Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Lord, the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Deliverer in Death.

A ^[a]Mikhtam of David [probably intended to record memorable thoughts].

²² Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them, and came down [from the altar of burnt offering] after presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings. ²³ Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord [the Shekinah cloud] appeared to all the people [as promised].^{(A) 24} Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell face downward [in awe and worship].

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:

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.

⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, ⁹ “^[c]Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the Tent of Meeting, so that you will not die—it is a permanent statute throughout your generations— ¹⁰ and to make a distinction and recognize a difference between the holy (sacred) and the common (profane), and between the [ceremonially] unclean and the clean;^{(B) 11} and you are to teach the Israelites all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them ^[d]through Moses.”

⁵ Test and evaluate yourselves to see whether you are in the faith and living your lives as [committed] believers. Examine yourselves [not me]! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves [by an ongoing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test and are rejected as counterfeit? ⁶ But I hope you will acknowledge that we do not fail the test nor are we to be rejected. ⁷ But I pray to God that you may do nothing wrong. Not so that we [and our teaching] may appear to be approved, but that you may continue doing what is right, even though we [by comparison] may seem to have failed. ⁸ For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth [and the gospel—the good news of salvation]. ⁹ We are glad when we are weak [since God’s power comes freely through us], but you [by comparison] are strong. We also pray for this, that you be made complete [fully restored, growing and maturing in godly character and spirit—pleasing your heavenly Father by the life you live]. ¹⁰ For this reason I am writing these things while absent from you, so that when I come, I will not need to deal severely [with you], in my use of the authority which the Lord has given me [to be used] for building you up and not for tearing you down.