Leviticus 10

1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each his censer, and they put therein fire, and put thereon incense: and they brought near before the Lord a strange fire, which he had not commanded them.

[Two of] Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, took the pans in which they burned incense. They put some burning coals in them and put incense on top of the coals, but this fire was not acceptable [to Yahweh] because it was not the kind that he had commanded them to burn.

2 And there went out a fire from before the Lord, and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

So suddenly a fire from Yahweh appeared and burned them up [DOU] in the presence of Yahweh.

3 Then said Moses unto Aaron, This is what the Lord hath spoken, saying, On those who are near unto me will I be sanctified, and before all the people will I be glorified: and Aaron held his peace.

Then Moses/I said to Aaron, “That is what Yahweh predicted. He said, ‘Those priests who come near to me, I will show them that they must (respect me/treat me as being holy); in the presence of all the people I am the one who must be honored.’” But Aaron said nothing.

4 And Moses called unto Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of 'Uzziel, the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary to without the camp.

Then Moses/I summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, who were the sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Take [the corpses of] your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the Sacred Tent.”

5 And they came near, and carried them in their coats to without the camp; as Moses had spoken.

So they carried the corpses, which still had their special gowns on, outside the camp, [and buried them].

6 And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Elazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, The hair of your head you shall not let grow long, and your garments you shall not rend, that ye die not, and that he be not wroth upon the whole congregation; but your brethren, the whole house of Israel, may bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled.

Then Moses/I said to Aaron and his [other two] sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “[You are sad because Nadab and Abihu died, but you must act like you always do]. Do not allow the hair on your [heads] to remain uncombed, and do not tear your clothes. But your relatives and all your fellow Israelis are allowed to mourn for those whom Yahweh destroyed by fire.

7 And from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation shall ye not go out, lest ye die; for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you; and they did according to the word of Moses.

But you must not leave the entrance of the Sacred Tent [to join those who are mourning], because if you do that, you also will die, and Yahweh will punish [MTY] all the people of Israel. Do not forget that Yahweh has set you apart [MTY] to work for him here, [and he does not want you to become defiled by touching a corpse].” So they did what Moses/I told them to do.

8 And the Lord spoke unto Aaron, saying,

Then Yahweh said to Aaron,

9 Wine or strong drink shalt thou not drink, neither thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations.

“You and your [two] sons [who are still alive] must not drink wine or other fermented drinks before you enter the Sacred Tent; if you do that, you will die. That is a command that you and your descendants must obey forever.

10 So that ye may be able to distinguish between the holy and the unholy, and between the unclean and the clean;

You must do that in order to learn what things are holy and what things are (not holy/common), and [from the things that are not holy] you must learn what things are acceptable to me and what things are not.

11 And that ye may be able to teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.

And you must teach to the Israeli people all the laws that I gave to the Israeli people by telling them to Moses.”

12 And Moses spoke unto Aaron, and unto Elazar and unto Ithamar his sons, that were left, Take ye the meat-offering that is left of the fire-offerings of the Lord, and eat it unleavened beside the altar; for it is most holy.

Moses/I said to Aaron and his two sons who were still alive, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the offering made from grain that is left after a portion of it has been offered to Yahweh to be burned, and eat it alongside the altar. [It should not be eaten elsewhere], because it is very holy.

13 And ye shall eat it in a holy place, because it is thy fixed portion, and the fixed portion of thy sons, from the fire-offerings of the Lord; for so have I been commanded.

Eat it in a holy place; it is the share for you and your sons from the offerings that were burned; I have commanded that it be your share.

14 And the breast which hath been waved and the shoulder which hath been lifted up, shall ye eat in a clean place, thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee; for as thy fixed portion, and the fixed portion of thy sons, have they been given from the sacrifices of peace-offerings of the children of Israel.

But you and your sons and daughters are permitted to eat the breast and the thigh that were lifted up in front of Yahweh. Eat them in any place that is (holy/acceptable to him). They have been given to you and your descendants as your share of the offerings to enable the Israelis to maintain fellowship [with Yahweh].

15 The shoulder which is waved and the breast which is lifted up, shall they bring with the fat of the fire-offering, to make therewith a waving before the Lord: and then shall it be thine, and thy sons with thee, as a fixed portion for ever; as the Lord hath commanded.

The thigh and the breast that were lifted up in front of Yahweh must be brought with the portions of fat to be burned, to be lifted up in his presence. They will be the regular share for you and your descendants, as Yahweh has commanded.”

16 And the goat of the sin-offering Moses sought diligently, and behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Elazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who had been left, and said,

When Moses/I inquired about the goat that had been sacrificed to enable the people to be forgiven by Yahweh for the sins they had committed, he/I found out that it had been completely burned. So he/I was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar and asked them,

17 Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin-offering in the holy place, seeing that it is most holy, and that he hath given it to you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord?

“Why did you not eat near the Sacred Tent the meat of the offering for sin? It was very holy, and it was given to you to enable the Israeli people to no longer be guilty for their sins and to be forgiven for their sins.

18 Behold, its blood was not brought within the holy place: ye should then have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded.

Since its blood was not taken into the holy place inside the Sacred Tent, you should have eaten the [meat of] the goat near the Sacred Tent, as I commanded.”

19 And Aaron spoke unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin-offering, and their burnt-offering before the Lord; and things as these have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin-offering today, would it have been pleasing in the eyes of the Lord?

Aaron replied to Moses/me, “Today the people brought to Yahweh their offering to be forgiven for the sins they had committed, and the offering to be completely burned, [and surely that pleased Yahweh], but [think about the terrible thing] that happened to my other two sons! Would [RHQ] Yahweh have been pleased if I had eaten some of the offering to cause the people to become acceptable to God?”

20 And when Moses heard this, it was pleasing in his eyes.

When Moses/I heard that, he/I was satisfied.