Leviticus 10

The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

1Now 1Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective 2firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on 3the fire and offered 4strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. 25And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 3Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the Lord spoke, saying, ‘By those who 6come near Me I 78will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will 9be honored.’” So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.

4Moses called also to 10Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come forward, carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to an area outside of the camp.” 5So they came forward and carried them, still in their 11tunics, to an area outside the camp, just as Moses had said. 6Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “12Do not 13uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, so that you do not die and He does not 14become wrathful against all the congregation. But your 15kinsmen, the entire house of Israel, shall weep for the burning which the Lord has 16brought about. 7You shall not even go out from the doorway of the tent of meeting, or you will die; for 17the Lord’s anointing oil is upon you.” So they did according to the word of Moses.

8The Lord then spoke to Aaron, saying, 9“18Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you do not die--it is a permanent statute throughout your generations-- 10and 19to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean, 11and 20so as to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them through Moses.”

12Then Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his surviving sons, 21Eleazar and Ithamar, “22Take the grain offering that is left over from the Lord’s offerings by fire and eat it as unleavened bread beside the altar, for it is most holy. 13You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your allotted portion and your sons’ allotted portion from the Lord’s offerings by fire; for so I have been commanded. 1423The breast of the wave offering, however, and the thigh of the offering you may eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you; for they have been given as your allotted portion and your sons’ allotted portion from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the sons of Israel. 15They shall bring 24the thigh offered by lifting up and the breast offered by waving, along with the offerings by fire of the portions of fat, to present as a wave offering before the Lord; so it shall be a thing perpetually due you and your sons with you, just as the Lord has commanded.”

16But Moses searched carefully for the 25goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned! So he was angry with Aaron’s surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar, saying, 17“Why 26did you not eat the sin offering at the 27holy place? For it is most holy, and 28He gave it to you to take away 29the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord. 18Behold, 30since its blood had not been brought inside, into the sanctuary, you certainly should have 31eaten it in the sanctuary, just as I commanded!” 19But Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, this very day they 32presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord. When things like these happened to me, if I had eaten a sin offering today, would it have been good in the sight of the Lord?” 20When Moses heard that, it was good in his sight.