The Death of Nadab and Abihu

Leviticus 10

1 Now y Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, z each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered a unauthorized 1 fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire b 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 has said, 'Among c those who are near me d I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" e And Aaron held his peace.

4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of f 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 near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. 6 And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, g "Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and h wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled. 7 i And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, j for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you." And they did according to the word of Moses.

8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 k "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 are to l distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and m you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses."

12 Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his surviving sons: "Take the n grain offering that is left of the Lord's food offerings, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for o it is most holy. 13 You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons' due, from the Lord's food offerings, for p so I am commanded. 14 But the q 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 r 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 Now Moses diligently inquired about s 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 t "Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since o 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 Behold, u its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly ought to have eaten it in the sanctuary, v as I commanded." 19 And Aaron said to Moses, "Behold, w 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, x would the Lord have approved?" 20 And when Moses heard that, he approved.

  1. Cross References
    Leviticus 16:1
    The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the ...
    Exodus 6:23
    Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter o...
    Exodus 28:1
    Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and ...
    Numbers 3:4
    But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when t...
    Numbers 26:61
    But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unau...
    1 Chronicles 24:2
    But Nadab and Abihu died before their father an...
  2. Cross References
    Numbers 16:18
    So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.
  3. Cross References
    Exodus 30:9
    You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it.
  4. Cross References
    Leviticus 9:24
    And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
    Numbers 16:35
    And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.
    2 Samuel 6:7
    And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.
  5. Cross References
    Leviticus 21:17
    Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God.
    Leviticus 21:21
    No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the Lord 's food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.
  6. Cross References
    Ezekiel 28:22
    And say, Thus says the Lord God : "Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, and I will manifest my glory in your midst. And they shall know that I am the Lord when I execute judgments in her and manifest my holiness in her.
  7. Cross References
    Psalms 39:9
    I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.
  8. Cross References
    Exodus 6:18
    The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years.
    Exodus 6:22
    The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
    Numbers 3:19
    And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
    Numbers 3:30
    With Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites.
  9. Cross References
    Leviticus 13:45
    "The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, 'Unclean, unclean.'
    Leviticus 21:10
    The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes.
    Ezekiel 24:16 - 17
    Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down.
  10. Cross References
    Numbers 1:53
    But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacl...
    Numbers 16:22
    And they fell on their faces and said, "O God, ...
    Numbers 16:46
    And Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, and...
    Numbers 18:5
    And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and...
    Joshua 7:1
    But the people of Israel broke faith in regard ...
    Joshua 22:18
    That you too must turn away this day from follo...
    Joshua 22:20
    Did not Achan the son of Zerah break faith in t...
  11. Cross References
    Leviticus 21:12
    He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the Lord.
  12. Cross References
    Leviticus 8:30
    Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments, and also on his sons and his sons' garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments, and his sons and his sons' garments with him.
  13. Cross References
    Ezekiel 44:21
    No priest shall drink wine when he enters the i...
    Numbers 6:3
    He shall separate himself from wine and strong ...
    Numbers 6:20
    And the priest shall wave them for a wave offer...
    Luke 1:15
    For he will be great before the Lord. And he mu...
    1 Timothy 3:3
    Not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not qua...
    1 Timothy 3:8
    Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-...
  14. Cross References
    Leviticus 11:47
    To make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.
    Leviticus 20:25
    You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean.
    Ezekiel 22:26
    Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
    Ezekiel 44:23
    They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.
  15. Cross References
    Leviticus 14:57
    To show when it is unclean and when it is clean...
    Deuteronomy 24:8
    Take care, in a case of leprous disease, to be ...
    Nehemiah 8:2
    So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the a...
    Nehemiah 8:8 - 9
    They read from the book, from the Law of God, c...
    Jeremiah 18:18
    Then they said, "Come, let us make plots agains...
    Malachi 2:7
    For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge...
  16. Cross References
    Leviticus 6:16
    And the rest of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten unleavened in a holy place. In the court of the tent of meeting they shall eat it.
    Numbers 18:9 - 10
    This shall be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs and every sin offering of theirs and every guilt offering of theirs, which they render to me, shall be most holy to you and to your sons.
  17. Cross References
    Leviticus 6:17
    It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of my food offerings. It is a thing most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering.
  18. Cross References
    Leviticus 2:3
    But the rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the Lord 's food offerings.
    Leviticus 6:16
    And the rest of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten unleavened in a holy place. In the court of the tent of meeting they shall eat it.
  19. Cross References
    Leviticus 7:31
    The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be for Aaron and his sons.
    Leviticus 7:34
    For the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed I have taken from the people of Israel, out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons, as a perpetual due from the people of Israel.
    Exodus 29:24
    You shall put all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord.
    Exodus 29:26 - 27
    You shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron's ordination and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion.
    Numbers 18:11
    This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
  20. Cross References
    Leviticus 7:31
    The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be for Aaron and his sons.
    Leviticus 7:34
    For the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed I have taken from the people of Israel, out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons, as a perpetual due from the people of Israel.
  21. Cross References
    Leviticus 9:3
    And say to the people of Israel, 'Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both a year old without blemish, for a burnt offering.
    Leviticus 9:15
    Then he presented the people's offering and took the goat of the sin offering that was for the people and killed it and offered it as a sin offering, like the first one.
  22. Cross References
    Leviticus 6:26
    The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting.
    Leviticus 6:29
    Every male among the priests may eat of it; it is most holy.
  23. Cross References
    Leviticus 10:12
    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.
  24. Cross References
    Leviticus 6:30
    But no sin offering shall be eaten from which any blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place; it shall be burned up with fire.
  25. Cross References
    Leviticus 6:26
    The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting.
  26. Cross References
    Leviticus 9:8
    So Aaron drew near to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.
    Leviticus 9:12
    Then he killed the burnt offering, and Aaron's sons handed him the blood, and he threw it against the sides of the altar.
  27. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:20
    What use to me is frankincense that comes from ...
    Jeremiah 14:12
    Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, an...
    Hosea 9:4
    They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to ...
    Malachi 1:10
    Oh that there were one among you who would shut...
    Malachi 1:13
    But you say, 'What a weariness this is,' and yo...
    Malachi 2:13
    And this second thing you do. You cover the Lor...
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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