Leviticus 8-10

GOD’S WORD Translation

Aaron and His Sons Made Priests^(A)

8 The Lord spoke to Moses, ² “Take Aaron and his sons, the priests’ clothes, the anointing oil, the bull that will be the offering for sin, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread. ³ Gather the whole congregation at the entrance to the tent of meeting.”

⁴ Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the congregation gathered at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁵ Moses told the congregation, “The Lord has commanded that this is what you must do.”

⁶ Moses had Aaron and his sons come forward, and he washed them. ⁷ He put the linen robe on Aaron and fastened the belt around him. He also dressed him in the robe that is worn with the ephod.^[a] He fastened the ephod to it. ⁸ Then he put the breastplate on him, and into it he placed the Urim and Thummim.^{[b] 9} He put the turban on him and fastened the gold medallion (the holy crown) to the front of the turban as the Lord had commanded Moses.

¹⁰ Moses took the anointing oil to anoint the tent and everything in it and dedicate them. ¹¹ He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times and anointed the altar, all the utensils, and the basin with its stand to dedicate them.

¹² He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to set him apart for his holy duties.

¹³ Moses had Aaron’s sons come forward. He put linen robes on them, fastened their belts around them, and put turbans on them as the Lord had commanded Moses.

¹⁴ He brought the bull that was the offering for sin. Aaron and his sons placed their hands on its head. ¹⁵ When it was slaughtered, Moses took the blood and put it on the horns of the altar all around with his finger and cleansed the altar from sins. He poured the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar and declared it holy so that priests could use it to make peace with the Lord. ¹⁶ Moses took all the fat that was on the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and he burned them on the altar. ¹⁷ He burned the rest of the bull, its skin, meat, and excrement outside the camp, as the Lord commanded him.

¹⁸ He brought forward the ram for the burnt offering. Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the ram’s head. ¹⁹ Moses slaughtered it and threw the blood against the altar on all sides. ²⁰ When the ram was cut into pieces, Moses burned the head with the other pieces and the fat. ²¹ He washed the internal organs and the legs. Then Moses burned the whole ram on the altar as the Lord commanded him. It was a burnt offering, a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.

²² He brought forward the second ram for the ordination offering. Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the ram’s head. ²³ Moses slaughtered it, took some of the blood, and put it on Aaron’s right ear lobe, on his right thumb, and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁴ Moses also brought Aaron’s sons forward. He put some of the blood on their right ear lobes, on their right thumbs, and on the big toes of their right feet. Moses threw the rest of the blood against all the sides of the altar. ²⁵ He took the fat, the fat from the tail, all the fat on the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with their fat, and the right thigh. ²⁶ He took a loaf of unleavened bread, a ring of bread made with olive oil, and a wafer from the basket of unleavened bread which was in the Lord’s presence. He put them on the fat and the right thigh. ²⁷ Then he placed all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Moses presented all these things to the Lord as an offering. ²⁸ Then he took them from their hands and burned them on top of the burnt offering on the altar. These were ordination offerings, offerings by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord. ²⁹ Moses also took the breast from the ram of the ordination offering and presented it to the Lord. It was Moses’ share, as the Lord had commanded.

³⁰ Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, sprinkled it on Aaron and his clothes and on his sons and their clothes. In this way he dedicated Aaron, his clothes, his sons, and their clothes.

³¹ Moses told Aaron and his sons: “Cook the meat at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Take the meat and the bread in the basket of the ordination offering. Eat them there as I commanded when I said, ‘Aaron and his sons will eat it.’ ³² You must burn any meat or bread that is left over. ³³ You will not leave the entrance to the tent of meeting for seven days, not until the last day of your ordination is over. It will take seven days to ordain you. ³⁴ I did today what the Lord commanded me to make peace with the Lord for you. ³⁵ You will stay at the entrance to the tent of meeting day and night for seven days and serve as the Lord tells you. Then you will not die. This is what I was commanded.”

³⁶ So Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord commanded through Moses.

Aaron’s First Sacrifices

9 On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the leaders of Israel. ² He told Aaron, “Take a calf that has no defects for yourself as an offering for sin and a ram that has no defects as a burnt offering. Sacrifice them in the Lord’s presence. ³ Also tell the Israelites: ‘Take a male goat as an offering for sin, a calf and a lamb (each one year old and without defects) as a burnt offering, ⁴ a bull and a ram as a fellowship offering, and a grain offering mixed with olive oil to sacrifice in the Lord’s presence. The Lord will appear to you today.’ ”

⁵ So they took the things Moses commanded and brought them in front of the tent of meeting. The whole congregation came and stood in the Lord’s presence.

⁶ Moses said, “The Lord has commanded you to offer these sacrifices so that you may see the Lord’s glory.”

⁷ Moses told Aaron, “Come to the altar and sacrifice an offering for sin and a burnt offering to make peace with the Lord for your sins and the sins of the people. Also make an offering for the people, to make peace with the Lord for them as the Lord commanded.”

⁸ Aaron came to the altar and slaughtered the calf as his own offering for sin. ⁹ Aaron’s sons brought him the blood. He dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar. Then he poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar. ¹⁰ On the altar he burned the fat, kidneys, and lobe of the liver from the offering for sin as the Lord had commanded Moses. ¹¹ He burned the meat and the skin outside the camp.

¹² He slaughtered the animal for the burnt offering. Aaron’s sons gave him the blood, and he threw it against the altar on all sides. ¹³ They also gave him the burnt offering, which was cut in pieces and included the head. He burned it on the altar. ¹⁴ He washed the internal organs and the legs and laid them on top of the burnt offering on the altar.

¹⁵ He brought the people’s offerings. He took the male goat for the people’s offering for sin and slaughtered it. He sacrificed it to take away sins as he had done before. ¹⁶ Following the proper procedures, he brought forward the burnt offering and sacrificed it. ¹⁷ He also brought the grain offering. He took a handful of grain and burned it on the altar in addition to the morning burnt offering. ¹⁸ He slaughtered the bull and the ram for the people’s fellowship offering. Aaron’s sons gave him the blood, which he threw against the altar on all sides. ¹⁹ However, the fat from the bull and the ram (the fat from the tail, the layer of fat, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver) ²⁰ they placed on the breasts. Aaron burned them all on the altar. ²¹ However, he first took the breasts and the right thighs and presented them to the Lord as Moses commanded.

²² Then Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them. He sacrificed the offering for sin, the burnt offering, and the fellowship offering. Then he came down ⌞from the altar⌟. ²³ Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people. Then the Lord’s glory appeared to all the people. ²⁴ Fire came out from the Lord’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar. When all the people saw this, they shouted and bowed with their faces touching the ground.

Improper Conduct for Priests

10 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took an incense burner and put burning coals and incense in it. Then in the Lord’s presence they offered this unauthorized fire. ² A fire flashed from the Lord and burned them, and they died in the presence of the Lord.

³ Moses said to Aaron, “This is exactly what the Lord said:

Aaron was speechless.

⁴ Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron’s uncle, Uzziel. He told them, “Come and take your relatives away from in front of the holy place. Take them outside the camp.” ⁵ So they came and took them away to a place outside the camp, as Moses told them. The dead men were still in their linen robes.

⁶ Moses told Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar: “Do not mourn by leaving your hair uncombed or tearing your clothes. If you do, you will die and the Lord will become angry with the whole congregation. All the other Israelites may cry over the fire the Lord sent, but you may not. ⁷ You must not leave the entrance to the tent of meeting or else you, too, will die, because the Lord has anointed you with his oil.” They obeyed Moses.

Proper Conduct for Priests

⁸ The Lord spoke to Aaron, ⁹ “You and your sons must not drink any wine or liquor when you go into the tent of meeting, or you will die. This is a permanent law for generations to come. ¹⁰ Teach them the difference between what is holy and what is unholy, what is clean and what is unclean.^{[c] 11} Also teach the Israelites all the laws that I gave them through Moses.”

¹² Moses told Aaron and his surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering left over from the offering by fire to the Lord. Make unleavened bread, and eat it next to the altar because it is very holy. ¹³ Eat it in a holy place because it is the part of the offering by fire to the Lord that belongs to you and your children. That is the command I received. ¹⁴ Also eat the breast presented ⌞to the Lord⌟ and the thigh that was given as a contribution. You and your sons and daughters may eat them in a clean place because they are your part of the fellowship offerings from the Israelites. ¹⁵ They will bring the thigh given as a contribution, the breast presented ⌞to the Lord⌟, and the fat that is to be burned and present them to the Lord. These parts will belong to you and your children. This will be a permanent law, as the Lord has commanded.”

Eleazar and Ithamar Sacrifice the Offering for Sin

¹⁶ Moses tried to find out what had happened to the male goat that was supposed to be the offering for sin. To his surprise, it had already been burned. So he became angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s surviving sons. ¹⁷ He asked them, “Why didn’t you eat the offering for sin in the holy place? It is very holy and was given to you to take away the sins of the congregation and to make peace with the Lord for them. ¹⁸ Since its blood was not brought inside the holy place, you certainly should have eaten it there, as I commanded.”

¹⁹ Aaron answered Moses, “Today they sacrificed their offering for sin and their burnt offering in the Lord’s presence, and look what happened to me. If I had eaten the offering for sin today, would the Lord have approved?”

²⁰ When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.