Exodus 29
Christian Standard Bible
Instructions about Consecration
29 “This is what you are to do for them to consecrate them to serve me as priests. Take a young bull and two unblemished rams, 2 with unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil. Make them out of fine wheat flour,(A) 3 put them in a basket, and bring them in the basket, along with the bull and two rams. 4 Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water.(B) 5 Then take the garments and clothe Aaron with the tunic, the robe for the ephod, the ephod itself, and the breastpiece; fasten the ephod on him with its woven waistband.(C) 6 Put the turban on his head and place the holy diadem(D) on the turban. 7 Take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint(E) him. 8 You must also bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. 9 Tie the sashes on Aaron and his sons and fasten headbands on them. The priesthood is to be theirs by a permanent statute. This is the way you will ordain Aaron and[a] his sons.(F)
10 “You are to bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the bull’s head.(G) 11 Slaughter the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 12 Take some of the bull’s blood and apply it to the horns(H) of the altar with your finger; then pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 13 Take all the fat(I) that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But burn the bull’s flesh, its hide, and its waste outside the camp;(J) it is a sin offering.
15 “Take one ram, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on the ram’s head.(K) 16 You are to slaughter the ram, take its blood, and splatter it on all sides of the altar. 17 Cut the ram into pieces. Wash its entrails and legs, and place them with its head and its pieces on the altar. 18 Then burn the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma,(L) a food offering to the Lord.
19 “You are to take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the ram’s head.(M) 20 Slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on Aaron’s right earlobe, on his sons’ right earlobes, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Splatter the remaining blood on all sides of the altar. 21 Take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil,(N) and sprinkle them on Aaron and his garments, as well as on his sons and their garments. So he and his garments will be holy, as well as his sons and their garments.
22 “Take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat covering the entrails, the fatty lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, and the right thigh (since this is a ram for ordination[b]); 23 take one loaf of bread, one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord; 24 and put all of them in the hands of Aaron and his[c] sons and present them as a presentation offering before the Lord.(O) 25 Take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a pleasing aroma before the Lord; it is a food offering to the Lord.
26 “Take the breast from the ram of Aaron’s ordination and present it as a presentation offering before the Lord; it is to be your portion.(P) 27 Consecrate for Aaron and his sons(Q) the breast of the presentation offering that is presented and the thigh of the contribution that is lifted up from the ram of ordination. 28 This will belong to Aaron and his sons as a regular portion from the Israelites, for it is a contribution. It will be the Israelites’ contribution from their fellowship sacrifices, their contribution to the Lord.
29 “The holy garments that belong to Aaron are to belong to his sons after him, so that they can be anointed and ordained[d] in them.(R) 30 Any priest who is one of his sons and who succeeds him and enters the tent of meeting to minister in the sanctuary must wear them for seven days.(S)
31 “You are to take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place. 32 Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket at the entrance to the tent of meeting.(T) 33 They must eat those things by which atonement was made at the time of their ordination[e] and consecration. An unauthorized person must not eat(U) them, for these things are holy. 34 If any of the meat of ordination or any of the bread is left until morning, burn what is left over. It must not be eaten because it is holy.
35 “This is what you are to do for Aaron and his sons based on all I have commanded you. Take seven days to ordain them. 36 Sacrifice a bull as a sin offering each day for atonement. Purify[f] the altar when you make atonement for it, and anoint it in order to consecrate it.(V) 37 For seven days you must make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. The altar will be especially holy. Whatever touches the altar will be consecrated.(W)
38 “This is what you are to offer regularly on the altar every day: two year-old lambs.(X) 39 In the morning offer one lamb, and at twilight offer the other lamb.(Y) 40 With the first lamb offer two quarts[g] of fine flour mixed with one quart[h] of oil from crushed olives, and a drink offering of one quart of wine. 41 You are to offer the second lamb at twilight. Offer a grain offering and a drink offering with it, like the one in the morning, as a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. 42 This will be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet you[i] to speak with you.(Z) 43 I will also meet with the Israelites there, and that place will be consecrated by my glory.(AA) 44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 I will dwell(AB) among the Israelites and be their God.(AC) 46 And they will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.(AD)
Footnotes
- 29:9 Lit you will fill the hand of Aaron and the hand of; Ex 29:23–24
- 29:22 The priest would normally receive the right thigh to be eaten, but here it is burned; Lv 7:32–34.
- 29:24 Lit in the hands of his
- 29:29 Lit him for anointing in them and for filling their hand
- 29:33 Lit made to fill their hand
- 29:36 Or Make a sin offering on
- 29:40 Lit offer a tenth
- 29:40 Lit a fourth of a hin
- 29:42 = Moses
Exodus 29
The Message
Consecration of Priests
29 1-4 “This is the ceremony for dedicating them as priests. Take a young bull and two rams, healthy and without defects. Using fine wheat flour but no yeast make bread and cakes mixed with oil and wafers spread with oil. Place them in a basket and carry them along with the bull and the two rams. Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.
5-9 “Then take the vestments and dress Aaron in the tunic, the robe of the Ephod, the Ephod, and the Breastpiece, belting the Ephod on him with the embroidered waistband. Set the turban on his head and place the sacred crown on the turban. Then take the anointing oil and pour it on his head, anointing him. Then bring his sons, put tunics on them and gird them with sashes, both Aaron and his sons, and set hats on them. Their priesthood is upheld by law and is permanent.
9-14 “This is how you will ordain Aaron and his sons: Bring the bull to the Tent of Meeting. Aaron and his sons will place their hands on the head of the bull. Then you will slaughter the bull in the presence of God at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Take some of the bull’s blood and smear it on the horns of the Altar with your finger; pour the rest of the blood on the base of the Altar. Next take all the fat that covers the innards, fat from around the liver and the two kidneys, and burn it on the Altar. But the flesh of the bull, including its hide and dung, you will burn up outside the camp. It is an Absolution-Offering.
15-18 “Then take one of the rams. Have Aaron and his sons place their hands on the head of the ram. Slaughter the ram and take its blood and throw it against the Altar, all around. Cut the ram into pieces; wash its innards and legs, then gather the pieces and its head and burn the whole ram on the Altar. It is a Whole-Burnt-Offering to God, a pleasant fragrance, an offering by fire to God.
19-21 “Then take the second ram. Have Aaron and his sons place their hands on the ram’s head. Slaughter the ram. Take some of its blood and rub it on Aaron’s right earlobe and on the right earlobes of his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Sprinkle the rest of the blood against all sides of the Altar. Then take some of the blood that is on the Altar, mix it with some of the anointing oil, and splash it on Aaron and his clothes and on his sons and their clothes so that Aaron and his clothes and his sons and his sons’ clothes will be made holy.
22-23 “Take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the innards, the long lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, and the right thigh: this is the ordination ram. Also take one loaf of bread, an oil cake, and a wafer from the breadbasket that is in the presence of God.
24-25 “Place all of these in the open hands of Aaron and his sons who will wave them before God, a Wave-Offering. Then take them from their hands and burn them on the Altar with the Whole-Burnt-Offering—a pleasing fragrance before God, a gift to God.
26 “Now take the breast from Aaron’s ordination ram and wave it before God, a Wave-Offering. That will be your portion.
27-28 “Bless the Wave-Offering breast and the thigh that was held up. These are the parts of the ordination ram that are for Aaron and his sons. Aaron and his sons are always to get this offering from the Israelites; the Israelites are to make this offering regularly from their Peace-Offerings.
29-30 “Aaron’s sacred garments are to be handed down to his descendants so they can be anointed and ordained in them. The son who succeeds him as priest is to wear them for seven days and enter the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place.
31-34 “Take the ordination ram and boil the meat in the Holy Place. At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, Aaron and his sons will eat the boiled ram and the bread that is in the basket. Atoned by these offerings, ordained and hallowed by them, they are the only ones who are to eat them. No outsiders are to eat them; they’re holy. Anything from the ordination ram or from the bread that is left over until morning you are to burn up. Don’t eat it; it’s holy.
35-37 “Do everything for the ordination of Aaron and his sons exactly as I’ve commanded you throughout the seven days. Offer a bull as an Absolution-Offering for atonement each day. Offer it on the Altar when you make atonement for it: Anoint and hallow it. Make atonement for the Altar and hallow it for seven days; the Altar will become soaked in holiness—anyone who so much as touches the Altar will become holy.
38-41 “This is what you are to offer on the Altar: two year-old lambs each and every day, one lamb in the morning and the second lamb at evening. With the sacrifice of the first lamb offer two quarts of fine flour with a quart of virgin olive oil, plus a quart of wine for a Drink-Offering. The sacrifice of the second lamb, the one at evening, is also to be accompanied by the same Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering of the morning sacrifice to give a pleasing fragrance, a gift to God.
42-46 “This is to be your regular, daily Whole-Burnt-Offering before God, generation after generation, sacrificed at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. That’s where I’ll meet you; that’s where I’ll speak with you; that’s where I’ll meet the Israelites, at the place made holy by my Glory. I’ll make the Tent of Meeting and the Altar holy. I’ll make Aaron and his sons holy in order to serve me as priests. I’ll move in and live with the Israelites. I’ll be their God. They’ll realize that I am their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live with them. I am God, your God.”
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson