Eleazar

1Bring your brother Aaron to you from among the people of Israel. Bring his sons with him. They will serve me as priests. A priest is someone who serves God for the people. Aaron's sons are Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

NoteGod is speaking to Moses here. Aaron was Moses's older brother.

2Make holy clothes for your brother Aaron. Holy clothes are clothes set apart for God. They will give him glory and beauty.

And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.

NoteThese clothes were only for the priest to wear. They showed that his job was special.

3Speak to everyone who is wise in heart. I have filled them with a spirit of wisdom. They will make Aaron's clothes. The clothes will set him apart to serve me as priest.

And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

Note"Wise in heart" means very good at making things. These were the best weavers and sewers.

4These are the clothes they will make. A breastplate, which is worn on the chest. An ephod. A robe. A coat with woven designs. A turban, which is cloth wrapped around the head. And a sash, which is a long belt of cloth. They will make these holy clothes for your brother Aaron and for his sons, so he can serve me as priest.

And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

NoteA coat here means a long shirt that reaches the feet. The breastplate was not metal armor. It was a folded piece of cloth worn on the chest, like a flat pouch. An ephod was a special piece of clothing the priest wore over his robe.

5They will use gold, and blue, purple, and bright red yarn, and fine linen. Linen is cloth made from a plant.

And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.

NoteBlue, purple, and bright red dyes cost a lot of money back then. Only rich or special things were colored this way.

1Nadab and Abihu were sons of Aaron. Each one took his censer, a small pan for burning incense. They put fire in the pans. They put incense on top of the fire. Then they offered strange fire to the LORD. God had not told them to do this.

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.

NoteIncense is a sweet powder that smells nice when it burns. A censer was a small metal pan for holding the hot coals. Aaron was the priest, the man who did God's special work at the tent. "Strange fire" means fire God had not asked for. The two young men did it their own way instead.

2Fire came out from the LORD. The fire burned them up. They died right there in front of the LORD.

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

3Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD said. He said, 'I will show that I am holy through those who come near me. And all the people will see my glory.'" Aaron said nothing.

Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.

Note"Holy" means set apart and different from everything else. "Glory" means how great and shining God is. Aaron was quiet. He did not say a word.

4Moses called for Mishael and Elzaphan. They were sons of Uzziel, who was Aaron's uncle. Moses said to them, "Come here. Carry your relatives away from the front of the holy tent. Take them outside the camp."

And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.

NoteThe people of Israel lived in tents in the desert. All their tents together were called the camp. The holy tent stood in the middle of it.

5So they came near. They carried the men out of the camp, still in their coats. They did just what Moses had said.

So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said.

NoteThe coats were long shirts that the priests wore for their work.

6Then Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar. He said, "Do not let your hair hang loose. Do not tear your clothes. If you do, you will die, and anger will come on all the people. But the rest of Israel, your whole family, may cry about the fire the LORD started.

And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.

NoteLong ago, sad people let their hair hang messy and loose. They also ripped their own clothes on purpose. It showed everyone that someone had died. Moses told Aaron and his sons not to do these things now.

7Do not go out from the door of the tent of meeting, the tent where people meet with God. If you go out, you will die. The LORD's special oil has been poured on you." So they did what Moses said.

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

NoteThe special oil was olive oil poured on a priest's head. It showed that God had picked him for this work.

12Then Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons who were still alive. He said, "Take the grain offering that is left over from the food burned for the LORD. Eat it beside the altar, made without yeast. It is most holy.

And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take the meat offering that remaineth of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar: for it is most holy:

NoteA grain offering was a gift of flour and oil given to God. Yeast is what makes bread puff up and rise. The altar was like a big stone table. Gifts to God were burned on top of it.

13You must eat it in a holy place. It is the share for you and your sons. It comes from the offerings burned for the LORD. This is what I was commanded.

And ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy due, and thy sons’ due, of the sacrifices of the LORD made by fire: for so I am commanded.

NotePriests had no farms of their own. Food from the offerings was how they ate.

14You and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast that was waved. You may also eat the thigh that was lifted up. Eat them in a clean place. These parts belong to you and your sons. They come from the peace offerings of the people of Israel.

And the wave breast and heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they be thy due, and thy sons’ due, which are given out of the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel.

NoteThe priests lifted the meat up and swung it back and forth. This showed that the gift was God's first. A peace offering was an animal brought to say thank you to God. The family and the priests ate part of it together.

15The thigh that is lifted up and the breast that is waved must be brought. They bring them along with the fat that is burned for the LORD. These parts are waved before the LORD as a gift. Then they belong to you and your sons forever. The LORD has commanded this."

The heave shoulder and the wave breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be thine, and thy sons’ with thee, by a statute for ever; as the LORD hath commanded.

NoteThe fat was burned up for God. People thought of it as the best part.

16Moses looked carefully for the goat of the sin offering. He found that it had been burned up. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons who were still alive. He said to them,

And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left alive, saying,

NoteA sin offering was an animal brought when someone did something wrong. Part of it was meant to be eaten by the priests.

17"Why did you not eat the sin offering in the holy place? It is most holy. God gave it to you to carry away the people's wrong. It makes things right for them before the LORD.

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

NoteTo "make things right" means the wrong is covered over and forgiven. Eating the offering was part of the priest's job in that.

18Look, its blood was not brought inside the holy place. You should have eaten the goat there in the holy place, just as I told you."

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

19Aaron said to Moses, "Look. Today they brought their sin offering and their burnt offering to the LORD. And then these things happened to me. If I had eaten the sin offering today, would that have pleased the LORD?"

And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD?

NoteA burnt offering was an animal burned up completely as a gift to God.

20When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.

And when Moses heard that, he was content.

1This is the family record of Aaron and Moses. It comes from the time God spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spake with Moses in mount Sinai.

NoteMount Sinai is the mountain where God gave Moses his rules.

2These are the names of Aaron's sons. Nadab was the oldest. Then came Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

3These were Aaron's sons. They were priests, men chosen to serve God for the people. Oil was poured on them to set them apart for that work.

These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office.

NoteA priest was a man who did God's work at the holy tent. He brought the people's gifts to God for them. Pouring oil on a man's head showed he had this new job.

4Nadab and Abihu died in front of the LORD. They had offered fire that God did not ask for. This happened in the desert of Sinai. They had no sons. So only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests while their father Aaron was alive.

And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the sight of Aaron their father.

NoteThe King James says they offered "strange fire." That means fire God had not asked them to bring.

30Their leader was Elizaphan son of Uzziel.

And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

31They took care of the ark. They also cared for the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the holy dishes and tools. They cared for the curtain too.

And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof.

NoteThe table held special bread that was kept for God. The lampstand was a gold lamp with seven branches. The ark was a gold-covered box. God's rules were kept inside it.

32Eleazar son of Aaron the priest was the head leader of the Levites. He watched over the men who cared for the holy place.

And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.

33From Merari came the Mahlite family and the Mushite family. These were Merari's families.

Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.

34All their boys one month old or older came to 6,200.

And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.

35Their leader was Zuriel son of Abihail. They camped on the north side of the holy tent.

And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward.

36The sons of Merari took care of the tent's wooden frames. They also cared for its bars, posts, bases, and all its parts.

And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto,

NoteThe tent's walls were tall wooden frames. They stood in heavy metal bases and came apart for carrying.

37They also cared for the posts around the yard. That included their bases, their tent pegs, and their ropes.

And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.

38Moses, Aaron, and Aaron's sons camped in front of the tent, on the east side. They did the holy work for all the people of Israel. Anyone else who came near had to be put to death.

But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

NoteThe tent's door faced east, toward the sunrise. So Moses and Aaron camped right by the door.

15Aaron and his sons had to finish covering the holy things first. Then Kohath's men could come and carry them. They must not touch the holy things, or they will die. These are the things Kohath's family carried from the tent.

And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.

NoteThe poles let them lift the holy things without touching them. The things belonged to God alone.

16Eleazar was the son of Aaron the priest, the man who led worship at the tent. Eleazar was in charge of the oil for the light. He also cared for the sweet incense and the daily grain gift. He cared for the special oil used for anointing. He watched over the whole tent and everything inside it.

And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.

NoteThe grain gift was flour and oil given to God every day. Anointing means pouring special oil on someone or something. It showed that they now belonged to God.

17The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said this to them.

And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

18"Do not let Kohath's family groups be cut off from the Levites."

Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:

NoteTo be cut off means the whole family would be gone. None of them would be left.

19Here is how to keep them alive near the most holy things. Aaron and his sons must go in first. They must tell each man his job and what to carry.

But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden:

20But Kohath's men must not go in and look at the holy things. If they look, they will die.

But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.

36The LORD said to Moses,

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

37"Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to lift the censers out of the fire. Tell him to scatter the burning coals far away. The censers now belong to God."

Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.

NoteEleazar was one of Aaron's sons and a priest too. Anything used for God was kept for God. It could never be used again for cooking or ordinary work.

38"Those men sinned, and it cost them their lives. Hammer their censers into flat sheets to cover the altar, the table where gifts are burned for God. The censers were brought before the LORD, so they belong to him. They will be a sign for the people of Israel."

The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.

39So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers of the men who were burned. He had them hammered into flat sheets to cover the altar.

And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:

NoteBronze is a hard metal with a brown gold color. Pans, tools, and cups were made from it.

40This would remind the people of Israel of one thing. Only a man from Aaron's family may come and burn incense before the LORD. No one else should try, or he will end up like Korah and his men. The LORD had said this through Moses.

To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.

1The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said:

And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

NoteThe LORD in capital letters is God's own name. Moses and Aaron were brothers who led the people of Israel.

2This is the rule the LORD commands. Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer, a young red cow. She must be perfect, with no marks or hurts. She must never have pulled a plow or a cart.

This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:

NoteA heifer is a young cow that has not had a calf. Animals given to God had to be healthy and perfect. People gave God their very best, not their leftovers. A yoke is a wooden bar that goes on an animal's neck for pulling. This cow had never worked, so she had never worn one.

3Give the cow to Eleazar the priest. Eleazar will have her taken outside the camp. Someone will kill her there while he watches.

And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:

NoteA priest was a man who did the special work at God's tent. Eleazar was Aaron's son and a priest too. The camp was where all the people of Israel lived in tents in the desert.

4Eleazar will dip his finger in her blood. He will sprinkle some toward the front of the holy tent. He does this seven times.

And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:

NoteThe holy tent was a big tent where people came to worship God. In the King James it is called "the tabernacle of the congregation." Tabernacle is just an old word for tent. Seven was a special number to these people. Doing something seven times meant it was finished and complete.

5Then someone will burn the cow while Eleazar watches. Her skin, her meat, her blood, and her waste all burn.

And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:

6The priest will take cedar wood, hyssop, and red yarn. He throws them all into the fire with the cow.

And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.

NoteCedar is a tree with sweet-smelling wood. Hyssop is a small bushy plant. People held a bunch of it like a brush to sprinkle water. Scarlet is a bright red color, and the yarn was wool dyed that red.

7Then the priest must wash his clothes and wash his body with water. After that he may come back into the camp. But he stays unclean until evening.

Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.

NoteUnclean here does not mean dirty or naughty. It means a person could not come and worship until he washed and waited. Back then a new day started at sunset. So "until the even" means until that evening, when the day ended.

8The man who burned the cow must also wash his clothes and body. He too stays unclean until evening.

And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.

9A clean man will gather the ashes of the cow. He will put them outside the camp in a clean place. The people of Israel will keep them. The ashes are mixed with water to wash away sin.

And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.

NoteThe ashes were saved and later stirred into water. The King James calls this "a water of separation." It was the special water people were sprinkled with to make them clean again.

10The man who gathers the ashes must wash his clothes. He stays unclean until evening. This rule lasts forever. It is for Israel and for visitors living among them.

And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.

NoteThe King James says "the stranger that sojourneth among them." That means a person from another country who came and lived with Israel. A "statute for ever" is a rule the people were to keep always.