Good News Translation GNT
English Standard Version ESV
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.
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Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them.
2 Suddenly the Lord sent fire, and it burned them to death there in the presence of the Lord.
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And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before 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.
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Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified. ’” And Aaron held his peace.
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."
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And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of 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.
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So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said.
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.
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And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, “Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled.
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.
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And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. ” And they did according to the word of Moses.
8 The Lord said to Aaron,
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And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying,
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.
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“Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.
10 You must distinguish between what belongs to God and what is for general use, between what is ritually clean and what is unclean.
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You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean,
11 You must teach the people of Israel all the laws which I have given to you through Moses."
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and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by 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.
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Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his surviving sons: “Take the grain offering that is left of the Lord’s food offerings, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most 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.
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You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due, from the Lord’s food offerings, for so I am commanded.
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.
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But the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as your due and your sons’ due from the sacrifices of the peace 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."
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The thigh that is contributed and the breast that is waved they shall bring with the food offerings of the fat pieces to wave for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be yours and your sons’ with you as a due forever, as the Lord has 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,
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Now Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it was burned up! And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the surviving sons of Aaron, saying,
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.
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“Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since it is a thing most holy and has been given to you that you may bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord?
18 Since its blood was not brought into the sacred Tent, you should have eaten the sacrifice there, as I commanded."
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Behold, its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly ought to have eaten it in the sanctuary, 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."
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And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would the Lord have approved? ”
20 When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.
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And when Moses heard that, he approved.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025