Consecration of the Kohanim

8 Then Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Take Aaron and his sons with him, the garments, the anointing oil, the bull of the sin offering, the two rams and the basket of matzot. ³ Then assemble all the congregation at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.”

⁴ So Moses did as Adonai commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, ⁵ Moses said to the congregation, “This is what Adonai has commanded to be done.”

⁶ Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. ⁷ He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash on him, clothed him with the robe, put the ephod on him, and tied the skillfully decorated sash of the ephod around him and fastened it on him. ⁸ He then placed the breastplate on Aaron, and inside the breastplate he put the Urim and the Thummim. ⁹ He set the turban on his head, and on front of the turban he set the golden plate, the holy crown, just as Adonai commanded Moses. ¹⁰ Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Tabernacle and all that was in it, and so consecrated them. ¹¹ He sprinkled the oil on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils, the basin with its stand, to consecrate them. ¹² He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him. ¹³ Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and clothed them with tunics, tied sashes on them, and fastened headbands on them, as Adonai had commanded Moses.

¹⁴ Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering. ¹⁵ Moses then slaughtered it, took the blood and dabbed it onto the horns of the altar with his finger, and so purified the altar. Then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it. ¹⁶ He then took all the fat that was on the innards, the cover of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and burned it up as smoke on the altar. ¹⁷ But the bull and its hide, its flesh and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp, as Adonai had commanded. ¹⁸ He then presented the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ¹⁹ Then Moses slaughtered it and splashed the blood around on the altar. ²⁰ After he cut the ram into its pieces, Moses burned the head, the pieces, and the fat. ²¹ He washed the innards and the legs with water. Then Moses burned the whole ram up in smoke on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to Adonai, as Adonai had commanded Moses.

²² Then he presented the second ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ²³ Moses slaughtered it, took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand and on the great toe of his right foot. ²⁴ Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons and put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet. Then Moses splashed the blood around on the altar. ²⁵ He took the fat, the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the innards, as well as the cover of the liver, the two kidneys with their fat and the right thigh. ²⁶ Then out of the basket of matzah that was before Adonai, he took one matzah cake, one cake of oiled bread and one wafer, and placed them on the fat and on the right thigh. ²⁷ He put all these in Aaron’s hands and in the hands of his sons, and waved them for a wave offering before Adonai. ²⁸ Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them up in smoke on the altar with the burnt offering. They were a consecration for a soothing aroma. It was an offering by fire to Adonai. ²⁹ Moses took the breast and waved it for a wave offering before Adonai. It was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, just as Adonai commanded Moses.

³⁰ Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons, and on his sons’ garments with him. So he consecrated Aaron, his garments, his sons and his sons’ garments with him.

³¹ Moses then said to Aaron and to his sons, “Boil the meat at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and eat it there, along with the bread that is in the basket of ordination, as I commanded, saying: ‘Aaron and his sons are to eat it.’ ³² What remains of the meat and of the bread you shall burn with fire.

³³ You are not to go out from the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are fulfilled, for he will be filling your hands for seven days. ³⁴ What has been done this day, Adonai has commanded to be done, in order to make atonement for you. ³⁵ You are to stay at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days, and keep Adonai’s command, so that you do not die, for so I have been commanded.” ³⁶ Thus Aaron and his sons did all the things that Adonai commanded through Moses.