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parallelVerse INT GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA PSA AMOS HOS 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH PRO ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC GAL 1TH 2TH 1COR 2COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1TIM TIT 1PET 2PET 2TIM HEB YUD 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN REV
Lev Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27
Lev 10 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20
Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET-LV And_they_took the_sons of_ʼAhₐron Nādāⱱ and_ʼAⱱīhūʼ each censer_his and_put in/on/at/with_them fire and_placed on/upon_it(f) incense and_offered to_(the)_face_of/in_front_of/before YHWH fire strange which not he_had_commanded DOM_them.
UHB וַיִּקְח֣וּ בְנֵֽי־אַ֠הֲרֹן נָדָ֨ב וַאֲבִיה֜וּא אִ֣ישׁ מַחְתָּת֗וֹ וַיִּתְּנ֤וּ בָהֵן֙ אֵ֔שׁ וַיָּשִׂ֥ימוּ עָלֶ֖יהָ קְטֹ֑רֶת וַיַּקְרִ֜בוּ לִפְנֵ֤י יְהוָה֙ אֵ֣שׁ זָרָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹ֦א צִוָּ֖ה אֹתָֽם׃ ‡
(vayyiqḩū ⱱənēy-ʼahₐron nādāⱱ vaʼₐⱱīhūʼ ʼiysh maḩtātō vayyittənū ⱱāhēn ʼēsh vayyāsimū ˊāleyhā qəţoret vayyaqriⱱū lifənēy yhwh ʼēsh zārāh ʼₐsher loʼ ʦiūāh ʼotām.)
Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative, green:YHWH.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXX Καὶ λαβόντες οἱ δύο υἱοὶ Ἀαρὼν Ναδὰβ καὶ Ἀβιοὺδ, ἕκαστος τὸ πυρεῖον αὐτοῦ, ἐπέθηκαν ἐπʼ αὐτὸ πῦρ, καὶ ἐπέβαλον ἐπʼ αὐτὸ θυμίαμα, καὶ προσήνεγκαν ἔναντι Κυρίου πῦρ ἀλλότριον, ὃ οὐ προσέταξε Κύριος αὐτοῖς.
(Kai labontes hoi duo huioi Aʼarōn Nadab kai Abioud, hekastos to pureion autou, epethaʸkan epʼ auto pur, kai epebalon epʼ auto thumiama, kai prosaʸnegkan enanti Kuriou pur allotrion, ho ou prosetaxe Kurios autois. )
BrTr 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 the Lord, which the Lord did not command them,
ULT And the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, each took his censer, and they gave fire in them and they put incense on it. And they offered to the face of Yahweh strange fire that he did not command them.
UST But then two of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took the trays in which they burned incense. Into these trays, they placed some burning coals and put incense on top of the coals. They proceeded to waft the smoke of the incense in the precincts of the sacred tent where Yahweh lived among the Israelite people. However, the coals were not holy, as Yahweh said they should be, but rather, the coals had come from a common, everyday source. Because the coals were not holy, their offering of incense was not acceptable to Yahweh.
BSB § Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized [fn] fire before the LORD, contrary to His command.
10:1 Or strange
OEB No OEB LEV book available
WEBBE 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 the LORD, which he had not commanded them.
WMBB (Same as above)
NET Then Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan and put fire in it, set incense on it, and presented strange fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them to do.
LSV 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;
FBV Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, set light to their incense burners using ordinary fire[fn] and put in incense, and in this way offered forbidden[fn] fire in the Lord's presence, something he had not authorized.
10:1 “Using ordinary fire”: supplied for clarity.
10:1 “Forbidden”: the words used here means “strange” or “alien.” Clearly the issue was acting in disobedience to God's explicit commands regarding the way in which such items were to be used in his service. The fire was to come from the altar.
T4T 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.
LEB And Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his censer, and they put fire in them and placed incense on it;[fn] then[fn] they presented before[fn] Yahweh illegitimate fire, which he had not commanded them.
BBE 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.
Moff No Moff LEV book available
JPS And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire therein, and laid incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them.
ASV And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire therein, and laid incense thereon, and offered strange fire before Jehovah, which he had not commanded them.
DRA 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.
YLT 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 hath not commanded them;
Drby And the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, took each of them his censer, and put fire in it, and put incense on it, and presented strange fire before Jehovah, which he had not commanded them.
RV And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire therein, and laid incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them.
Wbstr And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire in it, and put incense on it, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.
KJB-1769 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.
KJB-1611 ¶ [fn]And Nadab and Abihu, the sonnes of Aaron, tooke either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which hee commaunded them not.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)
10:1 Num.3.4. and 26.61. 1.chron.24 2.
Bshps And Nadab and Abihu, the sonnes of Aaron, toke eyther of the his censar, and put fire therein, and put cense therevpon, and offred straunge fire before the Lorde, whiche he commaunded them not.
(And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took eyther of the his censar, and put fire therein, and put cense therevpon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not.)
Gnva But Nadab and Abihu, the sonnes of Aaron, tooke either of them his censor, and put fire therein, and put incense thereupon, and offred strange fire before the Lord, which hee had not commanded them.
(But Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censor, and put fire therein, and put incense thereupon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. )
Cvdl And ye sonnes of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, toke ether of the his censoure, & put fyre therin, & layed incense vpon it, and brought straunge fyre before the LORDE, which he commauded them not.
(And ye/you_all sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, took ether of the his censoure, and put fire therein, and laid incense upon it, and brought strange fire before the LORD, which he commauded them not.)
Wycl And whanne Nadab and Abyu, the sones of Aaron, hadden take censeris, thei puttiden fier and encense aboue, and offriden bifor the Lord alien fier, which thing was not comaundid to hem.
(And when Nadab and Abyu, the sons of Aaron, had take censeris, they puttiden fire and encense above, and offriden before the Lord alien fire, which thing was not commanded to them.)
Luth Und die Söhne Aarons, Nadab und Abihu, nahmen ein jeglicher seinen Napf und taten Feuer drein und legten Räuchwerk drauf und brachten das fremde Feuer vor den HErr’s, das er ihnen nicht geboten hatte.
(And the sons Aarons, Nadab and Abihu, took a jeglicher his Napf and did fire threen and legten Räuchwerk on_it and brought the fremde fire before/in_front_of the LORD’s, the he to_them not offered had.)
ClVg Arreptisque Nadab et Abiu filii Aaron thuribulis, posuerunt ignem, et incensum desuper, offerentes coram Domino ignem alienum: quod eis præceptum non erat.[fn]
(Arreptisque Nadab and Abiu children Aaron thuribulis, posuerunt ignem, and incensum desuper, offerentes before Master ignem alienum: that to_them præceptum not/no was. )
10.1 Arreptisque Nadab. AUG. quæst. 31 in Levit., tom. 3. Exeunte a Domino igne mortui sunt filii Aaron, etc., usque ad tormenta patientur. Arreptisque, etc. ISID., quæst. in Levit., tom. 5. Alienum ignem offerunt, etc., usque ad ne vitiis flagremus. ISICH. Hic eos qui aliena docent, etc., usque ad unde vitam poterant promereri. AUG., ubi supra. Alia littera, etc., usque ad per quos nobis Scripturam dedit.
10.1 Arreptisque Nadab. AUG. quæst. 31 in Levit., tom. 3. Exeunte from Master igne mortui are children Aaron, etc., until to tormenta patientur. Arreptisque, etc. ISID., quæst. in Levit., tom. 5. Alienum ignem offerunt, etc., until to not vitiis flagremus. ISICH. Hic them who aliena docent, etc., until to whence life they_could promereri. AUG., where supra. Alia littera, etc., until to through which us Scripturam he_gave.
10:1 Aaron’s two older sons, Nadab and Abihu (Exod 6:23), had accompanied Moses and the seventy elders on Mount Sinai (Exod 24:1, 9) and had witnessed the great theophany (appearance of God) there. They died without male heirs (see also Exod 28:1; Num 3:2-4; 26:60-61; 1 Chr 6:3; 24:1-2).
• The incense burners were fire pans or trays that held hot coals. Incense was sprinkled on them (Exod 30:34-38; see also Lev 16:12-13; 2 Chr 26:19; Rev 8:3-4).
• The wrong kind of fire (Hebrew ’esh zarah, “strange fire”) could mean “foreign,” and thus “unauthorized” (see Exod 30:9) or even “pagan” (as in Ps 44:20; 81:9). Apparently, Nadab and Abihu used fire from a source not approved by God (Num 3:4; 26:61), possibly even a pagan source. It is also possible that they offered incense not prepared according to God’s specifications (Exod 30:34-38), although the text does not mention that. They did not enter God’s presence on his terms but on their own.
God’s Absolute Holiness
Holiness is the fundamental descriptor of who God is. It is not merely one of his many attributes; it is the key to his very being. Calling God “the Holy One” speaks to the transcendence of his nature, in sharp contrast to the finite creation, whose creatures are bound by time and space. God speaks of himself as “I Am Who I Am” (Exod 3:14), defining himself by himself. God is the Wholly Other, the One who is completely self-sufficient and distinct from the created order.
God’s holiness also speaks of his character. It is common to describe God’s holiness in terms of his separation from sin and his wrath against it, but the notion of holiness embraces all of God’s character, including his mercy. God revealed himself to Moses as the “God of compassion and mercy.” He said, “I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.” In his holiness, God shows this “unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty” (Exod 34:6-7).
God’s holiness can be deadly to uninvited intruders (Isa 6:3, 5; see Exod 28:35) or to those who treat it with contempt. His infinite holiness is too much for finite, fallen mortals and would utterly destroy them apart from God’s mercy. Understanding God’s holiness should thus trigger a response of awe and reverence. Anything less would be profane. Perhaps this was the error that cost Nadab and Abihu their lives (Lev 10:1-3). Only in recognizing the awesomeness of God can we appreciate his great love for us and worship him appropriately and authentically.
Passages for Further Study
Exod 3:14; 34:6-7; Lev 10:3; Lev 11:44-45; 1 Sam 2:1-2; Isa 6:3-5; 52:10; Hos 11:9
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
וַיִּקְח֣וּ
and=they_took
The word And indicates that the action of this chapter immediately follows what happened in the previous chapter. The events recorded here should be considered to be a continuation of the story of the ordination ceremony. In your translation, be sure to use a connecting word that signals this to your readers.
Note 2 topic: translate-unknown
מַחְתָּת֗וֹ
censer,his
A censer is a shallow bronze container that priests could use to carry hot coals on which to burn incense. If your language has a word for this religious object, consider using it here. If not, consider using a generic expression. Alternate translation: “his incense pan”
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
אֵ֔שׁ
fire
Here, the word fire represents the coals that produce fire. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your language or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “glowing coals” or “live coals”
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
לִפְנֵ֤י יְהוָה֙
to=(the)_face_of/in_front_of/before YHWH
See how you translated this expression in 1:5. Alternate translation: “in the precincts of the tent of meeting where Yahweh lived among the Israelites” or “in Yahweh’s presence”
Note 5 topic: translate-unknown
אֵ֣שׁ זָרָ֔ה
fire unauthorized
It is likely that the expression strange fire means that either: (1) Nadab and Abihu had used burning coals that came from a common, everyday source rather than from a holy source, as Yahweh had commanded. Alternate translation: “common fire that was not set apart exclusively for Yahweh’s purposes” or (2) the incense that Nadab and Abihu placed on top of the burning coals was not the kind of incense that Yahweh had commanded should be offered in the tent of meeting. Alternate translation: “unauthorized incense”