וְכִֽי־תַגִּשׁ֨וּן עִוֵּ֤ר לִזְבֹּ֙חַ֙ אֵ֣ין רָ֔ע וְכִ֥י תַגִּ֛ישׁוּ פִּסֵּ֥חַ וְחֹלֶ֖ה אֵ֣ין רָ֑ע הַקְרִיבֵ֨הוּ נָ֜א לְפֶחָתֶ֗ךָ הֲיִּרְצְךָ֙ א֚וֹ הֲיִשָּׂ֣א פָנֶ֔יךָ אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֽוֹת׃
At kapag naghahandog kayo ng bulag bilang hain, hindi ba iyon masama? At kapag naghahandog kayo ng pilay at may sakit, hindi ba iyon masama? Iharap mo nga iyan sa iyong gobernador; malulugod ba siya sa iyo, o igagalang ka ba niya? sabi ng Walang-Hanggan ng mga Hukbo.
Kli Yakar
The view that they entered intoxicated with wine holds that strange fire refers to wine that burns within a person like fire, as it is written Woe unto them that rise up late at night, when wine inflames them (Isaiah 5:11), which is literally a burning from the fire that the wine kindled within them. And although the commandment Do not drink wine or strong drink had not yet been given to them, nevertheless, following the principle of Offer it now to your governor (Malachi 1:8), they should have reasoned that one should not enter the King’s gate while drunk.
Strong evidence for this view comes from what is written And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand (Exodus 24:11). This implies that they deserved to have His hand laid upon them for having eaten, drunk, and feasted their eyes on the Divine Presence with the coarseness of heart that comes from food and drink. And our Sages said that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not want to disturb the joy of the Torah, so He waited for this day. But this is difficult to understand: why this day rather than another? Furthermore, this day too is called the day of His heart’s gladness, as our Sages interpreted: the day of His wedding refers to the giving of the Torah, and the day of His heart’s gladness refers to the dedication of the Temple. So He should have waited even longer.
But rather, on this day they repeated their folly and offered strange fire before the Lord that burned within them from the wine, and through excessive drinking they came before the Lord improperly. Therefore, the Lord did not want to wait any longer, lest the matter appear permissible in their eyes, for “one who commits a transgression and repeats it, it becomes permitted to him.” Thus, after the death of Aaron’s two sons, Aaron was commanded, With this shall Aaron enter into the holy place (Leviticus 16:3) — on the Day of Atonement, a day when a person afflicts his soul, for then he comes before his Creator in humility, not with coarseness of heart, for wine is a traitor; the arrogant man shall not abide (Habakkuk 2:5).
Strong evidence for this view comes from what is written And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand (Exodus 24:11). This implies that they deserved to have His hand laid upon them for having eaten, drunk, and feasted their eyes on the Divine Presence with the coarseness of heart that comes from food and drink. And our Sages said that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not want to disturb the joy of the Torah, so He waited for this day. But this is difficult to understand: why this day rather than another? Furthermore, this day too is called the day of His heart’s gladness, as our Sages interpreted: the day of His wedding refers to the giving of the Torah, and the day of His heart’s gladness refers to the dedication of the Temple. So He should have waited even longer.
But rather, on this day they repeated their folly and offered strange fire before the Lord that burned within them from the wine, and through excessive drinking they came before the Lord improperly. Therefore, the Lord did not want to wait any longer, lest the matter appear permissible in their eyes, for “one who commits a transgression and repeats it, it becomes permitted to him.” Thus, after the death of Aaron’s two sons, Aaron was commanded, With this shall Aaron enter into the holy place (Leviticus 16:3) — on the Day of Atonement, a day when a person afflicts his soul, for then he comes before his Creator in humility, not with coarseness of heart, for wine is a traitor; the arrogant man shall not abide (Habakkuk 2:5).
Ibn Ezra
abhorrent in the sense of “offer it to your prefect” [Malachi 1: 8], because to offer such a sacrifice is a punishable offense, whereas no punishment falls to one who fails to offer a sacrifice (except for the obligatory ones).
Bartenura
וזו בכפיפה מצרית – And this is in a basket made of palm-twigs for it is not appropriate to make from it sacred vessels for it is similar to (Malachi 1:8): “Just offer it to your governor.”