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sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own censer, put fire in it, and placed incense on it, and presented unauthorised fire before the Lord, such as He had not commanded them. 2 So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when He said:
‘To those who approach Me
I will show Myself holy;
and before all the people
I will be glorified’.”
So Aaron held his peace.
4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come here and carry your kinsmen away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.” 5 So they came forward and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses had ordered.
6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithmar, “Do not let your hair hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the Lord will become angry with the whole community. However, your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn over the burning the Lord has sent. 7 You must not go outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting or you will die, because the Lord’s anointing oil is on you.” So they did as Moses said.
8 The Lord said to Aaron, 9 “You and your sons are not to drink wine or other intoxicating drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or else you will die. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 10 You must distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the clean and the unclean, 11 and you must teach the Israelites all the statutes that the Lord has given to them through Moses.”
12 Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that is left over from the offerings made to the Lord by fire, and eat it prepared without yeast beside the altar, because it is most holy. 13 You must eat it in a holy place, because it is your share and your sons’ share of the offerings made to the Lord by fire; for so I have been commanded. 14 But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution in any ceremonially clean place. These portions have been given to you and your children as your share of the Israelites’ fellowship offerings. 15 The thigh of the contribution and the breast of the wave offering must be brought with the fat portions of the offerings made by fire, to be waved as a wave offering before the Lord. This will be your regular share due to you and your children, as the Lord has commanded.”
16 When Moses inquired later about the goat of the sin offering, he found it had already been burned up. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aarons’s remaining sons, and asked, 17 “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? It is most holy, and God has given it to you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for them before the Lord. 18 Since its blood was not brought inside the Holy Place, you should have eaten it in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.”
19 But Aaron replied to Moses, “Look, today they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, yet such things as this have happened to me. If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been acceptable in the sight of the Lord?” 20 When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.