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And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ ” So Aaron held his peace.
Leviticus 10:3 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Yahweh spoke of, saying, ‘I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” Aaron held his peace.
  • KJV 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.
  • BSB Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I will reveal My glory.’” But Aaron remained silent.
  • NASB Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the Lord spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.’ ” So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.
  • NLT Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said, ‘I will display my holiness through those who come near me. I will display my glory before all the people.’” And Aaron was silent.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Moses explains that God will be shown holy by those near him; Aaron is silent. God's holiness must be honored, especially by those who serve him closely.

Overview

Moses cites a divine principle: 'I will show myself holy to those who come near me.' The greater one's privilege of access, the greater the call to reverence. Aaron's silence reflects submission to God's righteous judgment even amid grief. This verse sets holiness at the heart of Leviticus and points to the reverent access believers now have through Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 37

  • Exod 19:22Let the priests also, who come near to Yahweh, sanctify themselves, lest Yahweh break out on them.”
  • Isa 49:3He said to me, “You are my servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
  • Lev 21:6They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.
  • Num 20:12Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
  • 1 Sam 2:30“Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before me forever.’ But now Yahweh says, ‘Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me will be lightly esteemed.
  • Isa 52:11Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing! Go out from among her! Cleanse yourselves, you who carry Yahweh’s vessels.
  • 1 Chr 15:12–13and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites. Sanctify yourselves, both you and your brothers, that you may bring the ark of Yahweh, the God of Israel, up to the place that I have prepared for it.
  • Deut 32:51because you trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn’t uphold my holiness among the children of Israel.
  • Ezek 20:41As a pleasant aroma I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries in which you have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you in the sight of the nations.
  • Heb 12:28–29Therefore, receiving a Kingdom that can’t be shaken, let us have grace, through which we serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe,
  • 1 Sam 6:20The men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? To whom shall he go up from us?”
  • Lev 21:21No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall come near to offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. Since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.
  • Ps 89:7a very awesome God in the council of the holy ones, to be feared above all those who are around him?
  • Lev 8:35You shall stay at the door of the Tent of Meeting day and night seven days, and keep Yahweh’s command, that you don’t die: for so I am commanded.”
  • Lev 21:8You shall sanctify him therefore; for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you; for I Yahweh, who sanctify you, am holy.
  • Lev 21:15He shall not profane his offspring among his people, for I am Yahweh who sanctifies him.’”
  • Exod 29:43–44There I will meet with the children of Israel; and the place shall be sanctified by my glory.
  • Lev 21:17“Say to Aaron, ‘None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God.
  • Lev 22:9“‘They shall therefore follow my requirements, lest they bear sin for it, and die therein, if they profane it. I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.
  • Ezek 42:13Then he said to me, The north rooms and the south rooms, which are before the separate place, they are the holy rooms, where the priests who are near to Yahweh shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meal offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; for the place is holy.
  • Ps 39:9I was mute. I didn’t open my mouth, because you did it.
  • Job 1:20–21Then Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshiped.
  • Acts 5:11–13Great fear came on the whole assembly, and on all who heard these things.
  • 1 Pet 4:17For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don’t obey the Good News of God?
  • Matt 10:37He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me.
  • Job 2:10But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job didn’t sin with his lips.
  • Ezek 28:22and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I am against you, Sidon; and I will be glorified among you; and they shall know that I am Yahweh, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.
  • 1 Sam 3:18Samuel told him every bit, and hid nothing from him. He said, “It is Yahweh. Let him do what seems good to him.”
  • Gen 18:25Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?”
  • John 12:28Father, glorify your name!” Then there came a voice out of the sky, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
  • Exod 14:4I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will follow after them; and I will get honor over Pharaoh, and over all his armies; and the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh.” They did so.
  • Ps 119:120My flesh trembles for fear of you. I am afraid of your judgments. AYIN
  • 2 Th 1:10when he comes to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired among all those who have believed (because our testimony to you was believed) in that day.
  • Ps 46:10“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.”
  • John 13:31–32When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.
  • John 14:13Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
  • Isa 39:8Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “Yahweh’s word which you have spoken is good.” He said moreover, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Leviticus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Leviticus 10:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LeviticusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.

How Leviticus 10:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.