Aaron Offers Sacrifices

Now it came about (A)on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel; and he said to Aaron, “(B)Take for yourself a calf, a bull, as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, both without defect, and offer them before the Lord. Then you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Take a male goat as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both one year old, without defect, as a burnt offering, and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord, and a grain offering mixed with oil; for today (C)the Lord will appear to you.’” So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the whole congregation came near and stood before the Lord. And Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do, so that (D)the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” Moses then said to Aaron, “Come near to the altar and [a](E)offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, so that you may make atonement for yourself and for the people; then make the offering [b]for the people, so that you may make atonement for them, just as the Lord has commanded.”

(F)So Aaron came near to the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering which was for himself. (G)Aaron’s sons then presented the blood to him; and he dipped his finger in the blood and (H)put some on the horns of the altar, and poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 10 The fat and the kidneys and the [c]lobe of the liver of the sin offering he then offered up in smoke on the altar, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 11 (I)The flesh and the hide, however, he burned with fire outside the camp.

12 Then he slaughtered the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons brought the blood to him, and he sprinkled it around on the altar. 13 They brought the burnt offering to him in [d]pieces, with the head, and he offered them up in smoke on the altar. 14 He also washed the entrails and the legs, and offered them up in smoke with the burnt offering on the altar.

15 Then he presented the people’s offering, and took the (J)goat of the sin offering which was for the people, and slaughtered it and offered it for sin, like the first. 16 He also presented the burnt offering, and [e]offered it according to (K)the ordinance. 17 Next he presented (L)the grain offering, and filled his [f]hand with some of it and offered it up in smoke on the altar, (M)besides the burnt offering of the morning.

18 Then (N)he slaughtered the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings which was for the people; and Aaron’s sons brought the blood to him, and he sprinkled it around on the altar. 19 As for the portions of fat from the ox and from the ram, the fat tail, the fat (O)covering, the kidneys, and the [g]lobe of the liver, 20 they now placed the portions of fat on the breasts; and he offered [h]them up in smoke on the altar. 21 But (P)the breasts and the right thigh Aaron [i]presented as a wave offering before the Lord, just as Moses had commanded.

22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and (Q)blessed them, and he stepped down after making the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings. 23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, (R)the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24 (S)Then fire went out from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell [j]face downward.

The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

10 Now (T)Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective (U)firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on [k]the fire and offered [l]strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. (V)And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the Lord spoke, saying,

‘By those who (W)come near Me I [m](X)will be treated as holy,
And before all the people I will (Y)be honored.’”

So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.

Moses called also to (Z)Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come forward, carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to an area outside of the camp.” So they came forward and carried them, still in their (AA)tunics, to an area outside the camp, just as Moses had said. Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “(AB)Do not [n]uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, so that you do not die and He does not (AC)become wrathful against all the congregation. But your [o]kinsmen, the entire house of Israel, shall weep for the burning which the Lord has [p]brought about. You shall not even go out from the doorway of the tent of meeting, or you will die; for (AD)the Lords anointing oil is upon you.” So they did according to the word of Moses.

The Lord then spoke to Aaron, saying, (AE)Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you do not die—it is a permanent statute throughout your generations— 10 and (AF)to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and (AG)so as to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them through Moses.”

12 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his surviving sons, (AH)Eleazar and Ithamar, “(AI)Take the grain offering that is left over from the Lords offerings by fire and eat it as unleavened bread beside the altar, for it is most holy. 13 You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your allotted portion and your sons’ allotted portion from the Lords offerings by fire; for so I have been commanded. 14 (AJ)The breast of the wave offering, however, and the thigh of the offering you may eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you; for they have been given as your allotted portion and your sons’ allotted portion from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the sons of Israel. 15 They shall bring (AK)the thigh offered by lifting up and the breast offered by waving, along with the offerings by fire of the portions of fat, to present as a wave offering before the Lord; so it shall be a thing perpetually due you and your sons with you, just as the Lord has commanded.”

16 But Moses searched carefully for the (AL)goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned! So he was angry with Aaron’s surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar, saying, 17 “Why (AM)did you not eat the sin offering at the [q]holy place? For it is most holy, and [r]He gave it to you to take away (AN)the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord. 18 Behold, (AO)since its blood had not been brought inside, into the sanctuary, you certainly should have (AP)eaten it in the sanctuary, just as I commanded!” 19 But Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, this very day they (AQ)presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord. When things like these happened to me, if I had eaten a sin offering today, would it have been good in the sight of the Lord?” 20 When Moses heard that, it was good in his sight.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 9:7 Lit make
  2. Leviticus 9:7 Lit of
  3. Leviticus 9:10 Or appendage on
  4. Leviticus 9:13 Lit its pieces
  5. Leviticus 9:16 Lit made
  6. Leviticus 9:17 Lit palm
  7. Leviticus 9:19 Or appendage on
  8. Leviticus 9:20 Lit the portions of fat
  9. Leviticus 9:21 Lit waved
  10. Leviticus 9:24 Lit on their faces
  11. Leviticus 10:1 Lit it
  12. Leviticus 10:1 I.e., unauthorized
  13. Leviticus 10:3 Or will show Myself holy
  14. Leviticus 10:6 Lit unbind
  15. Leviticus 10:6 Lit brothers
  16. Leviticus 10:6 Lit burned
  17. Leviticus 10:17 I.e., the courtyard of the tabernacle, not the sanctuary
  18. Leviticus 10:17 Or was given

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