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Thursday, July 24th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Leviticus 16:1

After the death of Aaron's two sons—they died when they came before God with strange fire— God spoke to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron not to enter into the Holy of Holies, barging inside the curtain that's before the Atonement-Cover on the Chest whenever he feels like it, lest he die, because I am present in the Cloud over the Atonement-Cover.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Scofield Reference Index - Israel;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - High Priest, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Expiation;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Interpretation;   Type, typology;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Feasts and Festivals of Israel;   Worship;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Expiation;   Fasting;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Festivals, Religious;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Aaron;   Expiation, Propitiation;   Festivals;   High Priest;   Holy;   Intercession;   Lamb of God;   Leviticus;   Reconcilation;   Righteousness;   Temple of Jerusalem;   Temptation of Jesus;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Atonement, Day of;   Azazel;   Church;   Clean and Unclean;   Fasting;   Leviticus;   Priests and Levites;   Propitiation;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Aaronic Priesthood;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Expiation;   Goat;   Veil;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Atonement;   High priest;   Offering;   Priest;   Smith Bible Dictionary - High Priest;   Sacrifice;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Tabernacle, the;   Priesthood, the;   Worship, the;   On to Canaan;   Law of Moses, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Atonement, Day of;   Feasts, and Fasts;   Leviticus;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Hafá¹­arah;   Holiness;   Law, Reading from the;   Peshiá¹­ta;   Sidra;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
The LORD spoke to Moshe, after the death of the two sons of Aharon, when they drew near before the LORD, and died;
King James Version
And the Lord spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord , and died;
Lexham English Bible
Then Yahweh spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons, when they had come near before Yahweh and they died.
New Century Version
Now two of Aaron's sons had died while offering incense to the Lord , and after that time the Lord spoke to Moses.
New English Translation
The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons when they approached the presence of the Lord and died,
Amplified Bible
Then the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who had died when they [irreverently] approached the presence of the LORD.
New American Standard Bible
Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the LORD and died.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Fvrthermore the Lord spake vnto Moses, after the death of the two sonnes of Aaron, whe they came to offer before the Lord, and dyed:
Legacy Standard Bible
Now Yahweh spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they came near the presence of Yahweh and died.
Contemporary English Version
Two of Aaron's sons had already lost their lives for disobeying the Lord , so the Lord told Moses to say to Aaron: I, the Lord , appear in a cloud over the place of mercy on the sacred chest, which is behind the inside curtain of the sacred tent. And I warn you not to go there except at the proper time. Otherwise, you will die!
Complete Jewish Bible
[In regular years read with Parashah 30, in leap years read separately] Adonai spoke with Moshe after the death of Aharon's two sons, when they tried to sacrifice before Adonai and died;
Darby Translation
And Jehovah spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they came near before Jehovah and died;
Easy-to-Read Version
Two of Aaron's sons died while offering incense to the Lord . After that time, the Lord spoke to Moses.
English Standard Version
The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died,
George Lamsa Translation
AND the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered strange fire before the LORD and died;
Good News Translation
The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who were killed when they offered unholy fire to the Lord .
Christian Standard Bible®
The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence of the Lord and died.
Literal Translation
And Jehovah spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, as they drew near before Jehovah, and they died.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the LORDE spake vnto Moses (after that Aarons two sonnes were deed, whan they offered before the LORDE) & sayde:
American Standard Version
And Jehovah spake unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before Jehovah, and died;
Bible in Basic English
And the Lord said to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they took in strange fire before the Lord and death overtook them;
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the Lorde spake vnto Moyses after the death of ye two sonnes of Aaron, when they offered before ye Lorde, and dyed.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD, and died;
King James Version (1611)
And the Lord spake vnto Moses, after the death of the two sonnes of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord, and died.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the Lord spoke to Moses after the two sons of Aaron died in bringing strange fire before the Lord, so they died.
English Revised Version
And the LORD spake unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD, and died;
Berean Standard Bible
Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron's sons when they approached the presence of the LORD.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the Lord spak to Moises, aftir the deeth of the twei sones of Aaron, whanne thei offriden alien fier, and weren slayn, and comaundide to hym,
Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, in their drawing near before Jehovah, and they die;
Update Bible Version
And Yahweh spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before Yahweh, and died;
Webster's Bible Translation
And the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died:
World English Bible
Yahweh spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before Yahweh, and died;
New King James Version
Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the LORD, and died;
New Living Translation
The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons, who died after they entered the Lord 's presence and burned the wrong kind of fire before him.
New Life Bible
The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons, when they had come near the Lord and died.
New Revised Standard
The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Yahweh spake unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, - when they had offered strange fire before Yahweh and died.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Lord spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they were slain upon their offering strange fire:
Revised Standard Version
The LORD spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD and died;
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the LORD and died.

Contextual Overview

1After the death of Aaron's two sons—they died when they came before God with strange fire— God spoke to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron not to enter into the Holy of Holies, barging inside the curtain that's before the Atonement-Cover on the Chest whenever he feels like it, lest he die, because I am present in the Cloud over the Atonement-Cover. 3"This is the procedure for Aaron when he enters the Holy Place: He will bring a young bull for an Absolution-Offering and a ram for a Whole-Burnt-Offering; he will put on the holy linen tunic and the linen underwear, tie the linen sash around him, and put on the linen turban. These are the sacred vestments so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on. Then from the Israelite community he will bring two male goats for an Absolution-Offering and a Whole-Burnt-Offering.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Leviticus 10:1, Leviticus 10:2

Reciprocal: Exodus 30:20 - die not Leviticus 4:35 - and the priest shall make

Cross-References

Genesis 11:30
Sarai was barren; she had no children.
Genesis 12:16
Because of her, Abram got along very well: he accumulated sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, men and women servants, and camels. But God hit Pharaoh hard because of Abram's wife Sarai; everybody in the palace got seriously sick.
Genesis 16:3
So Sarai, Abram's wife, took her Egyptian maid Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. Abram had been living ten years in Canaan when this took place. He slept with Hagar and she got pregnant. When Hagar learned she was pregnant, she looked down on her mistress.
Genesis 16:9
The angel of God said, "Go back to your mistress. Put up with her abuse." He continued, "I'm going to give you a big family, children past counting. From this pregnancy, you'll get a son: Name him Ishmael; for God heard you, God answered you. He'll be a bucking bronco of a man, a real fighter, fighting and being fought, Always stirring up trouble, always at odds with his family."
Genesis 25:21
Isaac prayed hard to God for his wife because she was barren. God answered his prayer and Rebekah became pregnant. But the children tumbled and kicked inside her so much that she said, "If this is the way it's going to be, why go on living?" She went to God to find out what was going on. God told her, Two nations are in your womb, two peoples butting heads while still in your body. One people will overpower the other, and the older will serve the younger.
Judges 13:2
At that time there was a man named Manoah from Zorah from the tribe of Dan. His wife was barren and childless. The angel of God appeared to her and told her, "I know that you are barren and childless, but you're going to become pregnant and bear a son. But take much care: Drink no wine or beer; eat nothing ritually unclean. You are, in fact, pregnant right now, carrying a son. No razor will touch his head—the boy will be God's Nazirite from the moment of his birth. He will launch the deliverance from Philistine oppression."
Luke 1:36
"And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God." And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now: I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say. Then the angel left her.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Lord spake unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron,.... That is, either immediately after their death, and so this chapter would have stood in its natural order next to the tenth; or else after the above laws concerning uncleanness on various accounts were delivered out, designed to prevent the people entering into the tabernacle defiled, whereby they would have incurred the penalty of death; wherefore, as Aben Ezra observes, after the Lord had given cautions to the Israelites, that they might not die, he bid Moses to caution Aaron also, that he might not die as his sons died; these were Nadab and Abihu:

when they offered before the Lord, and died; offered strange fire, and died by flaming fire, as the Targum of Jonathan; or fire sent down from heaven, as Gersom, by lightning; see Leviticus 10:1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The reference to the death of Nadab and Abihu is a notice of the occasion on which the instructions were given, well calculated to add point and emphasis to the solemn admonition to the high priest in the second verse. The death of his sons Leviticus 10:2, for drawing near to Yahweh in an unauthorized manner, was to serve as a warning to Aaron himself never to transgress in this respect.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER XVI

The solemn yearly expiation for the high priest, who must not

come at all times into the holy place, 1, 2.

He must take a bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a

burnt-offering, bathe himself, and be dressed in his sacerdotal

robes, 3, 4.

He shall take two goats, one of which is to be determined by

lot to be a sacrifice; the other to be a scapegoat, 5-10.

He shall offer a bullock for himself and for his family, 11-14.

And shall kill the goat as a sin-offering for the people, and

sprinkle its blood upon the mercy-seat, and hallow the altar of

burnt-offerings, 15-19.

The scapegoat shall be then brought, on the head of which he

shall lay his hands, and confess the iniquities of the children

of Israel; after which the goat shall be permitted to escape to

the wilderness, 20-22.

After this Aaron shall bathe himself, and make a burnt-offering

for himself and for the people, 23-28.

This is to be an everlasting statute, and the day on which the

atonement is to be made shall be a Sabbath, or day of rest,

through all their generations, 29-34.

NOTES ON CHAP. XVI

Verse Leviticus 16:1. After the death of the two sons of Aaron — It appears from this verse that the natural place of this chapter is immediately after the tenth, where probably it originally stood; but the transposition, if it did take place, must be very ancient, as all the versions acknowledge this chapter in the place in which it now stands.


 
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