Leviticus 9:1-13:17

English Standard Version

The Lord Accepts Aaron's Offering

9 ^(A)On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel, ² and he said to Aaron, ^(B)“Take for yourself a bull calf for a sin offering and ^(C)a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and offer them before the Lord. ³ And say to the people of Israel, ^(D)‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both a year old without blemish, for a burnt offering, ⁴ and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord, and ^(E)a grain offering mixed with oil, for ^(F)today the Lord will appear to you.’” ⁵ And they brought what Moses commanded in front of the tent of meeting, and all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord. ⁶ And Moses said, “This is the thing that the Lord commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” ⁷ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Draw near to the altar and ^(G)offer your sin offering and your burnt offering and ^(H)make atonement for yourself and for the people, and bring the offering of the people and make atonement for them, as the Lord has commanded.”

⁸ So Aaron drew near to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. ^9 (I)And the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and ^(J)put it on the horns of the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar. ^10 (K)But the fat and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering he burned on the altar, ^(L)as the Lord commanded Moses. ^11 (M)The flesh and the skin he burned up with fire outside the camp.

¹² Then he killed the burnt offering, and Aaron's sons handed him the blood, and he ^(N)threw it against the sides of the altar. ^13 (O)And they handed the burnt offering to him, piece by piece, and the head, and he burned them on the altar. ^14 (P)And he washed the entrails and the legs and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar.

^15 (Q)Then he presented the people's offering and took the goat of the sin offering that was for the people and killed it and ^(R)offered it as a sin offering, ^(S)like the first one. ¹⁶ And he presented the burnt offering and offered it ^(T)according to the ^(U)rule. ¹⁷ And he presented the ^(V)grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, ^(W)besides the burnt offering of the morning.

¹⁸ Then he killed the ox and the ram, ^(X)the sacrifice of peace offerings for the people. And Aaron's sons handed him the blood, and he threw it against the sides of the altar. ¹⁹ But the fat pieces of the ox and of the ram, the fat tail and that which covers ^(Y)the entrails and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver— ²⁰ they put the fat pieces on the breasts, ^(Z)and he burned the fat pieces on the altar, ²¹ but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved ^(AA)for a wave offering before the Lord, as Moses commanded.

²² Then Aaron ^(AB)lifted up his hands toward the people and ^(AC)blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. ²³ And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and ^(AD)the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. ²⁴ And ^(AE)fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, ^(AF)they shouted and ^(AG)fell on their faces.

The Death of Nadab and Abihu

10 Now ^(AH)Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, ^(AI)each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered ^(AJ)unauthorized^[a] fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. ² And fire ^(AK)came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. ³ Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among ^(AL)those who are near me ^(AM)I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” ^(AN)And Aaron held his peace.

⁴ And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of ^(AO)Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” ⁵ So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. ⁶ And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, ^(AP)“Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and ^(AQ)wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled. ^7 (AR)And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, ^(AS)for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.

⁸ And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, ^9 (AT)“Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. ¹⁰ You are to ^(AU)distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, ¹¹ and ^(AV)you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”

¹² Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his surviving sons: “Take the ^(AW)grain offering that is left of the Lord's food offerings, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for ^(AX)it is most holy. ¹³ You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons' due, from the Lord's food offerings, for ^(AY)so I am commanded. ¹⁴ But the ^(AZ)breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as your due and your sons' due from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the people of Israel. ^15 (BA)The thigh that is contributed and the breast that is waved they shall bring with the food offerings of the fat pieces to wave for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be yours and your sons' with you as a due forever, as the Lord has commanded.”

¹⁶ Now Moses diligently inquired about ^(BB)the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it was burned up! And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the surviving sons of Aaron, saying, ^17 (BC)“Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since ^(BD)it is a thing most holy and has been given to you that you may bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? ¹⁸ Behold, ^(BE)its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly ought to have eaten it in the sanctuary, ^(BF)as I commanded.” ¹⁹ And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, ^(BG)today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, ^(BH)would the Lord have approved?” ²⁰ And when Moses heard that, he approved.

Clean and Unclean Animals

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, ² “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, ^(BI)These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. ³ Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. ⁴ Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. ⁵ And the ^(BJ)rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. ⁶ And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. ⁷ And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, ^(BK)is unclean to you. ⁸ You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.

⁹ “These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. ¹⁰ But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is ^(BL)detestable to you. ¹¹ You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. ¹² Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

¹³ “And these you shall detest among the birds;^[b] they shall not be eaten; they are ^(BM)detestable: ^(BN)the eagle,^[c] the bearded vulture, the black vulture, ¹⁴ the kite, ^(BO)the falcon of any kind, ¹⁵ every raven of any kind, ¹⁶ the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the ^(BP)hawk of any kind, ¹⁷ the ^(BQ)little owl, the cormorant, the ^(BR)short-eared owl, ¹⁸ the barn owl, the ^(BS)tawny owl, the carrion vulture, ¹⁹ the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and ^(BT)the bat.

²⁰ “All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you. ²¹ Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to hop on the ground. ²² Of them you may eat: ^(BU)the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind. ²³ But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.

²⁴ “And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, ²⁵ and whoever carries any part of their carcass ^(BV)shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. ²⁶ Every animal that parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. ²⁷ And all that walk on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours, are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, ²⁸ and he who carries their carcass ^(BW)shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.

²⁹ “And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground: the mole rat, ^(BX)the mouse, the great lizard of any kind, ³⁰ the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. ³¹ These are unclean to you among all that swarm. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. ³² And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any article that is used for any purpose. ^(BY)It must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean. ³³ And if any of them falls into any earthenware vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you ^(BZ)shall break it. ³⁴ Any food in it that could be eaten, on which water comes, shall be unclean. And all drink that could be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean. ³⁵ And everything on which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean. Whether oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean and shall remain unclean for you. ³⁶ Nevertheless, a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, but whoever touches a carcass in them shall be unclean. ³⁷ And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed grain that is to be sown, it is clean, ³⁸ but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.

³⁹ “And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening, ⁴⁰ and ^(CA)whoever eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.

^41 (CB)“Every swarming thing that swarms on the ground is detestable; it shall not be eaten. ⁴² Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, any swarming thing that swarms on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are detestable. ^43 (CC)You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them. ⁴⁴ For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and ^(CD)be holy, for I am holy. ^(CE)You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. ^45 (CF)For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. ^(CG)You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”

⁴⁶ This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground, ^47 (CH)to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.

Purification After Childbirth

12 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then ^(CI)she shall be unclean seven days. ^(CJ)As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. ³ And on the ^(CK)eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. ⁴ Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed. ⁵ But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days.

^6 (CL)“And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, ⁷ and he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her. Then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. ⁸ And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take ^(CM)two turtledoves or two pigeons,^{[d] (CN)}one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. ^(CO)And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.”

Laws About Leprosy

13 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “When a person has on the skin of his body a ^(CP)swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous^[e] disease on the skin of his body, ^(CQ)then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests, ³ and the priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean. ⁴ But if the spot is white in the skin of his body and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, ^(CR)the priest shall shut up the diseased person for seven days. ⁵ And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the ^(CS)priest shall shut him up for another seven days. ⁶ And the priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the diseased area has faded and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only an eruption. And ^(CT)he shall wash his clothes and be clean. ⁷ But if the eruption spreads in the skin, after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest. ⁸ And the priest shall look, and if the eruption has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a leprous disease.

⁹ “When a man is afflicted with a leprous disease, he shall be brought to the priest, ¹⁰ and the priest shall look. And if there is a ^(CU)white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling, ¹¹ it is a chronic leprous disease in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. ^(CV)He shall not shut him up, for he is unclean. ¹² And if the leprous disease breaks out in the skin, so that the leprous disease covers all the skin of the diseased person from head to foot, so far as the priest can see, ¹³ then the priest shall look, and if the leprous disease has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; it has all turned white, and he is clean. ¹⁴ But when raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. ¹⁵ And the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean, for it is a leprous disease. ¹⁶ But if the raw flesh recovers and turns white again, then he shall come to the priest, ¹⁷ and the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce the diseased person clean; he is clean.