Leviticus 7-9
New Living Translation
Further Instructions for the Guilt Offering
7 “These are the instructions for the guilt offering. It is most holy. 2 The animal sacrificed as a guilt offering must be slaughtered at the place where the burnt offerings are slaughtered, and its blood must be splattered against all sides of the altar. 3 The priest will then offer all its fat on the altar, including the fat of the broad tail, the fat around the internal organs, 4 the two kidneys and the fat around them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver. These are to be removed with the kidneys, 5 and the priests will burn them on the altar as a special gift presented to the Lord. This is the guilt offering. 6 Any male from a priest’s family may eat the meat. It must be eaten in a sacred place, for it is most holy.
7 “The same instructions apply to both the guilt offering and the sin offering. Both belong to the priest who uses them to purify someone, making that person right with the Lord.[a] 8 In the case of the burnt offering, the priest may keep the hide of the sacrificed animal. 9 Any grain offering that has been baked in an oven, prepared in a pan, or cooked on a griddle belongs to the priest who presents it. 10 All other grain offerings, whether made of dry flour or flour moistened with olive oil, are to be shared equally among all the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
Further Instructions for the Peace Offering
11 “These are the instructions regarding the different kinds of peace offerings that may be presented to the Lord. 12 If you present your peace offering as an expression of thanksgiving, the usual animal sacrifice must be accompanied by various kinds of bread made without yeast—thin cakes mixed with olive oil, wafers spread with oil, and cakes made of choice flour mixed with olive oil. 13 This peace offering of thanksgiving must also be accompanied by loaves of bread made with yeast. 14 One of each kind of bread must be presented as a gift to the Lord. It will then belong to the priest who splatters the blood of the peace offering against the altar. 15 The meat of the peace offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the same day it is offered. None of it may be saved for the next morning.
16 “If you bring an offering to fulfill a vow or as a voluntary offering, the meat must be eaten on the same day the sacrifice is offered, but whatever is left over may be eaten on the second day. 17 Any meat left over until the third day must be completely burned up. 18 If any of the meat from the peace offering is eaten on the third day, the person who presented it will not be accepted by the Lord. You will receive no credit for offering it. By then the meat will be contaminated; if you eat it, you will be punished for your sin.
19 “Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean may not be eaten; it must be completely burned up. The rest of the meat may be eaten, but only by people who are ceremonially clean. 20 If you are ceremonially unclean and you eat meat from a peace offering that was presented to the Lord, you will be cut off from the community. 21 If you touch anything that is unclean (whether it is human defilement or an unclean animal or any other unclean, detestable thing) and then eat meat from a peace offering presented to the Lord, you will be cut off from the community.”
The Forbidden Blood and Fat
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. You must never eat fat, whether from cattle, sheep, or goats. 24 The fat of an animal found dead or torn to pieces by wild animals must never be eaten, though it may be used for any other purpose. 25 Anyone who eats fat from an animal presented as a special gift to the Lord will be cut off from the community. 26 No matter where you live, you must never consume the blood of any bird or animal. 27 Anyone who consumes blood will be cut off from the community.”
A Portion for the Priests
28 Then the Lord said to Moses, 29 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you present a peace offering to the Lord, bring part of it as a gift to the Lord. 30 Present it to the Lord with your own hands as a special gift to the Lord. Bring the fat of the animal, together with the breast, and lift up the breast as a special offering to the Lord. 31 Then the priest will burn the fat on the altar, but the breast will belong to Aaron and his descendants. 32 Give the right thigh of your peace offering to the priest as a gift. 33 The right thigh must always be given to the priest who offers the blood and the fat of the peace offering. 34 For I have reserved the breast of the special offering and the right thigh of the sacred offering for the priests. It is the permanent right of Aaron and his descendants to share in the peace offerings brought by the people of Israel. 35 This is their rightful share. The special gifts presented to the Lord have been reserved for Aaron and his descendants from the time they were set apart to serve the Lord as priests. 36 On the day they were anointed, the Lord commanded the Israelites to give these portions to the priests as their permanent share from generation to generation.”
37 These are the instructions for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, as well as the ordination offering and the peace offering. 38 The Lord gave these instructions to Moses on Mount Sinai when he commanded the Israelites to present their offerings to the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai.
Ordination of the Priests
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Bring Aaron and his sons, along with their sacred garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of bread made without yeast, 3 and call the entire community of Israel together at the entrance of the Tabernacle.[b]”
4 So Moses followed the Lord’s instructions, and the whole community assembled at the Tabernacle entrance. 5 Moses announced to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded us to do!” 6 Then he presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. 7 He put the official tunic on Aaron and tied the sash around his waist. He dressed him in the robe, placed the ephod on him, and attached the ephod securely with its decorative sash. 8 Then Moses placed the chestpiece on Aaron and put the Urim and the Thummim inside it. 9 He placed the turban on Aaron’s head and attached the gold medallion—the badge of holiness—to the front of the turban, just as the Lord had commanded him.
10 Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Tabernacle and everything in it, making them holy. 11 He sprinkled the oil on the altar seven times, anointing it and all its utensils, as well as the washbasin and its stand, making them holy. 12 Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head, anointing him and making him holy for his work. 13 Next Moses presented Aaron’s sons. He clothed them in their tunics, tied their sashes around them, and put their special head coverings on them, just as the Lord had commanded him.
14 Then Moses presented the bull for the sin offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the bull’s head, 15 and Moses slaughtered it. Moses took some of the blood, and with his finger he put it on the four horns of the altar to purify it. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. Through this process, he made the altar holy by purifying it.[c] 16 Then Moses took all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat around them, and he burned it all on the altar. 17 He took the rest of the bull, including its hide, meat, and dung, and burned it on a fire outside the camp, just as the Lord had commanded him.
18 Then Moses presented the ram for the burnt offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram’s head, 19 and Moses slaughtered it. Then Moses took the ram’s blood and splattered it against all sides of the altar. 20 Then he cut the ram into pieces, and he burned the head, some of its pieces, and the fat on the altar. 21 After washing the internal organs and the legs with water, Moses burned the entire ram on the altar as a burnt offering. It was a pleasing aroma, a special gift presented to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded him.
22 Then Moses presented the other ram, which was the ram of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram’s head, 23 and Moses slaughtered it. Then Moses took some of its blood and applied it to the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot. 24 Next Moses presented Aaron’s sons and applied some of the blood to the lobes of their right ears, the thumbs of their right hands, and the big toes of their right feet. He then splattered the rest of the blood against all sides of the altar.
25 Next Moses took the fat, including the fat of the broad tail, the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat around them, along with the right thigh. 26 On top of these he placed a thin cake of bread made without yeast, a cake of bread mixed with olive oil, and a wafer spread with olive oil. All these were taken from the basket of bread made without yeast that was placed in the Lord’s presence. 27 He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and he lifted these gifts as a special offering to the Lord. 28 Moses then took all the offerings back from them and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering. This was the ordination offering. It was a pleasing aroma, a special gift presented to the Lord. 29 Then Moses took the breast and lifted it up as a special offering to the Lord. This was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, just as the Lord had commanded him.
30 Next Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, and he sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. In this way, he made Aaron and his sons and their garments holy.
31 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the remaining meat of the offerings at the Tabernacle entrance, and eat it there, along with the bread that is in the basket of offerings for the ordination, just as I commanded when I said, ‘Aaron and his sons will eat it.’ 32 Any meat or bread that is left over must then be burned up. 33 You must not leave the Tabernacle entrance for seven days, for that is when the ordination ceremony will be completed. 34 Everything we have done today was commanded by the Lord in order to purify you, making you right with him.[d] 35 Now stay at the entrance of the Tabernacle day and night for seven days, and do everything the Lord requires. If you fail to do this, you will die, for this is what the Lord has commanded.” 36 So Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord had commanded through Moses.
The Priests Begin Their Work
9 After the ordination ceremony, on the eighth day, Moses called together Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. 2 He said to Aaron, “Take a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without defects, and present them to the Lord. 3 Then tell the Israelites, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and take a calf and a lamb, both a year old and without defects, for a burnt offering. 4 Also take a bull[e] and a ram for a peace offering and flour moistened with olive oil for a grain offering. Present all these offerings to the Lord because the Lord will appear to you today.’”
5 So the people presented all these things at the entrance of the Tabernacle,[f] just as Moses had commanded. Then the whole community came forward and stood before the Lord. 6 And Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.”
7 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering to purify yourself and the people. Then present the offerings of the people to purify them, making them right with the Lord,[g] just as he has commanded.”
8 So Aaron went to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself. 9 His sons brought him the blood, and he dipped his finger in it and put it on the horns of the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 10 Then he burned on the altar the fat, the kidneys, and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 11 The meat and the hide, however, he burned outside the camp.
12 Next Aaron slaughtered the animal for the burnt offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he splattered it against all sides of the altar. 13 Then they handed him each piece of the burnt offering, including the head, and he burned them on the altar. 14 Then he washed the internal organs and the legs and burned them on the altar along with the rest of the burnt offering.
15 Next Aaron presented the offerings of the people. He slaughtered the people’s goat and presented it as an offering for their sin, just as he had first done with the offering for his own sin. 16 Then he presented the burnt offering and sacrificed it in the prescribed way. 17 He also presented the grain offering, burning a handful of the flour mixture on the altar, in addition to the regular burnt offering for the morning.
18 Then Aaron slaughtered the bull and the ram for the people’s peace offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he splattered it against all sides of the altar. 19 Then he took the fat of the bull and the ram—the fat of the broad tail and from around the internal organs—along with the kidneys and the long lobes of the livers. 20 He placed these fat portions on top of the breasts of these animals and burned them on the altar. 21 Aaron then lifted up the breasts and right thighs as a special offering to the Lord, just as Moses had commanded.
22 After that, Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them. Then, after presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering, he stepped down from the altar. 23 Then Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle, and when they came back out, they blessed the people again, and the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community. 24 Fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground.
Footnotes
- 7:7 Or to make atonement.
- 8:3 Hebrew Tent of Meeting; also in 8:4, 31, 33, 35.
- 8:15 Or by making atonement for it; or that offerings for purification might be made on it.
- 8:34 Or to make atonement for you.
- 9:4 Or cow; also in 9:18, 19.
- 9:5 Hebrew Tent of Meeting; also in 9:23.
- 9:7 Or to make atonement for them.
Leviticus 7-9
GOD’S WORD Translation
Instructions for the Guilt Offering
7 ⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “These are the instructions for the guilt offering. It is very holy. 2 It must be slaughtered in the same place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. ⌞A priest⌟ will throw the blood against the altar on all sides. 3 He will offer all the fat, the fat from the tail, the fat covering the internal organs, 4 and the two kidneys with the fat on them. He will also remove the lobe of the liver along with the kidneys. 5 The priest will burn them on the altar. It is a guilt offering by fire to the Lord. 6 Any male among the priests may eat it. It will be eaten in a holy place. It is very holy.
7 “The same instructions apply to the offering for sin and the guilt offering. Both offerings belong to the priest to make peace with the Lord. 8 The skin of the burnt offering belongs to the priest who sacrifices it. 9 Every grain offering, whether baked in an oven or prepared in a skillet or a frying pan, belongs to the priest who offers it. 10 Every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, will be shared equally by all of Aaron’s sons.
Instructions for the Fellowship Offering of Thanksgiving
11 “These are the instructions for the fellowship offering that you must bring to the Lord. 12 If you offer it as a thank offering, you must also bring rings of unleavened bread mixed with olive oil, wafers of unleavened bread brushed with olive oil, and loaves made from flour mixed well with olive oil. 13 In addition to these rings of bread, you must bring bread with yeast along with your fellowship offering of thanksgiving. 14 From every offering you must bring one loaf to the Lord as a ⌞special⌟ contribution. It will belong to the priest who throws the blood of the fellowship offering.
15 “The meat from your fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered. Never leave any of it until morning.
Instructions for Other Fellowship Offerings
16 “If your sacrificial offering is something you vowed or a freewill offering, it must be eaten the day you offer it or the next day. 17 However, on the third day any meat left over from the sacrifice must be burned. 18 You will not be accepted if any meat from the fellowship offering is eaten on the third day. You will not receive credit for it. It is repulsive to God. The person who eats any of it must be punished.
19 “Meat that touches anything unclean must not be eaten. It must be burned. Anyone who is clean may eat from these sacrifices. 20 Those who eat meat from the Lord’s fellowship offering while unclean must be excluded from the people. 21 Those who touch anything unclean, human or animal, or any other disgusting uncleanness and still eat the Lord’s fellowship offering must be excluded from the people.”
No Fat or Blood May Be Eaten
22 The Lord spoke to Moses, 23 “Tell the Israelites: Never eat any fat from bulls, sheep, or goats. 24 The fat from an animal that dies naturally or is killed by wild animals you may use for any other purpose, but you must never eat it. 25 Those who eat the fat from an animal which they sacrificed by fire to the Lord must be excluded from the people.
26 “Never eat the blood of any bird or animal no matter where you live. 27 Those who eat any blood must be excluded from the people.”
Dividing the Fellowship Offering between the People and the Priests
28 The Lord spoke to Moses, 29 “Tell the Israelites: Anyone who offers the Lord a fellowship offering must bring a part of that sacrifice as a gift to the Lord. 30 Bring the sacrifices by fire made to the Lord yourself. Bring the fat with the breast. Take the breast and present it to the Lord.
31 “The priest will burn the fat on the altar. However, the breast will belong to Aaron and his sons. 32 You will also give the priest the right thigh as a contribution. 33 When any of Aaron’s sons offer the blood and fat of the fellowship offering, the right thigh will belong to him as his share. 34 From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that was presented ⌞to me⌟ and the thigh from the contribution offering. I have given them to the priest Aaron and his sons. This is a permanent law for generations to come.
35 “This is the share for Aaron and his sons from the sacrifices by fire made to the Lord. It was given to them on the day Moses ordained them to serve the Lord as priests. 36 The Lord commanded the Israelites to give it to them on the day he anointed them. This is a permanent law for generations to come.”
Summary of Offerings
37 These are the instructions for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the offering for sin, the guilt offering, the ordination offering, and the fellowship offering. 38 On Mount Sinai the Lord gave Moses commands about these offerings at the same time that he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to him in the Sinai Desert.
Aaron and His Sons Made Priests(A)
8 The Lord spoke to Moses, 2 “Take Aaron and his sons, the priests’ clothes, the anointing oil, the bull that will be the offering for sin, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread. 3 Gather the whole congregation at the entrance to the tent of meeting.”
4 Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the congregation gathered at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 5 Moses told the congregation, “The Lord has commanded that this is what you must do.”
6 Moses had Aaron and his sons come forward, and he washed them. 7 He put the linen robe on Aaron and fastened the belt around him. He also dressed him in the robe that is worn with the ephod.[a] He fastened the ephod to it. 8 Then he put the breastplate on him, and into it he placed the Urim and Thummim.[b] 9 He put the turban on him and fastened the gold medallion (the holy crown) to the front of the turban as the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 Moses took the anointing oil to anoint the tent and everything in it and dedicate them. 11 He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times and anointed the altar, all the utensils, and the basin with its stand to dedicate them.
12 He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to set him apart for his holy duties.
13 Moses had Aaron’s sons come forward. He put linen robes on them, fastened their belts around them, and put turbans on them as the Lord had commanded Moses.
14 He brought the bull that was the offering for sin. Aaron and his sons placed their hands on its head. 15 When it was slaughtered, Moses took the blood and put it on the horns of the altar all around with his finger and cleansed the altar from sins. He poured the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar and declared it holy so that priests could use it to make peace with the Lord. 16 Moses took all the fat that was on the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and he burned them on the altar. 17 He burned the rest of the bull, its skin, meat, and excrement outside the camp, as the Lord commanded him.
18 He brought forward the ram for the burnt offering. Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the ram’s head. 19 Moses slaughtered it and threw the blood against the altar on all sides. 20 When the ram was cut into pieces, Moses burned the head with the other pieces and the fat. 21 He washed the internal organs and the legs. Then Moses burned the whole ram on the altar as the Lord commanded him. It was a burnt offering, a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.
22 He brought forward the second ram for the ordination offering. Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the ram’s head. 23 Moses slaughtered it, took some of the blood, and put it on Aaron’s right ear lobe, on his right thumb, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 Moses also brought Aaron’s sons forward. He put some of the blood on their right ear lobes, on their right thumbs, and on the big toes of their right feet. Moses threw the rest of the blood against all the sides of the altar. 25 He took the fat, the fat from the tail, all the fat on the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with their fat, and the right thigh. 26 He took a loaf of unleavened bread, a ring of bread made with olive oil, and a wafer from the basket of unleavened bread which was in the Lord’s presence. He put them on the fat and the right thigh. 27 Then he placed all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Moses presented all these things to the Lord as an offering. 28 Then he took them from their hands and burned them on top of the burnt offering on the altar. These were ordination offerings, offerings by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord. 29 Moses also took the breast from the ram of the ordination offering and presented it to the Lord. It was Moses’ share, as the Lord had commanded.
30 Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, sprinkled it on Aaron and his clothes and on his sons and their clothes. In this way he dedicated Aaron, his clothes, his sons, and their clothes.
31 Moses told Aaron and his sons: “Cook the meat at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Take the meat and the bread in the basket of the ordination offering. Eat them there as I commanded when I said, ‘Aaron and his sons will eat it.’ 32 You must burn any meat or bread that is left over. 33 You will not leave the entrance to the tent of meeting for seven days, not until the last day of your ordination is over. It will take seven days to ordain you. 34 I did today what the Lord commanded me to make peace with the Lord for you. 35 You will stay at the entrance to the tent of meeting day and night for seven days and serve as the Lord tells you. Then you will not die. This is what I was commanded.”
36 So Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord commanded through Moses.
Aaron’s First Sacrifices
9 On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the leaders of Israel. 2 He told Aaron, “Take a calf that has no defects for yourself as an offering for sin and a ram that has no defects as a burnt offering. Sacrifice them in the Lord’s presence. 3 Also tell the Israelites: ‘Take a male goat as an offering for sin, a calf and a lamb (each one year old and without defects) as a burnt offering, 4 a bull and a ram as a fellowship offering, and a grain offering mixed with olive oil to sacrifice in the Lord’s presence. The Lord will appear to you today.’ ”
5 So they took the things Moses commanded and brought them in front of the tent of meeting. The whole congregation came and stood in the Lord’s presence.
6 Moses said, “The Lord has commanded you to offer these sacrifices so that you may see the Lord’s glory.”
7 Moses told Aaron, “Come to the altar and sacrifice an offering for sin and a burnt offering to make peace with the Lord for your sins and the sins of the people. Also make an offering for the people, to make peace with the Lord for them as the Lord commanded.”
8 Aaron came to the altar and slaughtered the calf as his own offering for sin. 9 Aaron’s sons brought him the blood. He dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar. Then he poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar. 10 On the altar he burned the fat, kidneys, and lobe of the liver from the offering for sin as the Lord had commanded Moses. 11 He burned the meat and the skin outside the camp.
12 He slaughtered the animal for the burnt offering. Aaron’s sons gave him the blood, and he threw it against the altar on all sides. 13 They also gave him the burnt offering, which was cut in pieces and included the head. He burned it on the altar. 14 He washed the internal organs and the legs and laid them on top of the burnt offering on the altar.
15 He brought the people’s offerings. He took the male goat for the people’s offering for sin and slaughtered it. He sacrificed it to take away sins as he had done before. 16 Following the proper procedures, he brought forward the burnt offering and sacrificed it. 17 He also brought the grain offering. He took a handful of grain and burned it on the altar in addition to the morning burnt offering. 18 He slaughtered the bull and the ram for the people’s fellowship offering. Aaron’s sons gave him the blood, which he threw against the altar on all sides. 19 However, the fat from the bull and the ram (the fat from the tail, the layer of fat, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver) 20 they placed on the breasts. Aaron burned them all on the altar. 21 However, he first took the breasts and the right thighs and presented them to the Lord as Moses commanded.
22 Then Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them. He sacrificed the offering for sin, the burnt offering, and the fellowship offering. Then he came down ⌞from the altar⌟. 23 Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people. Then the Lord’s glory appeared to all the people. 24 Fire came out from the Lord’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar. When all the people saw this, they shouted and bowed with their faces touching the ground.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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