The Profane Fire of Nadab and Abihu

10 Then ^(A)Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, ^(B)each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered ^(C)profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. ² So ^(D)fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. ³ And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying:

So Aaron held his peace.

⁴ Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near, ^(F)carry your brethren from ^[a]before the sanctuary out of the camp.” ⁵ So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said.

⁶ And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, “Do not ^[b]uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and ^(G)wrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, ^[c]bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled. ^7 (H)You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, ^(I)for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.

Conduct Prescribed for Priests

⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying: ^9 (J)“Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, ¹⁰ that you may ^(K)distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, ^11 (L)and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.”

¹² And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons who were left: ^(M)“Take the grain offering that remains of the offerings made by fire to the Lord, and eat it without leaven beside the altar; ^(N)for it is most holy. ¹³ You shall eat it in a ^(O)holy place, because it is your ^[d]due and your sons’ due, of the sacrifices made by fire to the Lord; for ^(P)so I have been commanded. ^14 (Q)The breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering you shall eat in a clean place, you, your sons, and your ^(R)daughters with you; for they are your due and your sons’ ^(S)due, which are given from the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel. ^15 (T)The thigh of the heave offering and the breast of the wave offering they shall bring with the offerings of fat made by fire, to offer as a wave offering before the Lord. And it shall be yours and your sons’ with you, by a statute forever, as the Lord has commanded.”

¹⁶ Then Moses made careful inquiry about ^(U)the goat of the sin offering, and there it was—burned up. And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying, ^17 (V)“Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a holy place, since it is most holy, and God has given it to you to bear ^(W)the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? ¹⁸ See! ^(X)Its blood was not brought inside ^[e]the holy place; indeed you should have eaten it in a holy place, ^(Y)as I commanded.”

¹⁹ And Aaron said to Moses, “Look, ^(Z)this day they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and such things have befallen me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, ^(AA)would it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord?” ²⁰ So when Moses heard that, he was content.