The Priestly Ministry Inaugurated

9 On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron, his sons, and the elders of Israel.^{(A) 2} He said to Aaron, “Take a young bull for a sin^[a] offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish,^(B) and present them before the Lord. ³ And tell the Israelites:^[b] Take a male goat for a sin offering; a calf and a lamb, male yearlings without blemish, for a burnt offering; ⁴ an ox and a ram for a fellowship offering to sacrifice before the Lord; and a grain offering mixed with oil. For today the Lord is going to appear^(C) to you.”

⁵ They brought what Moses had commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the whole community came forward and stood before the Lord. ⁶ Moses said, “This is what the Lord commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord^(D) may appear to you.” ⁷ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Approach the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering; make atonement for yourself and the people.^[c](E) Sacrifice the people’s offering and make atonement for them, as the Lord commanded.”

⁸ So Aaron approached the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself. ⁹ Aaron’s sons brought the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and applied it to the horns of the altar. He poured out the blood at the base of the altar. ¹⁰ He burned the fat, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe of the liver from the sin offering on the altar, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ¹¹ He burned up the flesh and the hide^(F) outside the camp.^(G)

¹² Then he slaughtered the burnt offering. Aaron’s sons brought him the blood, and he sprinkled it on all sides of the altar. ¹³ They brought him the burnt offering piece by piece, along with the head, and he burned them on the altar. ¹⁴ He washed the entrails and the shanks and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar.

¹⁵ Aaron presented the people’s offering. He took the male goat for the people’s sin offering, slaughtered it, and made a sin offering with it as he did before. ¹⁶ He presented the burnt offering and sacrificed it according to the regulation.^{(H) 17} Next he presented the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar in addition to the morning burnt offering.^(I)

¹⁸ Finally, he slaughtered the ox and the ram as the people’s fellowship sacrifice. Aaron’s sons brought him the blood, and he sprinkled it on all sides of the altar. ¹⁹ They also brought the fat portions from the ox and the ram—the fat tail, the fat surrounding the entrails, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe of the liver— ²⁰ and placed these on the breasts. Aaron burned the fat portions on the altar, ²¹ but he waved the breasts^(J) and the right thigh as a presentation offering^(K) before the Lord, as Moses had commanded.^[d]

²² Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed^(L) them. He came down after sacrificing the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the fellowship offering. ²³ Moses and Aaron then entered the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. ²⁴ Fire came from the Lord and consumed^(M) the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted^(N) and fell facedown on the ground.^(O)

Nadab and Abihu

10 Aaron’s sons Nadab^(P) and Abihu^(Q) each took his own firepan,^(R) put fire in it, placed incense on it,^(S) and presented unauthorized^(T) fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them to do. ² Then fire came from the Lord^(U) and burned them to death before the Lord.^{(V) 3} So Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when He said:

But Aaron remained silent.

⁴ Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan,^(Z) sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel,^(AA) and said to them, “Come here and carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.”^{(AB) 5} So they came forward and carried them in their tunics outside the camp, as Moses had said.

⁶ Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar,^(AC) “Do not let your hair hang loose^(AD) and do not tear your garments,^(AE) or else you will die, and the Lord will become angry^(AF) with the whole community. However, your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn^(AG) over that tragedy when the Lord sent the fire. ⁷ You must not go outside the entrance to the tent of meeting or you will die, for the Lord’s anointing oil^(AH) is on you.” So they did as Moses said.

Regulations for Priests

⁸ The Lord spoke to Aaron: ⁹ “You and your sons are not to drink wine^(AI) or beer^(AJ) when you enter the tent of meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute^(AK) throughout your generations. ¹⁰ You must distinguish^(AL) between the holy and the common,^(AM) and the clean and the unclean,^{(AN) 11} and teach the Israelites all the statutes^(AO) that the Lord has given to them through Moses.”

¹² Moses spoke to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar: “Take the grain offering that is left over from the fire offerings^(AP) to the Lord, and eat it prepared without yeast beside the altar, because it is especially holy. ¹³ You must eat it in a holy place because it is your portion^[g] and your sons’ from the fire offerings to the Lord, for this is what I was commanded. ¹⁴ But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution in any ceremonially clean place, because these portions have been assigned to you and your children from the Israelites’ fellowship sacrifices. ¹⁵ They are to bring the thigh of the contribution and the breast of the presentation offering, together with the offerings of fat portions made by fire, to wave as a presentation offering before the Lord. It will belong permanently^(AQ) to you and your children, as the Lord commanded.”

¹⁶ Later, Moses inquired about the male goat of the sin offering, but it had already been burned up. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s surviving sons, and asked, ¹⁷ “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area?^(AR) For it is especially holy, and He has assigned it to you to take away the guilt^(AS) of the community^(AT) and make atonement for them before the Lord. ¹⁸ Since its blood was not brought inside the sanctuary, you should have eaten it in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.”^(AU)

¹⁹ But Aaron replied to Moses, “See, today they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord. Since these things have happened to me, if I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been acceptable in the Lord’s sight?” ²⁰ When Moses heard this, it was acceptable to him.^[h]