The Lord said to Moses, “You and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 of the elders of Israel must come to worship the Lord. Do not come close when you worship.
The Lord replied, “Go down. Bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through. They must not come up to the Lord. If they do, his anger will break out against them.”
The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “I am going to come to you in a thick cloud. The people will hear me speaking with you. They will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.
“Have your brother Aaron brought to you from among the Israelites. His sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar must also be brought. They will serve me as priests.
In front of them stood 70 elders of Israel. Jaazaniah was standing there among them. He is the son of Shaphan. Each elder was holding a shallow cup. A sweet-smelling cloud of incense was rising from the cups.
The Lord said to Moses, “Bring me 70 of Israel’s elders. Bring men that you know are leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting. I want them to stand there with you.
So I chose the leading men of your tribes who were wise and respected. I appointed them to have authority over you. I made them commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. I appointed them to be officials over the tribes.