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The Day of Atonement

16 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons, when they had come near before[b] Yahweh and they died. And Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell[c] your brother Aaron that he should not enter at any time into the sanctuary behind[d] the curtain in front of[e] the atonement cover that is on the ark, so that he might not die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

“Aaron must enter the sanctuary with this: a young bull[f] as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. He must put on a holy linen tunic,[g] and linen undergarments must be on his body, and he must fasten himself[h] with a linen sash, and he must wrap a linen turban around his head[i]—they are holy garments, and he shall wash his body with water, then[j] he shall put them on. And he must take from the Israelites[k] community two he-goats as a sin offering and one ram as a burnt offering.

“And Aaron shall present the sin offering’s bull, which is for himself, and so he shall make atonement for himself and for his family. And he shall take the two goats, and he shall present them before[l] Yahweh at the tent of assembly’s entrance. Then[m] Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for Yahweh and one for Azazel. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot for Yahweh fell, and he shall sacrifice[n] it as a sin offering. 10 But[o] he must present alive before[p] Yahweh the goat on which the lot for Azazel fell to make atonement for himself, to send it away into the desert to Azazel.

11 “And Aaron shall present the sin offering’s bull, which is for himself, and so he shall make atonement for himself and for his family; then[q] he shall slaughter the sin offering’s bull, which is for himself. 12 And he shall take a[r] censer full of burning charcoal[s] from upon the altar from before[t] Yahweh and two handfuls[u] of incense of powdered fragrant perfumes, and he shall bring it from behind[v] the curtain, 13 and he shall put the incense on the fire before[w] Yahweh so that the cloud of incense might cover the atonement cover, which is on the covenant text,[x] so that he might not die. 14 And he shall take some of[y] the bull’s blood, and he shall spatter it[z] with his finger on the atonement cover’s surface on the eastern side, and before[aa] the atonement cover he shall spatter some of[ab] the blood with his finger seven times.

15 “And he shall slaughter the sin offering’s goat, which is for the people, and he shall bring its blood from behind[ac] the curtain, and he shall do with its blood as that which he did with[ad] the bull’s blood, and he shall spatter it on the atonement cover and before[ae] the atonement cover. 16 Thus[af] he shall make atonement for the sanctuary from the Israelites[ag] impurities and from their transgressions for all their sins; and so he must do for the tent of assembly, which dwells with them in the midst of their impurities. 17 And no person[ah] shall be in the tent of assembly when he enters to make atonement in the sanctuary until he comes out, and so he shall make atonement for himself and for his family and for all of Israel’s assembly.

18 “Then[ai] he shall go out to the altar that is before[aj] Yahweh, and he shall make atonement for it; and he shall take some of[ak] the bull’s blood and some of[al] the goat’s blood, and he shall put it[am] all around on the altar’s horns. 19 And he shall spatter some of[an] the blood on it seven times with his finger, and he shall cleanse it and consecrate[ao] it from the Israelites[ap] impurities.

20 “And he shall finish making atonement for the sanctuary and the tent of assembly and the altar; then[aq] he shall present the living goat. 21 And Aaron shall place his two hands on the living goat’s head, and he shall confess over it all the Israelites[ar] iniquities and all their transgressions for all their sins, and he shall put them on the goat’s head, and he shall send it[as] away into the desert with[at] a man standing ready.[au] 22 Thus[av] the goat shall bear on it to a barren region[aw] all their guilt, and he shall send the goat away into the desert.

23 “And Aaron shall enter the tent of assembly, and he shall take off the linen garments that he put on at his coming to the sanctuary, and he shall leave them there. 24 And he shall wash his body with water in a holy place, and he shall put on his garments and go out and sacrifice[ax] his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering, and so he shall make atonement for himself and for people. 25 And he must turn into smoke the sin offering’s fat on the altar.

26 “And the person who sends out the goat for Azazel shall wash his garments, and he shall wash his body with water, and afterward[ay] he shall come to the camp. 27 And the sin offering’s bull and the sin offering’s goat, whose blood was brought to make atonement in the sanctuary, shall be brought outside the camp,[az] and they shall burn their hide and their flesh and their offal in the fire. 28 And the person who burns them shall wash his garments, and he shall wash his body with water, and afterward[ba] he must come to the camp.

29 “And this shall be a lasting statute[bb] for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you must deny yourselves and you must not do any work, whether the native or[bc] the alien who is dwelling in your midst, 30 because on this day he shall make atonement for you to cleanse you; you must be clean from all your sins before[bd] Yahweh. 31 It is a Sabbath of complete rest[be] for you, and you shall deny yourselves—it is a lasting statute.[bf] 32 And the priest who is anointed and who is ordained[bg] to serve as a priest in place of his father shall make atonement; thus[bh] he shall put on the linen garments, the holy garments, 33 and he shall make atonement for the sanctuary’s holy place, and he shall make atonement for the tent of assembly and the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all of the assembly’s people. 34 And this shall be a lasting statute[bi] for you to make atonement for the Israelites[bj] one time in a year from all their sins.”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 16:1 Or “And”
  2. Leviticus 16:1 Literally “before faces of”
  3. Leviticus 16:2 Or “Speak to”
  4. Leviticus 16:2 Literally “from the interior/inside to”
  5. Leviticus 16:2 Literally “to the faces of”
  6. Leviticus 16:3 Literally “a bull a son of cattle”
  7. Leviticus 16:4 Literally “a tunic of linen of holiness”
  8. Leviticus 16:4 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  9. Leviticus 16:4 Supplied from context in the English translation
  10. Leviticus 16:4 Or “and”
  11. Leviticus 16:5 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  12. Leviticus 16:7 Literally “to the faces of”
  13. Leviticus 16:8 Or “And”
  14. Leviticus 16:9 Literally “do” or “make”
  15. Leviticus 16:10 Or “And”
  16. Leviticus 16:10 Literally “to the faces of”
  17. Leviticus 16:11 Or “and”
  18. Leviticus 16:12 Hebrew “the”
  19. Leviticus 16:12 Literally “burning charcoal of fire”
  20. Leviticus 16:12 Literally “to the faces of”
  21. Leviticus 16:12 Literally “the fullness of the hollow of his hands”
  22. Leviticus 16:12 Literally “from the interior/inside of”
  23. Leviticus 16:13 Literally “to the faces of”
  24. Leviticus 16:13 Literally “testimony”
  25. Leviticus 16:14 Literally “from”
  26. Leviticus 16:14 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  27. Leviticus 16:14 Literally “to the faces of”
  28. Leviticus 16:14 Literally “from”
  29. Leviticus 16:15 Literally “from the interior/inside of”
  30. Leviticus 16:15 Hebrew “to”
  31. Leviticus 16:15 Literally “to the faces of”
  32. Leviticus 16:16 Or “And”
  33. Leviticus 16:16 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  34. Leviticus 16:17 Literally “any man not”
  35. Leviticus 16:18 Or “And”
  36. Leviticus 16:18 Literally “to the faces of”
  37. Leviticus 16:18 Literally “from”
  38. Leviticus 16:18 Literally “from”
  39. Leviticus 16:18 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  40. Leviticus 16:19 Literally “from”
  41. Leviticus 16:19 Literally “he shall consecrate”
  42. Leviticus 16:19 Literally “of the sons/children of Israel”
  43. Leviticus 16:20 Or “and”
  44. Leviticus 16:21 Literally “of the sons/of the children of Israel”
  45. Leviticus 16:21 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  46. Leviticus 16:21 Literally “by the hand of”
  47. Leviticus 16:21 Or “at hand”
  48. Leviticus 16:22 Or “And”
  49. Leviticus 16:22 Literally “a land of separation” or “a land of infertility”
  50. Leviticus 16:24 Literally “he shall do” or “he shall make”
  51. Leviticus 16:26 Literally “after thus”
  52. Leviticus 16:27 Literally “to from an outside place of the camp”
  53. Leviticus 16:28 Literally “after thus”
  54. Leviticus 16:29 Literally “a statute of eternity” or “a statute of long duration”
  55. Leviticus 16:29 Or “and”
  56. Leviticus 16:30 Literally “to the faces of”
  57. Leviticus 16:31 Literally “a Sabbath of ‘Sabbathation.’” “Sabbathation” is not a real word, but it is devised as an attempt to convey the sounds of the related nouns in the Hebrew phrase
  58. Leviticus 16:31 Literally “a statute of eternity” or “a statute of long duration”
  59. Leviticus 16:32 Literally “filled his hand”
  60. Leviticus 16:32 Or “and”
  61. Leviticus 16:34 Literally “a statute of eternity” or “a statute of long duration”
  62. Leviticus 16:34 Literally “sons/children of Israel”

16 And the Lord spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord, and died;

And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.

Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.

And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.

And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.

10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:

12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:

13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:

14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:

16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.

19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

20 And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:

21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

23 And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:

24 And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.

25 And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.

26 And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.

27 And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.

28 And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:

30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.

31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.

32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:

33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.

34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the Lord commanded Moses.