Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Path of Eternal Life

Psalm 16

²² Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them.^[a] Then he stepped down from presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.

²³ Moses and Aaron then went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came back out and blessed the people, the glory of Adonai appeared to all the people. ²⁴ Fire came out from the presence of Adonai, and devoured the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

Holy Fire Consumes Unauthorized Fire

10 Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own censer, put fire in it, laid incense over it, and offered unauthorized fire before Adonai—which He had not commanded them. ² So fire came out from the presence of Adonai and consumed them. So they died before Adonai. ³ Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Adonai spoke of, saying:

To those who are near Me

I will show myself holy.

Upon the faces of all the people

I will be glorified.”

Then Aaron kept silent.

⁴ Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come near, carry your relatives away from the front of the Sanctuary to outside of the camp.” ⁵ So they drew near and carried them, still in their tunics, outside of the camp, as Moses had said.

⁶ Then Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons: “Do not uncover your heads or tear your clothes, so you may not die and He will not be angry with the entire congregation. But let your kinsmen—the whole house of Israel—mourn over the burning that Adonai has kindled. ⁷ You must not go out from the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, or you will die, for the anointing oil of Adonai is on you.” So they acted according to the word of Moses.

⁸ Adonai spoke to Aaron saying: ⁹ “Do not drink wine or fermented drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you go into the Tent of Meeting, so that you do not die. This is to be a statute forever throughout your generations. ¹⁰ You are to make a distinction between the holy and the common and between the unclean and the clean. ¹¹ And you are to teach Bnei-Yisrael all the statutes which Adonai has spoken to them through Moses.”

⁵ Test yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Examine yourselves! Or don’t you know yourselves—that Messiah Yeshua is in you? Unless of course you failed the test. ⁶ But I hope that you will realize that we haven’t failed the test. ⁷ Now we pray to God that you do no wrong—not so that we may appear to have passed the test, but in order that you may do what is right even if we may seem to have failed. ⁸ For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹ For we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. We also pray for this—your perfecting. ¹⁰ For this reason I write these things while I am absent, so that when I am present I need not proceed harshly, according to the authority which the Lord gave me—for building up and not for tearing down.