Leviticus 8-10

New Life Version

Aaron and His Sons Set Apart for Their Work

8 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Take Aaron and his sons, and the clothing, the oil for holy use, the bull for the sin gift, the two rams and the basket of bread without yeast. ³ And gather together all the people at the door of the meeting tent.” ⁴ So Moses did just as the Lord told him. The people were gathered together at the door of the meeting tent. ⁵ Moses said to the people, “This is what the Lord has said to do.”

⁶ Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. ⁷ He dressed him with the coat, the belt, the long piece of clothing, and the linen vest. He tied the well-made rope of the linen vest, to keep his clothing in place. ⁸ Then he put the breast-piece on him. And he put the Urim and the Thummim into the breast-piece. ⁹ He put the head covering on his head. And on the front of it he put the gold plate, the holy crown, just as the Lord had told Moses.

¹⁰ Then Moses took the oil for holy use and poured it on the meeting tent and all that was in it, and made them holy. ¹¹ He put some of it on the altar seven times. He poured this oil on the altar and all its objects, and the washing pot and its base, to make them holy. ¹² And he poured some of the oil for holy use on Aaron’s head, to make him holy. ¹³ Then Moses had Aaron’s sons come near and dressed them with coats, belts and head coverings, just as the Lord had told Moses.

¹⁴ Moses brought the bull of the sin gift. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin gift. ¹⁵ Then Moses killed it. He took some of the blood, and put it around on the horns of the altar with his finger, to make the altar clean. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar to make it holy. ¹⁶ He took all the fat that was on the inside parts, and the part that was on the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat. And Moses burned them on the altar. ¹⁷ But the bull and its skin, its meat and its waste, he burned in the fire away from the tents, just as the Lord had told Moses.

¹⁸ Moses brought the ram of the burnt gift. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the sheep. ¹⁹ Then Moses killed it and put the blood around on the altar. ²⁰ He cut the ram into pieces. And Moses burned the head, the pieces, and the fat. ²¹ After he had washed the inside parts and the legs with water, Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt gift for a pleasing smell. It was a gift by fire to the Lord, just as the Lord had told Moses. ²² Then Moses brought the ram, the ram for setting them apart. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ²³ And Moses killed it, took some of its blood, and put it on the bottom of Aaron’s right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot. ²⁴ Then he had Aaron’s sons come near. Moses put some of the blood on the bottom of their right ear, the thumb of their right hand, and the big toe of their right foot. Then Moses put the rest of the blood around on the altar. ²⁵ He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat that was on the inside parts, the part that is on the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh. ²⁶ From the basket of bread made without yeast that was before the Lord, he took one loaf without yeast, and one loaf of bread mixed with oil, and one piece of hard bread. And he put them on the fat parts and the right thigh. ²⁷ He put all these on the hands of Aaron and his sons, and waved them for a wave gift before the Lord. ²⁸ Then Moses took these things from their hands and burned them on the altar with the burnt gift. It was a gift to set them apart. It was a pleasing smell, a gift by fire to the Lord. ²⁹ Moses took the breast of the ram also. He gave it as a wave gift before the Lord. It was Moses’ part of the ram for setting Aaron and his sons apart, just as the Lord had told Moses.

³⁰ Moses took some of the oil for holy use and some of the blood that was on the altar. He put it on Aaron and his clothing, and on his sons and their clothing. So Aaron and his clothing and his sons and their clothing were set apart.

³¹ Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the meat at the door of the meeting tent. And eat it there with the bread which is in the basket that was set apart as an offering. Just as I said, ‘Aaron and his sons will eat it.’ ³² Burn in the fire what is left of the flesh and the bread. ³³ Do not go outside the door of the meeting tent for seven days, until the time is over for you to be set apart. For it will take seven days to set you apart. ³⁴ The Lord has told us to do what has been done today, to take away your sins. ³⁵ Stay day and night at the door of the meeting tent for seven days. Do what the Lord has told you to do, so you will not die. For this is what I have been told.” ³⁶ So Aaron and his sons did all that the Lord had told them to do by Moses.

The Religious Leaders Begin Their Work

9 On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the leaders of Israel. ² He said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf for a sin gift and a ram for a burnt gift, both of them perfect. And give them to the Lord. ³ Then say to the people of Israel, ‘Take a male goat for a sin gift, and a calf and a lamb, both a year old and perfect, for a burnt gift, ⁴ and a bull and a ram for peace gifts. Give them to the Lord with a grain gift mixed with oil. For today the Lord will show Himself to you.’” ⁵ So they brought to the front of the meeting tent what Moses had told them. All the people came near and stood before the Lord. ⁶ Moses said, “This is what the Lord has told you to do. And the shining-greatness of the Lord will be shown to you.” ⁷ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Come to the altar and give your sin gift and burnt gift to pay for the sins of yourself and for the people. Then give the gift for the people, to pay for their sins, just as the Lord has said.”

⁸ So Aaron came to the altar and killed the calf of the sin gift, which was for himself. ⁹ The sons of Aaron gave the blood to him. He put his finger in the blood and put some on the horns of the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. ¹⁰ But he burned on the altar the fat and the kidneys and the part that is on the liver from the sin gift, just as the Lord had told Moses. ¹¹ He burned the flesh and the skin away from the tents.

¹² Then he killed the burnt gift. Aaron’s sons handed the blood to him and he put it around on the altar. ¹³ They gave the burnt gift to him in pieces, with the head. And he burned them on the altar. ¹⁴ He washed the inside parts and legs and burned them on the altar with the burnt gift.

¹⁵ Then he gave the people’s gift. He took the goat of the sin gift which was for the people. And he killed it and gave it for sin, like the first sin gift. ¹⁶ He gave the burnt gift. He gave it just the way the Law said. ¹⁷ Next he gave the grain gift. He filled his hand with some of the grain and burned it on the altar beside the burnt gift of the morning.

¹⁸ Then he killed the bull and the ram, the peace gifts which were for the people. Aaron’s sons handed the blood to him and he put it around on the altar. ¹⁹ The fat parts from the bull and ram, the fat tail, the fat around the inside parts, the kidneys and the part that is on the liver, ²⁰ all the fat parts they put on the breasts. And they burned the fat parts on the altar. ²¹ But Aaron gave the breasts and the right thigh as a wave gift before the Lord, just as Moses had said.

²² Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and prayed that good would come to them. After giving the sin gift, the burnt gift and the peace gifts, he came down. ²³ Moses and Aaron went into the meeting tent. When they came out and prayed that good would come to the people, the shining-greatness of the Lord was shown to all the people. ²⁴ Then fire came from the Lord and burned up the burnt gift and the fat parts on the altar. When the people saw it, they cried out and bowed down with their faces to the ground.

The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

10 Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and put special perfume on it. They gave a fire that was not holy to the Lord because the Lord had not told them to do this. ² So the Lord sent out fire that burned them up and they died before the Lord. ³ Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when He said, ‘I will show Myself holy among those who are near Me. I will be honored in front of all the people.’” And Aaron said nothing. ⁴ Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, the brother of Aaron’s father. He said to them, “Come, carry your brothers away from the holy place and away from the tents.” ⁵ So they came and carried them in their coats away from the tents, as Moses had said. ⁶ Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not take the covering off your heads and do not tear your clothes, so you will not die and God will not be angry with all the people. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, will cry in sorrow because of the burning the Lord has done. ⁷ Do not even go out the door of the meeting tent, so you will not die. For the holy oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did what Moses said.

How the Religious Leaders Were to Act

⁸ The Lord said to Aaron, ⁹ “Do not drink wine or strong drink, you or your sons, when you come into the meeting tent, so you will not die. It is a Law forever for all your people. ¹⁰ You are to know the difference between what is holy and what is not, and between what is clean and what is not. ¹¹ You are to teach the people of Israel all the Laws which the Lord has told them by Moses.” ¹² Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons who were left, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain gift that is left from the gifts by fire to the Lord. And eat it without yeast beside the altar, for it is most holy. ¹³ Eat it in a holy place, because it is yours and your sons’, from the gifts by fire to the Lord. For so I have been told. ¹⁴ But you and your sons and daughters may eat in a clean place the breast of the wave gift and the thigh that is given. For they are given to you as your right and your sons’ right, from the peace gifts of the people of Israel. ¹⁵ They will bring the thigh that is given and the breast of the wave gift, with the gifts by fire of the fat. They will wave them before the Lord for a wave gift. They will be yours and your sons’, as your right forever, as the Lord has said.”

¹⁶ But Moses looked and looked for the goat of the sin gift, and found that it had been burned up! So he was angry with Aaron’s sons who were left, Eleazar and Ithamar, saying, ¹⁷ “Why have you not eaten the sin gift in the holy place? For it is most holy and He gave it to you to take away the guilt of the people, to take away their sins before the Lord. ¹⁸ See, its blood has not been brought inside the holy place. You should have been sure to eat it in the holy place, as I told you.” ¹⁹ But Aaron said to Moses, “See, today they have given their sin gift and their burnt gift to the Lord. When things like these happened to me, if I had eaten a sin gift today, would it have been good in the eyes of the Lord?” ²⁰ And when Moses heard that, he was not angry any more.