1 Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron,
each took his censer, and put fire in it,
and laid incense on it, and offered strange
fire before the LORD, which he had not
commanded them.
2 Fire came out from before the LORD,
and devoured them, and they died before
the LORD.
3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what
the LORD spoke of, saying,
‘I will show myself holy to those who come
near me,
and before all the people I will be glo-
rified.’ ”
Aaron held his peace.
4 Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the
sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said
to them, “Draw near, carry your broth-
ers from before the sanctuary out of the
camp.”
5 So they came near, and carried them in
their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had
said.
6 Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and
to Ithamar, his sons, “Don’t let the hair of
your heads go loose, and don’t tear your
clothes, so that you don’t die, and so that he
will not be angry with all the congregation;
but let your brothers, the whole house of
Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD
has kindled.
7 You shall not go out from the door of
the Tent of Meeting, lest you die; for the
anointing oil of the LORD is on you.” They
did according to the word of Moses.
8 Then the LORD said to Aaron,
9 “You and your sons are not to drink
wine or strong drink whenever you go into
the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This
shall 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 You are to teach the children of Israel
all the statutes which the LORD has spoken
to them by Moses.”
12 Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar
and to Ithamar, his sons who were left,
“Take the meal offering that remains of the
offerings of the LORD made by fire, and eat
it without yeast beside the altar; for it is
most holy;
13 and you shall eat it in a holy place,
because it is your portion, and your sons’
portion, of the offerings of the LORD made
by fire; for so I am commanded.
14 The waved breast and the heaved
thigh you shall eat in a clean place, you,
and your sons, and your daughters with
you: for they are given as your portion,
and your sons’ portion, out of the sacrifices
of the peace offerings of the children of
Israel.
15 They shall bring the heaved thigh and
the waved breast with the offerings made
by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave offer-
ing before the LORD. It shall be yours, and
your sons’ with you, as a portion forever,
as the LORD has commanded.”
16 Moses diligently inquired about the
goat of the sin offering, and, behold,† it was
burned. He was angry with Eleazar and
with Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were
left, saying,
17 “Why haven’t you eaten the sin offer-
ing in the place of the sanctuary, since it
is most holy, and he has given it to you
to bear the iniquity of the congregation,
to make atonement for them before the
LORD?
18 Behold, its blood was not brought into
the inner part of the sanctuary. You cer-
tainly should have eaten it in the sanctu-
ary, as I commanded.”
19 Aaron spoke to Moses, “Behold, today
they have offered their sin offering and
their burnt offering before the LORD; and
such things as these have happened to me.
If I had eaten the sin offering today, would
it have been pleasing in the LORD’s sight?”
20 When Moses heard that, it was pleas-
ing in his sight.
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