Preface: Leviticus 10 presents two incidents, one involving Aaron’s two oldest sons, and one involving his two younger sons, each followed by the interaction of God, Moses and Aaron.

The Bible Summary of Leviticus 10 (in 140 characters or less): Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire, so fire came from the LORD and killed them. Aaron and his other sons stayed at the tabernacle.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Leviticus. This will be the most extensive examination of Leviticus 10, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 10:

Introduction

         Vv.     1–5           Nadab and Abihu both die the sin unto death

         Vv.     6–7           Moses instructs Aaron concerning this incident

         Vv.     8–11         Y^ehowah speaks directly to Aaron

         vv.    12–15         Moses Provides Additional Guidance to Aaron and His Remaining Two Sons

         Vv.    16–20         Aaron’s Remaining Sons Fail; Moses Reprimands Them and Speaks to Aaron

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Leviticus 10 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Leviticus 10 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Leviticus 10

         Introduction         The Prequel of Leviticus 10

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Leviticus 10

         Introduction         The Places of Leviticus 10

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Leviticus 10

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 10

         Introduction         Outlines of Leviticus 10 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 10 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Leviticus 1–15)

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Leviticus 10)

         Introduction 

         v. 

         v.       1              The Priesthoods of God

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         v.       2              The Sin Unto Death—the Basic Concept and References

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         v.      10              Shrimp and Homosexuality (a graphic)

         v.      10              Does God Hate Shrimp? (Graphic)

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         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Leviticus 10 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Leviticus 10

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Leviticus 10

         Summary            Shmoop Summary of Leviticus 10

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Leviticus 9–10

         Summary 

         Addendum          Tent of Proofs (American English Bible)

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Leviticus 10

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Leviticus 10

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Leviticus 10

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Leviticus 10

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An Introduction to Leviticus 10

I ntroduction: Leviticus 10 is a fascinating interaction between God, Aaron, Moses and Aaron’s four sons. This chapter begins with the disobedience of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, who bring forward an unauthorized offering to God, and God strikes them down for it. Moses carefully explains to Aaron and to his remaining two sons not to participate in the mourning ceremonies for Nadab and Abihu and they obey.

God takes this opportunity to lay down some regulations particular to the function of the priesthood, and He speaks directly to Aaron concerning things priests should and should not do.

Interestingly enough, at the very end, the younger two sons of Aaron also fail, having not eaten from a sacrifice which they had offered up. Moses is furious and unloads on Aaron, and Aaron understands the problem. However, his second two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar are not harmed.

There is a right way of doing things and a wrong. There is one way to God, and that is through Jesus; there will be no other way. You may remember from Genesis 4 when God did not have respect for the offering of Cain. Cain brought Y^ehowah the efforts of his hard work and God rejected it. We will see here where the two eldest sons of Aaron will bring an unauthorized offering to God—perhaps even hoping to be entertained by a lightning bolt from God in the end.

There are things that an individual believer can do and things that they cannot. For instance, it was legitimate for Solomon to build a temple for Y^ehowah since the Jews were no longer wanderers but they lived in the promised land at its relative height during ancient times. However, God had just set up a list of specific sacrifices and offerings which were to be presented to God and two of Aaron's sons ignore this entirely and they improvised. In their particular state, this was tantamount to rejecting God's Word and believing that their word was superior to Y^ehowah's. For this, they died the sin unto death. Even Aaron did not realize fully what tremendous responsibility they had taken upon themselves as priests to Y^ehowah.

As before, I am going to try to keep the commentary short.

Timeline for Leviticus

There is very little narrative in the book of Leviticus; so this information may have been given to Moses in a few days or, at most, a few weeks; and Moses both wrote these things down and informed the people. Because of information previously studied in the introduction, we are not 100% certain if all of this material was given to Moses while in the newly erected Tabernacle. I would lean towards that being the case.

As I have done previously, since this chapters is what God is saying to Moses, I will begin and end the chapter with quotation marks. I will not insert a new set of quotation marks for each new paragraph.

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It is indeed unfortunate that Leviticus 9 and 10 are separate chapters. The very end of chapter 9 is very closely related to chapter 10 (at least the first 3 verses). Charles Thomson recognized this in his translation, and tied together the find 3 verses of Leviticus 9 with the first 2 verses of Leviticus 10. I will admit, on my first couple read-throughs, I did not get this. Find a period, Thomson, I was thinking to myself. But after translated the first two verses of chapter 10, I get what he was trying to convey. He was telling his readers, don’t ignore Leviticus 9 when explaining Leviticus 10:1–2.

Nadab and Abihu Both Die the Sin unto Death

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Leviticus.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so take sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, a man his censer and so they give in them fire. And so they place upon her incense; and so they bring near to faces of Y^ehowah fire strange [or, unlawful, offensive], which He had not commanded them. And so comes forth fire from to faces of Y^ehowah; and so she eats them [completly]; and so they die to faces of Y^ehowah.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  Nodov and Avihu, Aharons sons, took, each of them his fire-pan, placed fire on it and then placed incense upon it and they brought before Adonoy a strange fire, which He had not commanded them.

A fire came forth from before Adonoy and consumed them, and they died in the presence of Adonoy. Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   But the sons of Aharon, Nadab and Abihu, took each man his censer, and put fire therein, and laid sweet incense upon it, and offered before the Lord strange fire taken from (under) the hearth pots, which had not been commanded them. [JERUSALEM. Outside fire.] And a flame of fire came out from before the Lord (as) with anger, and divided itself into four streams, (or lines,) and penetrated their nostrils, and burned their lives (souls) without destroying their bodies; and they died before the Lord.

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) And Nadab and Abiu, the sons of Aaron, taking their censers, put fire therein, and incense on it, offering before the Lord strange fire: which was not commanded them.

And fire coming out from the Lord destroyed them: and they died before the Lord.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before Mar-Yah, which he had not commanded them.

And fire came forth from before Mar-Yah, and devoured them, and they died before Mar-Yah.

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     And the sons of Ahron, Nadab and Abihu, took each man his censer and they placed fire in them and they placed incense in them and brought strange fire before LORD JEHOVAH, which He had not commanded them at that time. And fire came out from before LORD JEHOVAH and consumed them and they died before LORD JEHOVAH.

Samaritan Pentateuch           And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.

And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And the two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, took each his censer, and put fire in it, and threw incense on it, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which the Lord did not command them, and fire came forth from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their vessels and put fire in them and perfume, burning strange fire before the Lord, which he had not given them orders to do. 

And fire came out from before the Lord, burning them up and causing their destruction before the Lord.

Easy English                          The Lord kills Nadab and Abihu

Nadab and Abihu were sons of Aaron. They put hot material in the pots that they used to burn incense. They threw incense over the hot material. They offered the incense to the Lord. This was a wrong thing to do. The Lord had not told them that they should do it. So it was wrong. The Lord was angry and he sent fire to burn them. They died there in front of the Lord's altar.

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  Then Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu made a mistake. They took their incense dishes and put some fire and incense in them. But they did not use the fire that was on the altar--they took fire from some other place and brought it to the LORD. This was not what he had commanded. So fire came from the LORD and destroyed Nadab and Abihu, and they died there in front of the LORD.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan, put live coals in it, added incense, and presented it to the LORD. But this fire was not holy, because the LORD had not commanded them to present it. Suddenly the LORD sent fire, and it burned them to death there in the presence of the LORD.

The Message                         Nadab and Abihu

That same day Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, took their censers, put hot coals and incense in them, and offered “strange” fire to God—something God had not commanded. Fire blazed out from God and consumed them—they died in God’s presence.

Names of God Bible               Improper Conduct for Priests

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

NIRV                                      The Lord Kills Nadab and Abihu

Nadab 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. So the Lord sent fire on them. It burned them up. They died in front of the Lord.

New Simplified Bible              Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took an incense burner. They put burning coals and incense in it. Then in Jehovah s presence they offered this unauthorized fire. A fire flashed from Jehovah and burned them. They died in the presence of Jehovah.

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             Leviticus 10

Priests die in a fire

Aaron’s sons die worshiping

Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took an incense firepan, got the coals burning, and then sprinkled fragrant incense onto the coals—an offering to the LORD. But this wasn’t an offering the LORD had either asked for or approved. It was an offering they came up with. [1] The LORD sent a flash fire [2] that burned them to death. [3].

¹10:1 Literally, they offered God “a strange fire.” The original Hebrew word is zar. It can mean: illegitimate, unauthorized, adulterous, foreign, imported, arrogant.

²10:2 The Hebrew word, ’ēš, can mean: fire, lightning, set on fire, burning coals.

³10:2 Jewish scholars in earlier centuries said the priests must have done something terribly wrong to justify this: sex sin, drunkenness, or not taking their ministry seriously enough. But some current Jewish scholars argue that it was important to follow God’s rituals to the letter. Creating new worship rituals was not only above a priest’s pay grade, it was heretical. And in this case, fatal.

Contemporary English V.       Nadab and Abihu were two of Aaron's sons, but they disobeyed the LORD by burning incense to him on a fire pan, when they were not supposed to. Suddenly the LORD sent fiery flames and burned them to death.

The Living Bible                     But Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, placed unholy fire in their censers, laid incense on the fire, and offered the incense before the Lord^[a]—contrary to what the Lord had just commanded them! So fire blazed forth from the presence of the Lord and destroyed them.

[a] placed unholy fire in their censers . . . and offered the incense before the Lord, or “placed fire in their censers . . . and offered unholy fire.” Their fatal error is not clearly identified.

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and put special perfume on it. They gave a fire that was not holy to the Lord because the Lord had not told them to do this. So the Lord sent out fire that burned them up and they died before the Lord.

New Living Translation           The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord.

Unfolding Bible (simplified)    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.  So suddenly a fire from Yahweh appeared and burned them up in his own presence.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Then two of Aaron’s sons (Nadab and AbiUd) took their censers, put incense and fire in them, and offered it before Jehovah in a way that is quite different from what they had been commanded.

And after they did that, fire came from the Lord and consumed them, causing them to die there before Jehovah.

All three footnotes are lengthy, so links take you to the AEB website.

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           Nadab and Abihu

Now Nadab and Abihu, two of Aaron’s sons, each took an incense pan. They put fire and incense on them and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. Then fire flew out from before the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Berean Study Bible                Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command.  So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                Nadab and Abihu Slain for Disobedience to God.

But the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, each took a fire-pan, and placed on them fire, and put incense upon it, and presented strange fire before the EVER-LIVING, which they were not commanded, therefore fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.

International Standard V        Nadab and Abihu

(Numbers 3:1-10)

Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own censer, placed fire in them, covered it with incense, and brought it into the Lord’s presence as unauthorized fire that he had never prescribed for them. So a fire came out from the Lord’s presence, incinerated them, and they died while in the Lord’s presence.

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, each took his censer, put fire in it, and then incense. Then they offered unapproved fire before Yahweh, which he had not commanded them to offer.  So fire came out from before Yahweh and devoured them, and they died before Yahweh.

Urim-Thummim Version         Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron took each man his fire-holder and placed fire in it with the incense, and brought before YHWH strange fire that He had not commanded them. And there went out supernatural fire from YHWH that burned them up, and they were executed as a penalty before YHWH.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And the sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, each took from their sinstuff and they put fire to them, and they put incense upon it, and they sacrificed before Yawheh, on a foreign fire, which was not commanded of them. And a fire came out from before Yahweh, and consumed them, and they died before Yawheh.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  The story of Nadab and Abihu

• Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, each took his censer, put fire in it and incense on the fire, and presented unlawful fire before Yahweh, fire which he had not commanded them to present. Then from Yahweh’s presence a flame leaped out and burned them to death in the presence of Yahweh.

Num 17:5

Num 16:35; 2K 1:10

• 10.1 The story in this chapter (the death of Aaron’s sons) is a figurative way of presenting some of the duties of Israel’s priests.

The Heritage Bible                          And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each man took his censer, and gave fire in it, and put incense on it, and brought near strange fire before the face of Jehovah, which he did not command them.

And a fire went out from Jehovah, and consumed them, and they died before the face of Jehovah.

New American Bible(2011)    Nadab and Abihu.

* Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers and, putting incense on the fire they had set in them,^a they offered before the LORD unauthorized fire, such as he had not commanded.

Fire therefore came forth from the LORD’s presence and consumed them,b so that they died in the LORD’s presence.

* [10:1–2] Nadab and Abihu are the older sons of Aaron (Ex 6:23–24). Their sin apparently involves using embers from an unapproved source instead of the altar (cf. 16:12). The fire that destroys them is the same type found in 9:24.

a. [10:1] Lv 16:1; Nm 3:4; 26:61; 1 Chr 24:2.

The Catholic Bible                  The Death of Nadab and Abihu.^[a] Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer. They put fire and incense into them and offered unholy fire before the Lord, not as he had prescribed for them. But a fire came out from the presence of the Lord and it devoured them and they died before the Lord.

[a] Aaron’s older sons die before the Lord because of their use of profane embers, unholy fire. This is another incidence of the Lord’s fire that he used to consume the burnt offerings in Lev 9:24.

New Jerusalem Bible             Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took his censer, put fire in it and incense on the fire, and presented unauthorised fire before Yahweh, which was not in accordance with his orders. At this a flame leapt out from Yahweh's presence and swallowed them up, and they perished before Yahweh.

Revised English Bible–1989   AARON'S sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them, threw incense on the fire, and presented before the LORD illicit fire, such as he had not commanded them to present.

Fire came out from before the LORD and destroyed them; so they died in the presence of the LORD.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           But Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aharon, each took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and offered unauthorized fire before Adonai, something he had not ordered them to do. At this, fire came forth from the presence of Adonai and consumed them, so that they died in the presence of Adonai. Profane

Kaplan Translation                 Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, each took his fire pan, placed fire on it, and then incense on it. They offered it before God, [but it was] unauthorized fire, which [God] had not instructed them [to offer]. Fire came forth from before God, and it consumed them, so that they died before God. The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Leviticus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

10:1 Nadav and Avihu. See Exodus 6:23. They were Aaron’s eldest sons who had been chosen for special status; Exodus 24:1,9.

— fire pan. See Exodus 27:3.

— unauthorized . . . See Exodus 30:9 (Ramban; Ralbag). Some say that they wanted to make use of sacrificial methods that had been in existence before Moses received God’s instructions (Josephus, Antiquities 3:8:7)-

10:2 Fire came forth . . . From the Holy of Holies {Si/ra). Or, “the fire (in 9:24) that came forth from God . . (Rashbam). It began to bum them, and no one could quench it (Josephus 3:8:7).

The Scriptures–2009              And Naa and Aihu, the sons of Aharon, each took his fire holder and put fire in it, and put incense on it, and brought strange fire before יהוה, which He had not commanded them.  And fire came out from יהוה and consumed them, and they died before יהוה.

Tree of Life Version                Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own censer, put fire in it, laid incense over it, and offered unauthorized fire before Adonai—which He had not commanded them. So fire came out from the presence of Adonai and consumed them. So they died before Adonai.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible                      AND THE TWO SONS OF AARON, NADAB AND ABIUD, TOOK EACH HIS CENSER, AND PUT FIRE THEREIN, AND THREW INCENSE THEREON, AND OFFERED STRANGE FIRE BEFORE JESUS, WHICH JESUS DID NOT COMMAND THEM,

AND FIRE CAME FORTH FROM JESUS, AND DEVOURED THEM, AND THEY DIED BEFORE JESUS.

Awful Scroll Bible                   Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each were to take their censers, and were to put fire in them and set incense on them, even were they bringing near strange fire, turned before Sustains To Become against what he is to have given charge.

There was to come out fire from Sustains To Become and it was to devour them, and they were to die turned before Sustains To Become.

Concordant Literal Version    The sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire-pan, put fire in them, placed incense on it and came near before Yahweh with alien fire such as He had not instructed them.

Hence fire came forth from before Yahweh and devoured them, and they died before Yahweh.

exeGeses companion Bible   SIN AND DEATH OF THE SONS OF AHARON

And Nadab and Abi Hu the sons of Aharon

each man takes his tray

and gives fire therein and puts incense thereon

and oblates strange fire at the face of Yah Veh

- which he misvahed them not.

And fire comes from the face of Yah Veh

and devours them;

and they die at the face of Yah Veh.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Nadav and Avihu, the bnei Aharon, each took his censer, and put eish therein, and put ketoret (incense) thereon, and offered eish zarah (strange, unauthorized fire) before Hashem, which He commanded them not.

And there went out eish (fire) from the presence of Hashem, and devoured them, and they died before Hashem.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective [ceremonial] censers, put fire in them, placed incense on it and offered ^[a]strange (unauthorized, unacceptable) fire before the Lord, [an act] which He had not commanded them to do. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.

The Expanded Bible              God Destroys Nadab and Abihu

Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their ·pans for burning incense [censers; firepans], put fire in them, and added incense; ·but they did not use the special fire Moses had commanded them to use in the presence of the Lord [^L and they offered unholy/illicit/L strange fire such as he had not commanded them; ^C they failed, in some unknown way, to follow strict ritual protocol]. So fire came down from the Lord and ·destroyed [consumed] Nadab and Abihu, and they died in front of the Lord.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-7

The Sin of Nadab and Abihu and its Punishment

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. Nadab and Abihu were probably the oldest sons of Aaron, and were distinguished by Moses in being selected to accompany him to the feast before the Lord, Exodus 24:1-9. The chances are that they were unduly exalted over their initiation into the priesthood and believed themselves competent to select their own methods of worshiping the Lord. They took two of the small vessels pertaining to the golden altar, put some fire in them which was not taken from the altar of burnt offering, and proceeded to offer incense to the Lord in these censers of their own selecting, whereas incense was to be offered only on the golden altar by the officiating priest twice daily, Exodus 30:7-8.

And there went out fire from the Lord, this time in consuming wrath, as it had shortly before flashed forth in an expression of mercy, and devoured them; and they died before the Lord. It was like a bolt of lightning which struck them dead without consuming their bodies or even their clothes. The punishment struck them while they were yet in the Sanctuary or in the court. Our God, in His jealousy, is a consuming fire, and will occasionally even now strike down such as blasphemously presume upon rights before Him which they do not possess.

Lexham English Bible            The Deaths of Nadab and Abihu

And Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his censer, and they put fire in them and placed incense on it; [That is, the fire] then [Or “and”] they presented before [Literally “to the faces of”] Yahweh illegitimate fire, which he had not commanded them. So [Or “And”] fire went out from before [Literally “from to the faces of”] Yahweh, and it consumed them so that [Or “and”] they died before [Literally “to the faces of”] Yahweh.

Syndein/Thieme                     {Two of Aaron's Sons Violate God's Instructions}

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before Jehovah/God, which he commanded them not.

{Note: Principle: to whom much is given, much is expected. These men were given clear instructions from God through Moses and either they were not paying attention (a principle in itself) or they arrogantly decided to do it their own way. In either case, they will pay the ultimate price.}

And there went out fire from Jehovah/God, and devoured them, and they died before Jehovah/God.

The Voice                               Nadab and Abihu, two of Aaron’s sons, took censers and filled them with embers; then they put incense on top of the fire and presented it to the Eternal One. This was a strange and unauthorized fire that the Eternal did not command them. 2 Flames erupted from before the Eternal and burned up Nadab and Abihu. They both died in the presence of the Eternal One.

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           And Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his pan, put fire in them, and placed incense upon it, and they brought before the Lord foreign fire, which He had not commanded them. And fire went forth from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

NET Bible®                             Nadab and Abihu

Then¹ Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan and put fire in it, set incense on it, and presented strange fire² before the Lord, which he had not commanded them to do. So fire went out from the presence of the Lord³ and consumed them so that they died before the Lord.

^1tn Although it has been used elsewhere in this translation as an English variation from the ubiquitous use of vav in Hebrew, in this instance “then” as a rendering for vav is intended to show that the Nadab and Abihu catastrophe took place on the inauguration day described in Lev 9. The tragic incident in Lev 10 happened in close temporal connection to the Lord’s fire that consumed the offerings at the end of Lev 9. Thus, for example, the “sin offering” male goat referred to in Lev 10:16-19 is the very one referred to in Lev 9:15.

^2tn The expression “strange fire” (אֵש זָרָה, ’esh zarah) seems imprecise (cf. NAB “profane fire”; NIV “unauthorized fire”; NRSV “unholy fire”; NLT “a different kind of fire”) and has been interpreted numerous ways (see the helpful summary in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 132-33). The infraction may have involved any of the following or a combination thereof: (1) using coals from someplace other than the burnt offering altar (i.e., “unauthorized coals” according to J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:598; cf. Lev 16:12 and cf. “unauthorized person” אִיש זָר (’ish zar) in Num 16:40 [17:5 HT], NASB “layman”), (2) using the wrong kind of incense (cf. the Exod 30:9 regulation against “strange incense” קְטֹרֶת זָרָה (qÿtoreh zarah) on the incense altar and the possible connection to Exod 30:34-38), (3) performing an incense offering at an unprescribed time (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 59), or (4) entering the Holy of Holies at an inappropriate time (Lev 16:1-2).

^3tn See the note on 9:24a.

^tn The text here has only the participle “the cover” or “that which covers,” which is elliptical for “the fat which covers the entrails” (see Lev 3:3, 9, 14; 7:3).

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Charles Thomson OT            Then Aaron, lifting up his hands over the people, blessed them; When he came down from offering the sin offering, and the whole burnt offerings, and the offerings of thanksgiving, and Moses and Aaron had gone into the tabernacle of the testimony, and come out and blessed all the people, then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and there came forth a fire from the Lord which consumed what were on the altar, both the whole burnt offerings and the parcels of suet. And when all the people saw this, they were struck with consternation and fell on their faces; and the two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abiud, having taken each his censer, laid fire on it, and threw incense thereon, and presented before the Lord strange fire, which the Lord had not ordered them; upon which a fire darted forth from the Lord, and destroyed them, and they died before the Lord. Leviticus 9:22–24 are included for context.

Context Group Version          And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each of them took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before YHWH, which he had not commanded them. And there came out fire from before YHWH, and devoured them, and they died before YHWH.

Holy Bible Improved Edition   And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each his censer, and put fire in them, and placed incense upon it, and offered before Jehovah strange fire ^[1] that he had not commanded them. And there came forth fire from before Jehovah and devoured them, and they died before Jehovah.

^[1] Strange fire, unlawful, not as prescribed.

Legacy Standard Bible           Nadab and Abihu Offer Strange Fire

Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans and put fire in them. Then they placed incense on it and offered strange fire before Yahweh, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of Yahweh and consumed them, and they died before Yahweh.

Literal Standard Version        And the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, each take his censer, and put fire in them, and put incense on it, and bring strange fire near before YHWH, which He has not commanded them; and fire goes out from before YHWH and consumes them, and they die before YHWH.

Modern English Version         The Death of Nadab and Abihu

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, and put incense on it, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He did not command them to do. Then a fire came out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.

New European Version          Nadab and Abihu Are Killed

Nadab and Abihu the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before Yahweh, which He had not commanded them. And fire came forth from before Yahweh, and devoured them, and they died before Yahweh.

Niobi Study Bible                   The Profane Fire (Conduct) of Nadab and Abihu (the Priests)
And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer and put fire therein, and put incense thereon and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and the sons of Aharon, Nadav and Aviyhu, each took his fire pan, and they placed fire in them, and they placed incense smoke upon her, and they brought strange fire near to the face of YHWH, which he did not direct them, and fire went out from before the face of YHWH and she at them and they died to the face of YHWH,...

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. § 6. Aaron’s Sons, Nadab and Abihu, offer Strange Fire and are consumed.

Chapter 10.

Then Aaron’s sonsˎ Nadab and Abihuˎ took each man his censerˎ and placed therein fire, and put thereon incense,—and brought near before Yahwehˎ strange fire, which he had not commanded them. Then came there forth fire from before Yahweh, and consumed them,—and they died before Yahweh.

Young’s Updated LT             And the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, take each his censer, and put in them fire, and put on it perfume, and bring near before Jehovah strange fire, which He has not commanded them; and fire goes out from before Jehovah, and consumes them, and they die before Jehovah.

The gist of this passage: 

1-2

I will include the final passage of Leviticus 9, as it is related to what we are about to study.

Leviticus 9:22–24 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. (ESV)

Translation: Nadab and Abihu, the [oldest] sons of Aaron, took their fire pans...

Aaron has two sons, and, generally speaking, the oldest son would follow Aaron as High Priest. He has 4 sons altogether, and they are all priests (Aaron included) before God. Now, the concept of the priesthood in the Old Testament is this: these are men who represent us before God; and, further, they are to teach the Law of God to the people.

These two young men saw a fire bolt come out of the sky and obliterate an offering on the brazen (copper) altar, and let me suggest to you that they thought this was very cool. And it was their father who seemed to have the power to do this. To take an outdated expression from my past, this blew their minds.

Let me suggest that these two young men wanted to re-experience what had happened previously (the day before or the week before). So, what they are doing here has not been authorized. They are just choosing to do this.

Although the literal translation of the Hebrew of the last few words does not sound very strong (which He had not commanded them), this is the use of antenantiosis [pronounced ANT-en-an-ti-O-sis], which uses a negative for great emphasis. Bullinger gives the example I praise you not meaning that the person is held in derision; here, when Moses records that this was incense not commanded by God; it was strictly prohibited (Exodus 30:9).

A censor is simply the container which is used to carry fire and possibly incense.

Translation: ...and put fire in them.

The put some fire into their fire pans.

Translation: They placed incense on the fire [lit., on it]...

They then place some incense onto this fire.

Again, they are just free-styling at this point; perhaps conducting a private experiment to see what might happen.

Translation: ...and brought [this] unlawful [or, offensive] fire near to Y^ehowah...

They bring this unlawful or offensive fire to Y^ehowah. The adjective found here is actually the feminine singular, Qal active participle of the verb zûwr (זוּר) [pronounced zoor], which, as it turns out, has 3 sets of meanings (that is, it is a homonym). Those two sets of pertinent meanings are: to turn aside, to depart [especially from God]; to turn from the way, to lodge in another’s house; to be a stranger, to be foreign; to be estranged [separated or alienated]; (Strong's #2114 BDB #266) and: to be offensive, to be odious, to be loathsome (also Strong’s #2114 BDB #266). Most of the time, we know which set of meanings to apply because of the context.

The descriptor of the fire is the word zûwr (זוּר) [pronounced zoor] and this is a verb, used rarely so in seven instances, and primarily as an adjective as a verb in the Qal participle form. We have seen this word but three time prior to this passage: Exodus 29:33 30:9, 33. In two of these passages, it refers to a stranger someone with whom no one is completely familiar. However, Exodus 30:9 reads: "You will not offer any strange incense on this altar, or burnt offering or tribute; and you will not pour out a libation upon it." Strong's #2114 BDB #266.

When this word is used as an adjective, the first set of meanings are: strange, alien, at enmity, unlawful, unauthorized. The second set of meanings are: offensive, odious, loathsome.

I believe that context allows us to draw from both sets of meanings. The fire and incense which the brothers were bringing before God was, unauthorized, unlawful; therefore, it was strange and alien to God; and therefore, it was offensive and odious to God.

My interpretation is, not that they cooked up some new kind of fire or new kind of incense, but that what they were doing was unauthorized. God did not tell them to do this. They were acting completely on their own. This was not commanded, by God; and therefore, what they brought before God was offensive and it was odious.

Leviticus 10:1c-d They placed incense on the fire [lit., on it] and brought [this] unlawful [or, offensive] fire near to Y^ehowah...

There is nothing to suggest that these two sons are somehow involved with some exquisite form of immorality, like drunkenness or sexual sins. I think we should assume just what the text says, that they brought strange fire before the Lord, meaning that they did not offer up something to God according to the procedure. We just had seven chapters on correct procedure for the priesthood. Something different would mean that they were explicitly disobeying God’s instructions. That is not the way to begin their priesthoods.

Translation: ...—[something] which He had not commanded them [to do].

The short phrase is key to our understanding. You may remember that in the previous several chapters, we have seen the phrase, as which Y^ehowah commanded Moses, over and over again. In fact, this phrase has occurred no fewer than 8 times in Leviticus 7–9. But v. 1e tells us that what Nadab and Abihu were doing was not commanded by God. That is what the problem is here.

Leviticus 10:1 Nadab and Abihu, the [oldest] sons of Aaron, took their fire pans and put fire in them. They placed incense on the fire [lit., on it] and brought [this] unlawful [or, offensive] fire near to Y^ehowah—[something] which He had not commanded them [to do]. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

The religion prescribed by Y^ehowah was not one of do whatever feels right. There were specific boundaries and limits and strange incense here is that which has not been specifically prescribed by Y^ehowah. This is an incense or a fire with which Y^ehowah is not familiar (I am speaking in an anthropological sense); that is, it is not what Y^ehowah has delineated in His laws to be used.

If they believed God's Word, this is the last thing that these two men should have done, having already seen God destroy a large number of Israelites who worshipped a golden calf. Many times throughout Scripture, the burning of the sacrifice is said to be a sweet aroma to God. Nadab and Abihu took it upon themselves to add a little incense to the mix so that the aroma would smell sweet to them as well. What they had done was added works to grace. The animal sacrifices were God’s grace. They brought unblemished animals to God and sacrificed them, and the animals took upon them the sins of Nadab and Abihu (or of the people for whom Nadab and Abihu offered the sacrifice). When they added their incense, this was like adding works to grace—no one is saved by adding their works to grace. In doing this, Nadab and Abihu distorted the message of grace.

Just as God had no regard for the offering of produce by Cain, God does not honor those who come before Him with their own works. They were offering to God that which represented their works, their methods, their personal sacrifice. Those who come to God with their own works will spend all of eternity in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11–15). Their deaths illustrate the great error of coming before God according to your own works, your own religion, with your own sacrifice, and your own incense. These things are unclean, they are abominable to God.

Furthermore, our works following salvation must be within God's will. We are to be filled with the Spirit at all times.

The Amplified Bible gives the example: And that does not mean first making an unholy alliance in marriage, or in business, or in thought, and then adjusting it to God's will. All of our works should be offered only when filled with the Spirit, so that they are not burned up at the judgement seat of Christ (1Cor. 3:11–15).

So Nadab and Abihu represent to us the destruction of the unbeliever who approaches God with his own works rather than with the finished work of Jesus Christ; and they represent the works that we as believers might bring to the judgment seat of Christ—works not done in the Spirit and works that will be burned—consumed. Nevertheless, believers will be preserved, so as through fire. God's plan incorporates all that is in the world and produces from it good. Even their sin produces for us an illustration by which we are instructed. Even when Satan entered into Judas Iscariot and set the wheels in motion for our Lord to be taken to the cross, he (Satan) had no idea that this would result in the eternal salvation of all who believed.

One is caused to recall a similar incident which took place in the book of Acts (specifically, Acts 5:1–11) when Ananias and Sapphira instantly suffered the sin unto death when they lied to the Holy Spirit. As Zodhiates put it, this had a beneficial sobering effect upon all who heard about it.

As a teacher, I have found myself in a position, particularly with a new group of students where I must make an example of one and come down hard on that one in order to preserve class order. When God is founding a new beginning in His plan—as He was with the Law and nation Israel (and as He was with the local church at the beginning of the church age)—He had to be swift and severe.

Now, you may think that God’s punishment was rather harsh. After all, all they did was toss in some incense into their fire pans in order to make the smoke sweeter (in their opinion) to God. There is nothing more important for the unbeliever to realize than the fact that his works mean nothing to God; the only thing that gains them access to God is the work of Jesus Christ. Our salvation is based 100% upon Jesus’ work and 0% on our own works. When it comes to salvation, you do not bring to God your good intentions, your vows, your sad regret of the sins your have done, including baptism or anything else. You bring to God the finished work of Jesus Christ and nothing else. You don’t add even the smallest amount of incense to His sacrifice. Every evangelist and every teacher who implies or outright teaches some system of works or sets of promises to be added to God’s grace is a blasphemer. Had this been done earlier in the Church Age, they would have been struck instantly dead as well.

Now, some suggest the possibility that they approached Y^ehowah in a state of drunkenness. This can be possibly inferred by v. 9; v. 10 tells us that the priests were not to confuse the holy with the profane. The two priests obviously mixed the holy (God’s requirements) with the profane (what this did instead). However, this is not emphasized in this passage as a whole, so, even though drunkenness is certainly forbidden in Tabernacle service, that is not the point of this passage. Furthermore, it’s not much good to give the command after the incident. It’s like God saying, “Oh yeah, I forgot; I don’t like this either, and so I took out your two sons for doing it earlier this afternoon.” This passage clearly lays out what the problem is.

Translation: So fire came forth from the Presence of Y^ehowah...

The reason that I believe they wanted to see fire from heaven is what we read here. God does send them fire, as happened a day or so previous.

Translation: ...and it [completely] devoured them.

Devoured is a word for eat; however, when used of fire, it means to consume, to devour, to destroy (and it can be used that way apart from the subject fire).

Just as the fire completely devoured the animal sacrifice on the altar, so it devoured these boys.

How much of their bodies remained is immaterial at this point. Perhaps there is a small ashen heap next to two burned fire pans.

A reasonable question is, how do we know what happened? Obviously, for any question similar to this, the answer can always be, God told Moses (or, whomever) directly what happened. I don’t think that is necessary. I would conjecture that these two young men spoke to the two younger men and told them what they were going to do; or asked them directly to join them.

Let me pursue this with some further conjecture: what would Satan love to do at this point in time? He would like to wipe out the families of Moses and Aaron. Moses’ family appears to be gone at this point. He will take a new wife in the future; but his two sons no longer appear to be on the scene. No one seriously claims to be a descendant of Moses (that I am aware of). Would this not be a great thing in the eyes of Satan to wipe out Aaron’s family as well? We do not know exactly how Satan is able to influence minds. I think that he is able, when allowed by God, to put notions (thoughts) into people’s minds. What could have been more from the pit of hell than Marx’s teaching on communism, and its offshoots Mao’s little red book and Hitler’s Mein Kampf?

Did Satan put this idea into the minds of Aaron’s two oldest sons, to try to recreate what they had witnessed earlier? Did they share their idea with their two young brothers, so that all 4 men might approach the altar of God, to see what might happen? But two sons participated, and two did not. So, if this was a result of Satanic influence, it did not affect all of Aaron’s sons.

An alternate explanation is, many people watched these boys do this; but I reject that, based on the fact that, if Aaron or Moses knew they were going free-style, they would have shut it down immediately.

Translation: They died before the Presence of Y^ehowah.

Died is in the Qal imperfect, meaning that this action is viewed a process and not as a completed act. They did not die instantly; they had time to think about what it was that they had done.

The two young men were devoured by fire and died before Y^ehowah. When it came to the offerings brought before God, there was no free-styling it. They did not get to pick their own set of animals, their own kind of incense, or their own kind of ceremony. All of this was carefully orchestrated by God, because all of these sacrifices meant something (which we have studied in Leviticus 1–7).

Leviticus 10:2 So fire came forth from the Presence of Y^ehowah and it [completely] devoured them. They died before the Presence of Y^ehowah. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

This is very similar to the baptism of fire, where all unbelievers are removed from the earth and only believers remain. The analogy breaks down insofar as, the sons of Aaron all believe in the Revealed God; but the older ones also wanted to do their own thing at the altar.

These men received a great deal of notoriety from God's Word and are mentioned on several occasions, including Exodus 24:1, 9 28:1 Numbers 3:2–4 26:60–61 1Chronicles 6:3 24:1–2, usually as the two who died before Y^ehowah, not having any sons. Their sin is used to instruct us.

Leviticus 10:1–2 Nadab and Abihu, the [oldest] sons of Aaron, took their fire pans and put fire in them. They placed incense on the fire [lit., on it] and brought [this] unlawful [or, offensive] fire near to Y^ehowah—[something] which He had not commanded them [to do]. So fire came forth from the Presence of Y^ehowah and it [completely] devoured them. They died before the Presence of Y^ehowah. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

New European Version Commentary: This incident teaches that we cannot approach God on our own terms, in our own way, but must do so in the way He has defined in His word. The fact He doesn’t respond to human failure so visibly as He did in Moses’ time doesn’t mean that this is any less true for us today.

Leviticus 10:1–2 The oldest two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, got their fire pans and put fire in them. Then they put some incense into this fire and brought this unlawful, offensive fire near to Jehovah, which is something that He had not told them to do. Suddenly, fire came forth from God’s Presence and it completely devoured the errant brothers. They died in the Presence of Jehovah. (Kukis paraphrase)

There is a reasonable question to ask at this point: these two errant priests were removed by God; why were not all errant priests removed? This has happened before as well. You may recall that a husband and wife sold some property, during the beginning of the Church Age, and they acted as if they were offering all of the proceeds from this sale to the church, as a gift. However, they kept some funds back. They died the sin unto death (in Acts 5, if memory serves).

These two sons of Aaron have also died the sin unto death.