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Leviticus 16
New American Standard Bible

Law of Atonement

16 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after (A)the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died. 2 The Lord said to Moses:

“Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter (B)at [a]any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the [b]atoning cover which is on the ark, or he will die; for (C)I will appear in the cloud over the [c]atoning cover. 3 Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with this: with a [d]bull as a [e](D)sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the (E)holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his [f]body, and he shall be wrapped about the waist with the linen sash and the linen turban wound around his forehead (these are holy garments). He shall (F)bathe his [g]body in water and put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel (G)two male goats as a [h]sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. 6 Then (H)Aaron shall offer the bull as the [i]sin offering, which is for himself, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household. 7 He shall then take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 8 Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for [j]the [k]scapegoat. 9 Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a [l]sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot for [m]the [n]scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make (I)atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness [o]as the [p]scapegoat.

11 “Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the [q]sin offering (J)which is for himself and make atonement for himself and (K)for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the [r]sin offering which is for himself. 12 He shall take a (L)firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the Lord and [s]two handfuls of finely ground (M)sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. 13 He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud of incense may cover the (N)atoning cover that is on the ark of the testimony, (O)otherwise he will die. 14 Moreover, (P)he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it (Q)with his finger on the atoning cover on the east side; also in front of the atoning cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

15 “Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, (R)which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the atoning cover and in front of the atoning cover. 16 (S)He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall do so for the tent of meeting which remains with them in the midst of their impurities. 17 When he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it; he shall take some of the blood from the bull and some of the blood from the goat, and (T)put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. 19 (U)With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and consecrate it from the impurities of the sons of Israel.

20 “When he finishes atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. 21 Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and (V)confess over it all the wrongdoings of the sons of Israel and all their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall place them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands ready. 22 Then the goat shall carry on itself all their wrongdoings to an [t]isolated territory; he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off (W)the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. 24 And (X)he shall bathe his [u]body with water in a holy place and put on (Y)his clothes, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar. 26 The one who released the goat [v]as the [w]scapegoat (Z)shall wash his clothes and bathe his [x]body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp. 27 But the bull of the [y]sin offering and the goat of the [z]sin offering, (AA)whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire. 28 Then the (AB)one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; and afterward he shall come into the camp.

An Annual Atonement

29 “This shall be a permanent statute for you: (AC)in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble [aa]yourselves and not (AD)do any work, whether the native, or the stranger who resides among you; 30 for it is on this day that [ab]atonement shall be made for you to (AE)cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 31 It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, so that you may (AF)humble [ac]yourselves; it is a permanent statute. 32 So the priest who is anointed and [ad]ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall put on (AG)the linen garments, the holy garments, 33 and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for (AH)the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 Now you shall have this as a (AI)permanent statute, to (AJ)make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 16:2 I.e., of his own choosing
  2. Leviticus 16:2 Also called mercy seat, and so throughout the ch; i.e., where blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement
  3. Leviticus 16:2 Also called mercy seat, and so throughout the ch; i.e., where blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement
  4. Leviticus 16:3 Or bull of the herd
  5. Leviticus 16:3 Or purification offering
  6. Leviticus 16:4 Lit flesh
  7. Leviticus 16:4 Lit flesh
  8. Leviticus 16:5 Or purification offering
  9. Leviticus 16:6 Or purification offering
  10. Leviticus 16:8 Or possibly, Azazel (a name)
  11. Leviticus 16:8 I.e., the goat that leaves (escapes); or goat of removal of sins
  12. Leviticus 16:9 Or purification offering
  13. Leviticus 16:10 Or possibly, Azazel (a name)
  14. Leviticus 16:10 I.e., the goat that leaves (escapes); or goat of removal of sins
  15. Leviticus 16:10 Or possibly, for Azazel
  16. Leviticus 16:10 I.e., the goat that leaves (escapes); or goat of removal of sins
  17. Leviticus 16:11 Or purification offering
  18. Leviticus 16:11 Or purification offering
  19. Leviticus 16:12 Lit the filling of the hollow of his hands
  20. Leviticus 16:22 Or infertile
  21. Leviticus 16:24 Lit flesh
  22. Leviticus 16:26 Or possibly, for Azazel (a name)
  23. Leviticus 16:26 I.e., the goat that leaves (escapes); or goat of removal of sins
  24. Leviticus 16:26 Lit flesh
  25. Leviticus 16:27 Or purification offering
  26. Leviticus 16:27 Or purification offering
  27. Leviticus 16:29 Lit your souls
  28. Leviticus 16:30 Lit he shall make atonement
  29. Leviticus 16:31 Lit your souls
  30. Leviticus 16:32 Lit whose hand is filled
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Leviticus 16
Lexham English Bible

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. 2 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.

3 “Aaron must enter the sanctuary with this: a young bull[f] as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. 4 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. 5 And he must take from the Israelites’[k] community two he-goats as a sin offering and one ram as a burnt offering.

6 “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. 7 And he shall take the two goats, and he shall present them before[l] Yahweh at the tent of assembly’s entrance. 8 Then[m] Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for Yahweh and one for Azazel. 9 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”
Listen to Leviticus 16
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Leviticus 16
New International Version

The Day of Atonement(A)

16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord.(B) 2 The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses(C) into the Most Holy Place(D) behind the curtain(E) in front of the atonement cover(F) on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear(G) in the cloud(H) over the atonement cover.

3 “This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place:(I) He must first bring a young bull(J) for a sin offering[a] and a ram for a burnt offering.(K) 4 He is to put on the sacred linen tunic,(L) with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban.(M) These are sacred garments;(N) so he must bathe himself with water(O) before he puts them on.(P) 5 From the Israelite community(Q) he is to take two male goats(R) for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

6 “Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household.(S) 7 Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 He is to cast lots(T) for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.[b](U) 9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement(V) by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.

11 “Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household,(W) and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He is to take a censer full of burning coals(X) from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense(Y) and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover(Z) above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die.(AA) 14 He is to take some of the bull’s blood(AB) and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.(AC)

15 “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people(AD) and take its blood behind the curtain(AE) and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He shall sprinkle(AF) it on the atonement cover and in front of it. 16 In this way he will make atonement(AG) for the Most Holy Place(AH) because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the tent of meeting,(AI) which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.

18 “Then he shall come out to the altar(AJ) that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar.(AK) 19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.(AL)

20 “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat.(AM) 21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat(AN) and confess(AO) over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins(AP) to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

23 “Then Aaron is to go into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments(AQ) he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there.(AR) 24 He shall bathe himself with water in the sanctuary area(AS) and put on his regular garments.(AT) Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people,(AU) to make atonement for himself and for the people.(AV) 25 He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

26 “The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat(AW) must wash his clothes(AX) and bathe himself with water;(AY) afterward he may come into the camp. 27 The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp;(AZ) their hides, flesh and intestines are to be burned up. 28 The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.(BA)

29 “This is to be a lasting ordinance(BB) for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month(BC) you must deny yourselves[c](BD) and not do any work(BE)—whether native-born(BF) or a foreigner residing among you— 30 because on this day atonement will be made(BG) for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins.(BH) 31 It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves;(BI) it is a lasting ordinance.(BJ) 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained(BK) to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments(BL) 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.(BM)

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

And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 16:3 Or purification offering; here and throughout this chapter
  2. Leviticus 16:8 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verses 10 and 26.
  3. Leviticus 16:29 Or must fast; also in verse 31
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Leviticus 15
Leviticus 17
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