the Lord gave them through Moses.”
12 Aaron had two sons who were still alive, Eleazar and Ithamar. Moses said to Aaron and his two sons, “When people give sacrifices as a gift to the Lord, some of the grain offering is not burned. Use that grain to make bread without yeast. You priests must eat that bread near the altar because that grain is very holy. 13 The portion of food for you and your sons will come from the special gifts to the Lord, so you must eat that food in a holy place.
14 “You, your sons, and your daughters may all eat the breast and thigh that were lifted up before the Lord as an offering. But you must eat these in a place that is clean because they come from the fellowship offerings. They are your share of those offerings that the Israelites give to God. 15 The people must bring the gifts of fat from their animals as part of the sacrifice. They must also bring the thigh of the fellowship offering and the breast that is lifted up to show it is offered in front of the Lord. Then it will be your share of the offering. It will belong to you and your children. That part of the sacrifices will be your share forever, just as the Lord said.”
16 Moses looked for the goat of the sin offering, but it was already burned up. Moses became very angry with Aaron’s other sons Eleazar and Ithamar. Moses said, 17 “Why did you not eat the sin offering in the holy area! That meat is very holy! God gave it to you to carry away the guilt of the people—to make the people pure before the Lord. 18 That goat’s blood was not brought into the Holy Place. So you should have eaten the meat in the holy area, just as I commanded!”
19 But Aaron said to Moses, “Look, today they brought their sin offering and burnt offering before the Lord. But you know what happened to me today! Do you think the Lord would be happy if I ate the sin offering today?”
20 When Moses heard this, he agreed.
The Son of Man Will Judge All People
31 “The Son of Man will come again with divine greatness, and all his angels will come with him. He will sit as king on his great and glorious throne. 32 All the people of the world will be gathered before him. Then he will separate everyone into two groups. It will be like a shepherd separating his sheep from his goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the king will say to the godly people on his right, ‘Come, my Father has great blessings for you. The kingdom he promised is now yours. It has been prepared for you since the world was made. 35 It is yours because when I was hungry, you gave me food to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I had no place to stay, you welcomed me into your home. 36 When I was without clothes, you gave me something to wear. When I was sick, you cared for me. When I was in prison, you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the godly people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you with no place to stay and welcome you into our home? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?’
40 “Then the king will answer, ‘The truth is, anything you did for any of my people here,[a] you also did for me.’
41 “Then the king will say to the evil people on his left, ‘Get away from me. God has already decided that you will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever—the fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 You must go away because when I was hungry, you gave me nothing to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me nothing to drink. 43 When I had no place to stay, you did not welcome me into your home. When I was without clothes, you gave me nothing to wear. When I was sick and in prison, you did not care for me.’
44 “Then those people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we see you without a place to stay? Or when did we see you without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see any of this and not help you?’
45 “The king will answer, ‘The truth is, anything you refused to do for any of my people here, you refused to do for me.’
46 “Then these evil people will go away to be punished forever. But the godly people will go and enjoy eternal life.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International