You are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean. You are to teach the children of Israel all the statutes which Yahweh has spoken to them by Moses.”
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Leviticus 10:10-11 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, “Don’t let the hair of your heads go loose, and don’t tear your clothes, so that you don’t die, and so that he will not be angry with all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which Yahweh has kindled. You shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting, lest you die; for the anointing oil of Yahweh is on you.” They did according to the word of Moses. Then Yahweh said to Aaron, “You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. You are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean. You are to teach the children of Israel all the statutes which Yahweh has spoken to them by Moses.”
Parallel Translations
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You are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean.
You are to teach the children of Israel all the statutes which Yahweh has spoken to them by Moses.”
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And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
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And that ye may put difference between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean;
and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.'
Cross-references (20)
- Ezekiel 22:26 (v10) Her priests have done violence to my law, and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common,…
- 1 Peter 1:14-16 (v10) as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your former lusts as in your ignorance, but just as he who called you is…
- Leviticus 11:47 (v10) to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not…
- Ezekiel 44:23 (v10) They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
- Titus 1:15 (v10) To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience…
Show all 20 cross-references
- Leviticus 20:25-26 (v10) “ ‘You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the clean. You shall…
- Jeremiah 15:19 (v10) Therefore Yahweh says, “If you return, then I will bring you again, that you may stand before me; and if you take out the precious from the…
- Malachi 2:7 (v11) For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Yahweh of Armies.
- Matthew 28:20 (v11) teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
- Nehemiah 8:2 (v11) Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women, and all who could hear with understanding, on the first day of the…
- Nehemiah 8:8 (v11) They read in the book, in the law of God, distinctly; and they gave the sense, so that they understood the reading.
- Deuteronomy 24:8 (v11) Be careful in the plague of leprosy, that you observe diligently and do according to all that the Levitical priests teach you. As I…
- Jeremiah 18:18 (v11) Then they said, “Come! Let’s devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law won’t perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the…
- Deuteronomy 33:10 (v11) They shall teach Jacob your ordinances, and Israel your law. They shall put incense before you, and whole burnt offering on your altar.
- Acts 20:27 (v11) for I didn’t shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:2 (v11) For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
- 2 Chronicles 17:9 (v11) They taught in Judah, having the book of Yahweh’s law with them. They went about throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the…
- 2 Chronicles 30:22 (v11) Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had good understanding in the service of Yahweh. So they ate throughout the feast for…
- Nehemiah 9:13-14 (v11) “You also came down on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and…
- Jeremiah 2:8 (v11) The priests didn’t say, ‘Where is Yahweh?’ and those who handle the law didn’t know me. The rulers also transgressed against me, and the…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v11 Or, commission.
Or, commission.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Lev 10:10 And that ye may put difference between…
Lev 10:10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
Ver. 10. And that ye may put difference.] Drunkenness takes away the heart, {Hos 4:11} besots and infatuates; robs a man of himself, and lays a beast in his place.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Persons and things, which Nadab and Abihu did not,…
Persons and things, which Nadab and Abihu did not, mistaking unholy or common fire for that which was sacred and appointed by God for their use.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv10–11 And that ye may teach the children of Israel…
And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes,.... Laws, precepts, ordinances, moral, ceremonial, and judicial, which was the business of the priests to do, Mal 2:7 but one inebriated with liquor would be incapable of giving instructions about any of those things:
which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses: particularly those delivered and recorded in Exo 20:1 and as not the priests, so neither any other Israelite might instruct (s), nor indeed would be capable of instructing others when in liquor; and therefore excessive drinking, as it should be carefully avoided by all men, so more especially by those who by their office are teachers of others; see Pro 31:4.
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(s) Maimon. Hilchot Biath Hamikdash, c. 1. sect. 3.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Between holy and unholy - Persons and things, which…
Between holy and unholy - Persons and things, which Nadab and Abihu did not.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v10 Verse 10. That we may put difference between holy…
Verse 10. That we may put difference between holy and unholy] This is a strong reason why they should drink no inebriating liquor, that their understanding being clear, and their judgment correct, they might be always able to discern between the clean and the unclean, and ever pronounce righteous judgment. Injunctions similar to this were found among the Egyptians, Carthaginians, and Greeks. Indeed, common sense itself shows that neither a drunkard nor a sot should ever be suffered to minister in holy things.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v10 Lev 10:10-11. Between holy and unholy — Persons and…
Lev 10:10-11. Between holy and unholy — Persons and things, which Nadab and Abihu did not, mistaking unholy or common fire for that which was sacred and appointed of God for their use. Ye may teach — Which drunken persons are very unfit to do.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v11 11. That ye may teach — The priest was…
11. That ye may teach — The priest was the earliest religious teacher of the Levitical law, “for the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth.” Mal_2:7. The two sides of the priestly vocation, teaching and offering, are embraced in Deu_33:10. The Pentateuch knows nothing of a scholastic inculcation of the divine laws; it knows no formal religious instruction at all except the reading of the law before the assembled people, at the feast of tabernacles, in the Sabbatic year. Deu_31:10-13. All religious teachers should be τελειοι, perfect, having their senses — internal and external — exercised to discern or discriminate both good and evil. Heb_5:14. Wine draws a film over the spiritual eye and confounds moral distinctions. If the priests have aught to do with wine in a lawful way, it is only that it may, in the holy place,” be poured unto the Lord for a drink offering.”
Num_28:7. Wine symbolizes joy. The joy of all believers is not the joy of earth but of heaven — of the sanctuary. “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On v10 10, 11. This passage may well have an immediate…
10, 11. This passage may well have an immediate relation to the preceding context, as meaning that perfect sobriety was required in order to enable them to discriminate between ‘holy’ and ‘common’ and to give right Torah. Others have thought that the words in the last clause of Lev_10:11 ‘the Lord hath spoken’ shew that it is not connected with Lev_10:8, and that Lev_10:9 seems marked off by its last clause from what follows. Lev_10:10 would form an appropriate introduction to chs. 11–15.
Driver and White (Haupt’s SBOT., ad loc.) think that something may have fallen out here.
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(5) The law of eating the holy things (12–15)
The reference is to the Meal-Offering and Peace-Offering of Lev_9:17-18. The remainder of the Meal-Offering, after the handful therefrom had been burnt, belonged to the priests, Lev_2:2-3, Lev_6:16-18. Being most holy, it was eaten only by priests in a holy place here specified as ‘beside the altar.’ Cp. Lev_6:16; Lev_6:26; ‘in the court of the tent of meeting.’ The priestly portions of the Peace-Offering might be eaten by the families of the priests in a clean place, of course only by those who were ritually clean (Lev_7:20-21). The Sin-Offering when eaten, being most holy, was treated as the Meal-Offering. See Lev_6:24-29.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv10–11 (10) And that ye may put difference.—The motive here…
(10) And that ye may put difference.—The motive here assigned for their abstinence from intoxicating liquor is, that by keeping sober they might be able to discriminate between the legal and illegal points in the prescribed observances, which required the greatest care. Thus, for instance, the rules as to which places and days and sundry portions of the offerings were holy or common, or as to holy fire and common fire, which Nadab and Abihu violated; or about ceremonially clean and unclean men, women, animals, and utensils. (See Eze_44:23.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Wine and other intoxicating liquors (rkve, whence the Greek…
Wine and other intoxicating liquors (rkve, whence the Greek word sikera , Luk_1:13, was made from dates, or barley, or honey) are forbidden to the priests during their ministrations, that they may pat a difference between holy and unholy; that is, that their minds may not be confused, but be capable of distinguishing between right and wrong, what ought and what ought not to be done. Nadab and Abihu, on the contrary, had not distinguished between the sacred and profane fire, or between God"s commands and their own unregulated impulses. If they had partaken too freely of the wine provided for the drink offerings, their sin would be similar to that of the Corinthians in their abuse of the Lord"s Supper. As to the use of wine by the minister of God under the New Testament, see 1Ti_3:2, 8 5:23. The spiritual emotion, which, in the service of God, shows itself in pouring out the feelings in "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs," is contrasted, in Eph_5:18, Eph_5:19, with the physical excitement caused by wine, the former being commended and the latter forbidden.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON Vers. 8-10. Wine and worship.
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The prohibition of the text only extends to the priest about to officiate in the worship of God; "when ye go into the tabernacle." It had no reference to the domestic use of wine; nor did it separate "strong wine" from sacred service altogether. (Exo_29:42 Num_28:7) Perhaps, as some think, it was consequent upon the foregoing scene. But if not so closely connected with it as to be occasioned by it, the fact that its announcement followed that scene in order of time suggests the truth
I THAT FROM THE WORSHIP OF GOD EVERY TEMPTATION SHOULD BE RELIGIOUSLY EXCLUDED. If intoxicants would have even the slightest effect on the understanding so that error might be committed, they should be scrupulously avoided: and so with any and every source of peril, whatever it may be. Whatsoever would lead the mind away from God and his truth; whatsoever would interfere with the purity, sincerity, spirituality of public worship, should be shunned. It may be beautiful attire, ornamentation, music, rhetoric, philosophizing, etc. Every man must judge for himself; "happy is he who condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth". (Rom_14:22)
II THAT IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD EVERY FACULTY SHOULD BE IT FULLEST EXERCISE, If intoxicants are anywise injurious, they enfeeble, they make the body drowsy, the intellect clouded, the spirit heavy and unaspiring. To the worship of God we should bring our best; not by any means the lame and the blind, etc., (Mal_1:8) nor the second best, but the very best we can bring the flower in the bud, the fruit adorned with its bloom; not the wearied bodily frame that sinks to sleep while God is being approached; not the mind that has lost its elasticity and strength, but our most vigilant and wakeful, our most vigorous and energetic self. We should bring to his altar the power that can discern between the evil and the good, between the acceptable and the offensive (verse 10); and the power that can rise on fleetest and most enduring wing into the heavens of joyful praise and earnest prayer and saving truth.
III THAT FOR THE WORSHIP OF GOD THERE SHOULD BE CAREFUL PREPARATION. The priests were, in virtue of this and other precepts, to consider carefully beforehand what they should do and what they should avoid, that they might be ready to minister unto the Lord. Whether our offering of spiritual sacrifices unto God in his sanctuary (1Pe_2:5) be acceptable or not, depends not more on the provision which is prepared in the house for us than on the conscientious preparing of our heart before we go up unto it. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v11 10:11 The decrees that the Lord has given were…
10:11 The decrees that the Lord has given were laws that came directly from God, rather than from a court decision.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.