1Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer. They put fire in it, and put incense on the fire. Then they offered strange fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them.
2Fire came out from the LORD and burned them up, and they died before the LORD.
3Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke about when he said, 'I will be treated as holy by those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" And Aaron said nothing.
4Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, Aaron's uncle, and said to them, "Come here. Carry your brothers away from the front of the holy place, out of the camp."
5So they came near and carried them out of the camp in their coats, as Moses had said.
6Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not uncover your heads, and do not tear your clothes. If you do, you will die, and anger will come on all the people. But let your brothers and sisters, the whole house of Israel, weep for the burning which the LORD has started."
7"And do not go out from the door of the tent of meeting, or you will die, for the anointing oil of the LORD is on you." And they did what Moses said.
8The LORD spoke to Aaron and said,
9"Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, or you will die. This is a law for ever, through all your generations,"
10"so that you may know the difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean,"
11"and so that you may teach the children of Israel all the laws which the LORD has spoken to them through Moses."
12Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons who were left, "Take the grain offering that is left from the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and eat it without yeast beside the altar, for it is most holy."
13"You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your share and your sons' share of the offerings of the LORD made by fire. This is what I have been commanded."
14"And the breast that is waved and the shoulder that is lifted up you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you. They are your share and your sons' share, given out of the peace offerings of the children of Israel."
15"They shall bring the shoulder that is lifted up and the breast that is waved, along with the offerings of the fat made by fire, to wave it as a wave offering before the LORD. It shall be yours and your sons' with you, by a law for ever, as the LORD has commanded."
16Moses looked carefully for the goat of the sin offering, and look, it had been burned up. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were still alive, and he said,
17"Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the holy place? It is most holy, and God has given it to you to carry away the sin of the people, to make atonement for them before the LORD."
18"Look, its blood was not brought inside the holy place. You should have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded."
19Aaron said to Moses, "Look, today they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD, and such things as these have happened to me. If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have pleased the LORD?"
20When Moses heard that, he was satisfied.