Add parallel Print Page Options

The Lord told Moses to say to the people:

29 (A) On the tenth day of the seventh month[a] of each year, you must go without eating to show sorrow for your sins, and no one, including foreigners who live among you, is allowed to work. 30 This is the day on which the sacrifice for the forgiveness of your sins will be made in my presence, 31 and from now on, it must be celebrated each year. Go without eating and make this a day of complete rest just like the Sabbath. 32 The high priest must offer the sacrifices for cleansing from sin, while wearing the sacred linen clothes. 33 He will offer these sacrifices for the most holy place, the sacred tent, the bronze altar, all the priests, and for the whole community. 34 You must celebrate this day each year—it is the Great Day of Forgiveness[b] for all the sins of the people of Israel.

Moses did exactly as the Lord had commanded.

Where To Offer Sacrifices

17 The Lord told Moses to tell Aaron, his sons, and everyone else in Israel:

3-4 Whenever you kill any of your cattle, sheep, or goats as sacrifices to me, you must do it at the entrance to the sacred tent. If you don't, you will be guilty of pouring out blood, and you will no longer belong to the community of Israel. And so, when you sacrifice an animal to ask my blessing,[c] it must not be done out in a field, but in front of the sacred tent. Then a priest can splatter its blood against the bronze altar and send its fat up in smoke with a smell that pleases me. Don't ever turn from me again and offer sacrifices to goat-demons. This law will never change.

Remember! No one in Israel, including foreigners, is to offer a sacrifice anywhere except at the entrance to the sacred tent. If you do, you will no longer belong to my people.

Do Not Eat Blood

The Lord said:

10 (B) I will turn against any of my people who eat blood. This also includes any foreigners living among you. 11 (C) Life is in the blood, and I have given you the blood of animals to sacrifice in place of your own. 12 That's also why I have forbidden you to eat blood. 13 Even if you should hunt and kill a bird or an animal, you must drain out the blood and cover it with soil.

14 The life of every living creature is in its blood. That's why I have forbidden you to eat blood and why I have warned you that anyone who does will no longer belong to my people.

15 If you happen to find a dead animal and eat it, you must take a bath and wash your clothes, but you are still unclean until evening. 16 If you don't take a bath, you will suffer for what you did wrong.

Forbidden Sex

18 The Lord told Moses to tell the people of Israel:

I am the Lord your God! So don't follow the customs of Egypt where you used to live or those of Canaan where I am bringing you. I am the Lord your God, and you must obey my teachings. (D) Obey them and you will live. I am the Lord.

Don't have sex with any of your close relatives, especially your own mother. This would disgrace your father. (E) And don't disgrace him by having sex with any of his other wives. (F) Don't have sex with your sister or stepsister, whether you grew up together or not. 10 Don't disgrace yourself by having sex with your granddaughter 11 or half sister 12-13 (G) or a sister of your father or mother. 14 Don't disgrace your uncle by having sex with his wife. 15 (H) Don't have sex with your daughter-in-law 16 (I) or sister-in-law. 17 (J) And don't have sex with the daughter or granddaughter of any woman that you have earlier had sex with. You will be having sex with her closest relatives, and that would make you unclean. 18 As long as your wife is alive, don't cause trouble for her by taking one of her sisters as a second wife.

19 (K) When a woman is having her monthly period, she is unclean, so don't have sex with her.

20 (L) Don't have sex with another man's wife—that would make you unclean.

21 (M) Don't sacrifice your children on the altar fires to the god Molech. I am the Lord your God, and that would disgrace me.

22 (N) It is disgusting for a man to have sex with another man.

23 (O) Anyone who has sex with an animal is unclean.

24 Don't make yourselves unclean by any of these disgusting practices of those nations that I am forcing out of the land for you. They made themselves 25 and the land so unclean, that I punished the land because of their sins, and I made it vomit them up. 26-27 Now don't do these sickening things that make the land filthy. Instead, obey my laws and teachings. 28 Then the land won't become sick of you and vomit you up, just as it did them. 29-30 If any of you do these vulgar, disgusting things, you will be unclean and no longer belong to my people. I am the Lord your God, and I forbid you to follow their sickening way of life.

Footnotes

  1. 16.29 seventh month: Tishri (also called Ethanim), the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-September to mid-October.
  2. 16.34 Great Day of Forgiveness: Traditionally known as the Day of Atonement.
  3. 17.5 sacrifice … to ask my blessing: See the note at 3.1.

29 “This is to be a lasting ordinance(A) for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month(B) you must deny yourselves[a](C) and not do any work(D)—whether native-born(E) or a foreigner residing among you— 30 because on this day atonement will be made(F) for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins.(G) 31 It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves;(H) it is a lasting ordinance.(I) 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained(J) to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments(K) 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the tent of meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the members of the community.(L)

34 “This is to be a lasting ordinance(M) for you: Atonement is to be made once a year(N) for all the sins of the Israelites.”

And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Eating Blood Forbidden

17 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron and his sons(O) and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox,[b] a lamb(P) or a goat(Q) in the camp or outside of it instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meeting(R) to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord(S)—that person shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; they have shed blood and must be cut off from their people.(T) This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the Lord, at the entrance to the tent of meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings.(U) The priest is to splash the blood against the altar(V) of the Lord(W) at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the fat as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.(X) They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols[c](Y) to whom they prostitute themselves.(Z) This is to be a lasting ordinance(AA) for them and for the generations to come.’(AB)

“Say to them: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice and does not bring it to the entrance to the tent(AC) of meeting(AD) to sacrifice it to the Lord(AE) must be cut off from the people of Israel.

10 “‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood,(AF) and I will cut them off from the people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood,(AG) and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.[d](AH) 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”

13 “‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth,(AI) 14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.”(AJ)

15 “‘Anyone, whether native-born or foreigner, who eats anything(AK) found dead or torn by wild animals(AL) must wash their clothes and bathe with water,(AM) and they will be ceremonially unclean till evening;(AN) then they will be clean. 16 But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be held responsible.(AO)’”

Unlawful Sexual Relations

18 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God.(AP) You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.(AQ) You must obey my laws(AR) and be careful to follow my decrees.(AS) I am the Lord your God.(AT) Keep my decrees and laws,(AU) for the person who obeys them will live by them.(AV) I am the Lord.

“‘No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord.

“‘Do not dishonor your father(AW) by having sexual relations with your mother.(AX) She is your mother; do not have relations with her.

“‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife;(AY) that would dishonor your father.(AZ)

“‘Do not have sexual relations with your sister,(BA) either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.(BB)

10 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you.

11 “‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.

12 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister;(BC) she is your father’s close relative.

13 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister,(BD) because she is your mother’s close relative.

14 “‘Do not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.(BE)

15 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law.(BF) She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.(BG)

16 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife;(BH) that would dishonor your brother.

17 “‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter.(BI) Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.

18 “‘Do not take your wife’s sister(BJ) as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.

19 “‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness(BK) of her monthly period.(BL)

20 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife(BM) and defile yourself with her.

21 “‘Do not give any of your children(BN) to be sacrificed to Molek,(BO) for you must not profane the name of your God.(BP) I am the Lord.(BQ)

22 “‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman;(BR) that is detestable.(BS)

23 “‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.(BT)

24 “‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you(BU) became defiled.(BV) 25 Even the land was defiled;(BW) so I punished it for its sin,(BX) and the land vomited out its inhabitants.(BY) 26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws.(BZ) The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, 27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. 28 And if you defile the land,(CA) it will vomit you out(CB) as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

29 “‘Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people. 30 Keep my requirements(CC) and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.(CD)’”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 16:29 Or must fast; also in verse 31
  2. Leviticus 17:3 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.
  3. Leviticus 17:7 Or the demons
  4. Leviticus 17:11 Or atonement by the life in the blood