Lev 10 | HCSB | STEP | Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own firepan , put fire in it , placed incense on it, and presented unauthorized fire before the Lord , which He had not commanded them to do.

Leviticus 10

Nadab and Abihu

1 Aaron’s sons Nadab ^a and Abihu ^b each took his own firepan, ^c put fire in it, placed incense on it, ^d and presented unauthorized ^e fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them to do. 2 Then fire came from the Lord ^f and burned them to death before the Lord. ^g 3 So Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when He said:

I will show My holiness ^{▼▼Or will be treated as holy
,} ⁱ
to those who are near Me, ^j
and I will reveal My glory ^{▼▼Or will be glorified
,} ^l
before all the people.”

But Aaron remained silent.

4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, ^m sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, ⁿ and said to them, “Come here and carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.” ^o 5 So they came forward and carried them in their tunics outside the camp, as Moses had said.

6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, ^p “Do not let your hair hang loose ^q and do not tear your garments, ^r or else you will die, and the Lord will become angry ^s with the whole community. However, your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn ^t over that tragedy when the Lord sent the fire. 7 You must not go outside the entrance to the tent of meeting or you will die, for the Lord’s anointing oil ^u is on you.” So they did as Moses said.

Regulations for Priests

8 The Lord spoke to Aaron: 9 “You and your sons are not to drink wine ^v or beer ^w when you enter the tent of meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute ^x throughout your generations. 10 You must distinguish ^y between the holy and the common, ^z and the ^{▼▼clean: When something is clean, it is holy or acceptable to God. When it is unclean, it is unholy (such as an unclean spirit). The term can be used in a ritual sense to apply to moral standards for living.}clean and the ^{▼▼unclean: When something is clean, it is holy or acceptable to God. When it is unclean, it is unholy (such as an unclean spirit). The term can be used in a ritual sense to apply to moral standards for living.}unclean, ^ac 11 and teach the Israelites all the statutes ^ad that the Lord has given to them through Moses.”

12 Moses spoke to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar: “Take the ^{▼▼grain offering(s): An offering given along with animal sacrifices or given by itself. A portion was burnt and the priests and participant ate the remainder.}grain offering that is left over from the fire offerings ^af to the Lord, and eat it prepared without yeast beside the altar, because it is especially holy. 13 You must eat it in a holy place because it is your portion ^{▼▼Or statute} and your sons’ from the fire offerings to the Lord, for this is what I was commanded. 14 But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution in any ceremonially clean place, because these portions have been assigned to you and your children from the Israelites’ ^{▼▼fellowship sacrifice(s) or offering(s): An animal offering was given to maintain and strengthen a person's relationship with God. It was not required as a remedy for impurity or sin but was an expression of thanksgiving for various blessings. An important function of this sacrifice was to provide meat for the priests and the participants in the sacrifice; it was also called the peace offering or the sacrifice of well-being.}fellowship sacrifices. 15 They are to bring the thigh of the contribution and the breast of the presentation offering, together with the offerings of fat portions made by fire, to wave as a presentation offering before the Lord. It will belong permanently ^ai to you and your children, as the Lord commanded.”

16 Later, Moses inquired about the male goat of the ^{▼▼sin offering(s): Or purification offering, the sin offering was the most important OT sacrifice for cleansing from impurities. It provided purification from sin and certain forms of ceremonial uncleanness.}sin offering, but it had already been burned up. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s surviving sons, and asked, 17 “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? ^ak For it is especially holy, and He has assigned it to you to take away the ^{▼▼guilt/guilty: The liability to be punished for a fault, a sin, an act, or an omission unless there is forgiveness or atonement; the term normally concerns an objective fact, not a subjective feeling.}guilt ^am of the community ^an and make ^{▼▼atone/ atonement: A theological term for God's provision to deal with human sin. In the OT, it primarily means purification. In some contexts forgiveness, pardon, expiation, propitiation, or reconciliation is included. The basis of atonement is substitutionary sacrifice offered in faith. The OT sacrifices were types and shadows of the great and final sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.}atonement for them before the Lord. 18 Since its blood was not brought inside the sanctuary, you should have eaten it in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.” ^ap

19 But Aaron replied to Moses, “See, today they presented their sin offering and their ^{▼▼burnt offering(s): Or holocaust, an offering completely burned to ashes; it was used in connection with worship, seeking God's favor, expiating sin, or averting judgment.}burnt offering before the Lord. Since these things have happened to me, if I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been acceptable in the Lord’s sight?” 20 When Moses heard this, it was acceptable to him. ^{▼▼Lit acceptable in his sight}