Leviticus 10

1 Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan and put fire in it and threw incense on it, and they brought foreign fire before the Lord, which the Lord had not ordered them to bring. [a] 2 And fire came out from the Lord and ate them up, and they died before the Lord. 3 Moses said to Aaron, 3 “This is what the Lord spoke of when he said: Among those who come near me I will be shown holy, and in the whole gathering I will be given glory.” 3 And Aaron was cut to the heart. [b] 4 Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Uzziel, the sons of the brother of Aaron’s father, and said to them, 4 “Come near and carry your brothers away from before the holy things, outside the camp.” [c] 5 So they came near and carried them out in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses had said.

6 And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons who were left, 6 “Do not bare your heads and do not tear your garments, so that you do not die and anger fall on the whole gathering. Your brothers, the whole house of Israel, will weep for the burning with which they were burned by the Lord. [d] 7 And you are not to go out from the door of the tent of witness, so that you do not die; for the Lord’s anointing oil is on you.” 7 And they did what Moses said.

8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron. He said, 9 “You are not to drink wine or strong drink, you and your sons with you, whenever you go into the tent of witness or come near to the altar, so that you do not die. This is a lasting practice through your generations, [e] 10 so as to separate between what is holy and what is common, and between what is unclean and what is clean, 11 and to teach the children of Israel all the practices the Lord spoke to them through Moses.”

12 Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, 12 “Take the sacrifice that is left over from the altar offerings of the Lord and eat it without yeast beside the altar. It is most holy. 13 You are to eat it in a holy place, for it is your due and your sons' due out of the altar offerings of the Lord; that is what I was commanded. 14 And the breast that is set apart and the shoulder taken as a portion you are to eat in a holy place — you and your sons and your household with you; for they are given as your due and your sons' due out of the sacrifices of well-being of the children of Israel. 15 They are to bring the shoulder taken as a portion and the breast that is set apart on top of the altar offerings of the fat, to set them apart before the Lord; and it will be yours and your sons' and your daughters' with you, a lasting practice, just as the Lord ordered Moses.”

16 And Moses searched and searched for the goat of the offering for sin, and there it was — burned up. And Moses was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left. He said, 17 “Why did you not eat the offering for sin in a holy place? It is most holy, and he gave it to you to eat so that you might take away the sin of the gathering and make atonement for them before the Lord. 18 Its blood was not carried into the holy place. You were to eat it inside, in his presence, in a holy place, as the Lord ordered me.” 19 And Aaron said to Moses, 19 “Today they brought their offerings for sin and their whole burnt offerings before the Lord, and things like these have happened to me. If I had eaten the offering for sin today, would it have been pleasing to the Lord?” 20 Moses heard it, and it was good in his eyes.