Moses Appoints the Priests

8 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Take Aaron and his sons with him and the clothes, the anointing oil, the bull of the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread. ³ Then gather the people together at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.”

⁴ Moses did what the Lord commanded him. The people met together at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. ⁵ Then Moses said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded must be done.”

⁶ Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water. ⁷ Moses put the woven shirt on Aaron and tied the cloth belt around him. Then Moses put the robe and the ephod on Aaron and tied the beautiful cloth belt around him. ⁸ Moses put the judgment pouch on Aaron and put the Urim and Thummim inside its pocket. ⁹ He also put the turban on Aaron’s head. He put the strip of gold on the front of the turban. This strip of gold is the holy crown. Moses did this just as the Lord had commanded.

¹⁰ Then Moses took the anointing oil and sprinkled it on the Holy Tent and on everything in it. In this way he made them holy. ¹¹ He sprinkled some of the anointing oil on the altar seven times. He sprinkled the oil on the altar, on all its tools and dishes, and on the bowl and its base. In this way he made them holy. ¹² He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head to make him holy. ¹³ Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons forward. He put their woven shirts on them, tied belts around them, and put cloth caps on their heads. He did everything just as the Lord had commanded.

¹⁴ Then Moses brought out the bull of the sin offering. Aaron and his sons put their hands on the bull’s head. ¹⁵ Then Moses killed the bull and collected its blood. He used his finger to put some of the blood on all the corners of the altar. In this way he made the altar ready for sacrifices. Then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar to make the altar ready for sacrifices to make the people pure. ¹⁶ Moses took all the fat from the inner parts of the bull. He took the fat part of the liver with the two kidneys and the fat on them. Then he burned them on the altar. ¹⁷ Moses took the bull’s skin, its meat, and its body waste outside the camp. He burned these things in a fire outside the camp. He did everything just as the Lord commanded him.

¹⁸ Then Moses brought the ram of the burnt offering. Aaron and his sons put their hands on the ram’s head. ¹⁹ Then Moses killed the ram. He sprinkled the blood around on the altar. ^20-21 He cut the ram into pieces. He washed the inner parts and legs with water. Then he burned the whole ram on the altar. He burned the head, the pieces, and the fat as a burnt offering. It was a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord. Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded.

²² Then Moses brought the other ram. This ram was used for appointing Aaron and his sons to become priests. Aaron and his sons put their hands on the ram’s head. ²³ Then Moses killed the ram. He put some of its blood on the tip of Aaron’s ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁴ Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons close to the altar. He put some of the blood on the tip of their right ears, on the thumb of their right hands, and on the big toe of their right feet. Then he sprinkled the blood around on the altar. ²⁵ He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat on the inner parts, the fat covering of the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh. ²⁶ A basket of unleavened bread is put before the Lord each day. Moses took one of those loaves of bread, one loaf of bread mixed with oil, and one unleavened wafer. He put these pieces of bread on the fat and on the right thigh of the ram. ²⁷ Then he put all of it in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Moses lifted these pieces to show he was offering them before the Lord. ²⁸ Then Moses took these things from the hands of Aaron and his sons and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering. So this was the offering for appointing Aaron and his sons as priests. It was a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord. ²⁹ Moses took the breast and lifted it to show he had presented it to the Lord. It was Moses’ share of the ram for appointing the priests. This was just as the Lord had commanded him.

³⁰ Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar. He sprinkled some on Aaron and on Aaron’s clothes. He sprinkled some on Aaron’s sons who were with Aaron and on their clothes. In this way Moses made Aaron, his clothes, his sons, and his sons’ clothes holy.

³¹ Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “I told you, ‘Aaron and his sons must eat these things.’ So take the basket of bread and meat from the ceremony for appointing the priests. Boil that meat at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Eat the meat and bread at that place. Do this as I told you. ³² If any of the meat or bread is left, burn it. ³³ The ceremony for appointing the priests will last for seven days. You must not leave the entrance of the Meeting Tent until that time is finished. ³⁴ Everything we did today was what the Lord commanded us to do in order to make you pure. ³⁵ You must stay at the entrance of the Meeting Tent day and night for seven days. If you don’t obey the Lord’s commands, you will die! The Lord gave me these commands.”

³⁶ So Aaron and his sons did everything that the Lord had commanded Moses.