1 But Nadab and Abihu, the sonnes of Aaron, tooke either of them his censor, and put fire therein, and put incense thereupon, and offred strange fire before the Lord, which hee had not commanded them. 2 Therefore a fire went out from the Lord, and deuoured them: so they dyed before the Lord. 3 Then Moses sayde vnto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will bee sanctified in the that come neere me, and before all the people I will be glorified: but Aaron held his peace. 4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan the sonnes of Vzziel, the vncle of Aaron, and saide vnto them, Come neere, cary your brethre from before the Sanctuarie out of the hoste. 5 Then they went, and caried them in their coates out of the host, as Moses had comaunded. 6 After, Moses saide vnto Aaron and vnto Eleazar and Ithamar his sonnes, Vncouer not your heads, neither rent your clothes, least ye dye, and least wrath come vpon all ye people: but let your brethren, all the house of Israel bewayle the burning which the Lord hath kindled. 7 And go not yee out from the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, least ye dye: for the anointing oyle of the Lord is vpon you: and they did according to Moses commandement. 8 And the Lord spake vnto Aaron, saying, 9 Thou shalt not drinke wine nor strong drinke, thou, nor thy sonnes with thee, when yee come into the Tabernacle of the Congregation, lest ye die: this is an ordinance for euer throughout your generations, 10 That ye may put difference betweene the holy and the vnholy, and betweene the cleane and the vncleane, 11 And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath commanded them by the hand of Moses. 12 Then Moses saide vnto Aaron and vnto Eleazar and to Ithamar his sonnes that were left, Take the meate offring that remaineth of the offrings of the Lord, made by fire, and eate it without leauen beside ye altar: for it is most holy: 13 And ye shall eate it in the holy place, because it is thy duetie and thy sonnes duety of the offringes of the Lord made by fire: for so I am commanded. 14 Also the shaken breast and the heaue shoulder shall yee eate in a cleane place: thou, and thy sonnes, and thy daughters with thee: for they are giuen as thy duetie and thy sonnes duety, of the peace offringes of the children of Israel. 15 The heaue shoulder, and the shaken breast shall they bring with the offringes made by fire of the fat, to shake it to and from before the Lord, and it shalbe thine and thy sonnes with thee by a lawe for euer, as the Lord hath commanded. 16 And Moses sought the goate that was offred for sinne, and lo, it was burnt: therefore he was angrie with Eleazar and Ithamar the sonnes of Aaron, which were left aliue, saying, 17 Wherfore haue ye not eaten the sinne offring in the holy place, seeing it is most Holie? and God hath giuen it you, to beare the iniquitie of the Congregation, to make an atonement for them before the Lord. 18 Beholde, the blood of it was not brought within the holy place: ye should haue eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded. 19 And Aaron said vnto Moses, Behold, this day haue they offred their sinne offring, and their burnt offring before the Lord, and such things as thou knowest are come vnto mee: If I had eaten the sinne offring to day, should it haue bene accepted in the sight of the Lord? 20 So when Moses heard it, he was content.
The Sin of Nadab and Abihu
1 Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan, put live coals in it, added incense, and presented it to the Lord. But this fire was not holy, because the Lord had not commanded them to present it. 2 Suddenly the Lord sent fire, and it burned them to death there in the presence of the Lord. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord was speaking about when he said, ‘All who serve me must respect my holiness; I will reveal my glory to my people.’” But Aaron remained silent.
4 Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, Aaron's uncle, and said to them, “Come here and carry your cousins' bodies away from the sacred Tent and put them outside the camp.” 5 So they came and took hold of the clothing on the corpses and carried them outside the camp, just as Moses had commanded.
6 Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not leave your hair uncombed or tear your clothes to show that you are in mourning. If you do, you will die, and the Lord will be angry with the whole community. But all other Israelites are allowed to mourn this death caused by the fire which the Lord sent. 7 Do not leave the entrance of the Tent or you will die, because you have been consecrated by the anointing oil of the Lord.” So they did as Moses said.
Rules for Priests
8 The Lord said to Aaron, 9 “You and your sons are not to enter the Tent of my presence after drinking wine or beer; if you do, you will die. This is a law to be kept by all your descendants. 10 You must distinguish between what belongs to God and what is for general use, between what is ritually clean and what is unclean. 11 You must teach the people of Israel all the laws which I have given to you through Moses.”
12 Moses said to Aaron and his two remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that is left over from the food offered to the Lord, make unleavened bread with it and eat it beside the altar, because this offering is very holy. 13 Eat it in a holy place; it is the part that belongs to you and your sons from the food offered to the Lord. That is what the Lord commanded me. 14 But you and your families may eat the breast and the hind leg that are presented as the special gift and the special contribution to the Lord for the priests. You may eat them in any ritually clean place. These offerings have been given to you and your children as the part that belongs to you from the fellowship offerings of the people of Israel. 15 They shall bring the hind leg and the breast at the time the fat is presented as a food offering to the Lord. These parts belong to you and your children forever, just as the Lord commanded.”
16 Moses asked about the goat for the sin offering and learned that it had already been burned. This made him angry at Eleazar and Ithamar, and he demanded, 17 “Why didn't you eat the sin offering in a sacred place? It is very holy, and the Lord has given it to you in order to take away the sin of the community. 18 Since its blood was not brought into the sacred Tent, you should have eaten the sacrifice there, as I commanded.”
19 Aaron answered, “If I had eaten the sin offering today, would the Lord have approved? The people presented their sin offering to the Lord today, and they brought their burnt offering, but still these terrible things have happened to me.” 20 When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.