9On the eighth day Moses sent for Aaron, his sons and the elders of Israel. ²He said to Aaron, “Bring a bull calf for your sin offering. Bring a ram for your burnt offering. They must not have any flaws. Offer them to the Lord.

³“Then speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, ‘Bring a male goat for a sin offering. Bring a calf and a lamb for a burnt offering. Both of them must be a year old. They must not have any flaws. ⁴Bring an ox and a ram for a friendship offering. Sacrifice all of them to the Lord. Also bring a grain offering. Mix it with olive oil. Today the Lord will appear to you.’ ”

⁵The people got the things Moses commanded them to get. They took them to the front of the Tent of Meeting. The whole community came up close to the tent. They stood there in front of the Lord.

⁶Then Moses said, “You have done what the Lord has commanded. So the glory of the Lord will appear to you.”

⁷Moses said to Aaron, “Come to the altar. Sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering. Pay for your sin and the sin of the people. Sacrifice the people’s offering. Pay for their sin. Do just as the Lord has commanded.”

⁸So Aaron came to the altar. He killed the calf as a sin offering for himself. ⁹His sons brought its blood to him. He dipped his finger into the blood. He put some on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar. He poured out the rest at the bottom of the altar.

¹⁰He burned the fat and the kidneys on the altar. He also burned the covering of the liver. All of those parts were from the sin offering. Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ¹¹He burned up the meat and the hide outside the camp.

¹²Then he killed the animal for the burnt offering. His sons handed him its blood. He sprinkled it against every side of the altar. ¹³They handed him the burnt offering piece by piece. It included the animal’s head. Aaron burned everything on the altar. ¹⁴He washed the inside parts and the legs. He burned them on top of the burnt offering on the altar.

¹⁵Then Aaron brought the people’s offering. He took the goat for their sin offering and killed it. He offered it for a sin offering. He did just as he had done with his own sin offering.

¹⁶He brought the animal for the burnt offering. He offered it in the way the law requires. ¹⁷He also brought the grain offering. He took a handful of it and burned it on the altar. It was in addition to that morning’s burnt offering.

¹⁸Aaron killed the ox and the ram as the friendship offering for the people. His sons handed him the blood. He sprinkled it against every side of the altar.

¹⁹His sons also brought the fat parts of the ox and the ram. They included the fat tail and the layer of fat. They also included the kidneys and the covering of the liver. ²⁰Aaron’s sons placed everything on the breasts of the animals.

Aaron burned the fat on the altar. ²¹He lifted up the breasts and the right thigh and waved them in front of the Lord as a wave offering. He did it just as Moses had commanded.

²²Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people. He gave them a blessing. He had already sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the friendship offering. So he stepped down from the altar.

²³Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they gave the people a blessing. The glory of the Lord appeared to all of the people. ²⁴The Lord sent fire on the altar. It burned up the burnt offering and the fat parts that were on it. All of the people saw it. Then they shouted for joy. They fell with their faces to the ground.

The Lord Kills Nadab and Abihu

10Nadab and Abihu were two of Aaron’s sons. They got their shallow cups for burning incense. They put fire in them. They added incense to it. They made an offering to the Lord by using fire that wasn’t allowed. They did it against his command. ²So the Lord sent fire on them. It burned them up. They died in front of the Lord.

³Then Moses spoke to Aaron. He said, “That’s what the Lord was talking about when he said,

“ ‘Among those who approach me

I will show that I am holy.

In the sight of all of the people

I will be honored.’ ”

So Aaron remained silent.

⁴Moses sent for Mishael and Elzaphan. They were sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel. Moses said to them, “Come here. Carry the bodies of your cousins outside the camp. Take them away from in front of the Holy Room.” ⁵So they came and carried them outside the camp. It was just as Moses had ordered. The bodies of Nadab and Abihu still had their inner robes on them.

⁶Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar. They were Aaron’s sons. Moses said, “Don’t let your hair hang loose. Don’t tear your clothes. If you do, you will die. And the Lord will be angry with the whole community.

“But all of the people of Israel are allowed to show they are sad. They are your relatives. They can sob over those the Lord has destroyed with fire.

⁷“Don’t leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. If you do, you will die. That’s because the Lord’s anointing oil has made you holy.” So they did what Moses told them to do.

⁸Then the Lord spoke to Aaron. He said, ⁹“You and your sons must not drink any kind of wine when you go into the Tent of Meeting. If you do, you will die. That is a law that will last for all time to come.

¹⁰“You must be able to tell the difference between what is holy and what is not. You must be able to tell the difference between what is ‘clean’ and what is not. ¹¹You must teach the people of Israel all of the rules I have given them through Moses.”

¹²Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar. They were Aaron’s two remaining sons. Moses said, “Take the grain offering that is left over from the offerings that are made to the Lord with fire. It is very holy. Make bread without yeast from it. Eat it beside the altar. ¹³Eat it in a holy place. It’s your share and your sons’ share of the offerings that are made to the Lord with fire. Those rules are in keeping with the command the Lord gave me.

¹⁴“But you and your sons and your daughters can eat the breast that was waved. You can also eat the thigh that was offered. Eat them in a place that is ‘clean.’ They have been given to you and your children. They are your share of the friendship offerings the people of Israel bring.

¹⁵“The thigh that was offered must be brought together with the fat parts of the offerings that are made with fire. The breast that was waved must be brought in the same way. All of it must be lifted up and waved in front of the Lord as a wave offering. It will be the regular share for you and your children. That’s what the Lord has commanded.”

¹⁶Moses asked about the goat that was brought as the sin offering. He found out that it had been burned up. So he became angry with Eleazar and Ithamar. They were Aaron’s two remaining sons.

Moses asked them, ¹⁷“Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in a place that is near the Holy Room? The offering is very holy. It was given to you to take the people’s guilt away. It paid for their sin in the sight of the Lord. ¹⁸The blood of the offering wasn’t taken into the Holy Room. So you should have eaten the goat in a place that is near the Holy Room. That’s what I commanded.”

¹⁹Aaron replied to Moses, “Today the people sacrificed their sin offering to the Lord. They also sacrificed their burnt offerings to him. But a terrible thing has happened to me. Two of my sons have died. Would the Lord have been pleased if I had eaten the sin offering today?” ²⁰When Moses heard that, he was satisfied.

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