Leviticus - Chapter 16

¹ Yahweh spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when offering unauthorised fire.

² Yahweh spoke to Moses and said: 'Tell Aaron your brother that he may not enter the sanctuary inside the curtain in front of the mercy-seat on the ark whenever he chooses, in case he incurs death, for I appear in a cloud on the mercy-seat.

³ 'This is how he must enter the sanctuary: with a young bull for a sacrifice for sin and a ram for a burnt offering.

⁴ He will put on a tunic of consecrated linen, wear linen drawers on his body, a linen waistband round his waist, and a linen turban on his head. These are the sacred vestments he will put on after washing himself.

⁵ 'From the community of Israelites he will receive two he-goats for a sacrifice for sin and a ram for a burnt offering.

⁶ After offering the bull as a sacrifice for his own sin and performing the rite of expiation for himself and his family,

⁷ he will take the two he-goats and place them before Yahweh at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

⁸ Aaron will then draw lots over the two goats, one lot to be for Yahweh and the other lot for Azazel.

⁹ Aaron will then take the goat on which the lot "For Yahweh" has fallen, and offer it as a sacrifice for sin.

¹⁰ But the goat on which the lot "For Azazel" has fallen, will be placed alive before Yahweh, for the rite of expiation to be performed with it, and for it then to be sent to Azazel in the desert.

¹¹ 'Having offered the bull as a sacrifice for his own sin and performed the rite of expiation for himself and for his family, and slaughtered the bull as a sacrifice for sin,

¹² Aaron will then fill a censer with live coals from the altar before Yahweh, take two handfuls of finely ground aromatic incense and bring this inside the curtain.

¹³ He will then put the incense on the fire before Yahweh, so that the cloud of incense hides the mercy-seat which is on the Testimony and he does not incur death.

¹⁴ He will then take some of the bull's blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the eastern side of the mercy-seat. He will sprinkle some of the blood seven times with his finger in front of the mercy-seat.

¹⁵ 'He will then slaughter the goat for the sacrifice for the sin of the people, and take its blood inside the curtain, and with this blood do as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it on the mercy-seat and in front of it.

¹⁶ This is how he must perform the rite of expiation for the sanctuary for the uncleanness of the Israelites, for their acts of rebellion and all their sins. 'And this is what he must do for the Tent of Meeting which remains with them, surrounded by their uncleanness.

¹⁷ No one must be inside the Tent of Meeting, from the moment he enters to make expiation in the sanctuary until the time he comes out. 'When he has made expiation for himself, for his family, and for the whole community of Israel,

¹⁸ he must come outside, go to the altar before Yahweh and perform the rite of expiation for it. He will take some of the bull's blood and some of the goat's blood and put it on the horns at the corners of the altar all around it,

¹⁹ and sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times with his finger, thus purifying it and setting it apart from the uncleanness of the Israelites.

²⁰ 'Once expiation for the sanctuary, the Tent of Meeting and the altar is complete, he will bring the goat which is still alive.

²¹ Aaron will then lay both his hands on its head and over it confess all the guilt of the Israelites, all their acts of rebellion and all their sins. Having thus laid them on the goat's head, he will send it out into the desert under the charge of a man waiting ready,

²² and the goat will bear all their guilt away into some desolate place. 'When he has sent the goat into the desert,

²³ Aaron will go back into the Tent of Meeting and take off the linen vestments which he wore to enter the sanctuary and leave them there.

²⁴ He will then wash his body inside the holy place, put on his vestments and come outside to offer his own and the people's burnt offering. He will perform the rite of expiation for himself and for the people,

²⁵ and burn the fat of the sacrifice for sin on the altar.

²⁶ 'The man who led the goat away to Azazel will wash his clothes and body before entering the camp.

²⁷ The bull and the goat offered as a sacrifice for sin, the blood of which was taken into the sanctuary for the rite of expiation, must be taken outside the camp, where their skin, meat and offal are to be burnt.

²⁸ The man who burns them will wash his clothes and body before entering the camp.

²⁹ 'This will be a perpetual law for you. 'On the tenth day of the seventh month you will fast and refrain from work, both citizen and resident alien;

³⁰ for this is the day on which the rite of expiation will be performed for you to purify you, to purify you before Yahweh from all your sins.

³¹ It will be a sabbatical rest for you and you will fast. This is a perpetual law.

³² 'The rite of expiation will be performed by the priest who has been anointed and installed to officiate in succession to his father. He will put on the linen vestments, the sacred vestments,

³³ and perform the rite of expiation for the holy sanctuary, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and will then perform the rite of expiation for the priests and all the people of the community.

³⁴ This will be a perpetual law for you; once a year the rite of expiation will be made for the Israelites for all their sins.' And as Yahweh ordered Moses, so it was done.

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