Exodus 29
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Ordination of the Priests
29 “Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them to serve me as priests. Take one young bull and two rams without blemish,(A) 2 and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil. You shall make them of choice wheat flour.(B) 3 You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket and bring the bull and the two rams. 4 You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.(C) 5 Then you shall take the vestments and put on Aaron the tunic and the robe of the ephod and the ephod and the breastpiece and gird him with the decorated band of the ephod,(D) 6 and you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy diadem on the turban.(E) 7 You shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him.(F) 8 Then you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them,(G) 9 and you shall gird them, Aaron and his sons, with sashes and tie headdresses on them, and the priesthood shall be theirs by a perpetual ordinance. You shall then ordain Aaron and his sons.(H)
10 “You shall bring the bull in front of the tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull,(I) 11 and you shall slaughter the bull before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, 12 and shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and all the rest of the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar.(J) 13 You shall take all the fat that covers the entrails and the appendage of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them and turn them into smoke on the altar.(K) 14 But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a purification offering.(L)
15 “Then you shall take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram,(M) 16 and you shall slaughter the ram and shall take its blood and dash it against all sides of the altar. 17 Then you shall cut the ram into its parts and wash its entrails and its legs and put them with its parts and its head 18 and turn the rest of the ram into smoke on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord; it is a pleasing odor, an offering by fire[a] to the Lord.(N)
19 “You shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, 20 and you shall slaughter the ram and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the lobes of the right ears of his sons and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet and dash the rest of the blood against all sides of the altar. 21 Then you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his vestments and on his sons and his sons’ vestments with him; then he and his vestments shall be holy, as well as his sons and his sons’ vestments with him.(O)
22 “You shall also take the fat of the ram, the fatty tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the appendage of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of ordination), 23 and one loaf of bread, one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer, out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord,(P) 24 and you shall place all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons and raise them as an elevation offering before the Lord.(Q) 25 Then you shall take them from their hands and turn them into smoke on the altar on top of the burnt offering for a pleasing odor before the Lord. It is an offering by fire[b] to the Lord.(R)
26 “You shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination and raise it as an elevation offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion.(S) 27 You shall consecrate the breast that was raised as an elevation offering and the thigh that was lifted up as an offering from the ram of ordination, from that which belonged to Aaron and his sons.(T) 28 These things shall be a perpetual ordinance for Aaron and his sons from the Israelites, for this is an offering, and it shall be an offering by the Israelites from their sacrifice of offerings of well-being, their offering to the Lord.(U)
29 “The sacred vestments of Aaron shall be passed on to his sons after him; they shall be anointed in them and ordained in them.(V) 30 The son who is priest in his place shall wear them seven days when he comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place.(W)
31 “You shall take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place,(X) 32 and Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket at the entrance of the tent of meeting.(Y) 33 They shall eat the food by which atonement is made, to ordain and consecrate them, but no one else shall eat of it, because it is holy.(Z) 34 If any of the flesh for the ordination or of the bread remains until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.(AA)
35 “Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, just as I have commanded you; through seven days you shall ordain them.(AB) 36 Also every day you shall offer a bull as a purification offering for atonement. Also you shall offer a sin offering for the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall anoint it, to consecrate it.(AC) 37 Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy; whatever touches the altar shall become holy.(AD)
The Daily Offerings
38 “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old regularly each day.(AE) 39 One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer in the evening, 40 and with the first lamb one-tenth of a measure of choice flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering. 41 And the other lamb you shall offer in the evening and shall offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as in the morning, for a pleasing odor, an offering by fire[c] to the Lord. 42 It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there.(AF) 43 I will meet with the Israelites there, and it shall be sanctified by my glory;(AG) 44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests.(AH) 45 I will dwell among the Israelites, and I will be their God.(AI) 46 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God.(AJ)
Exodus 29
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Ordination of the Priests
29 This is what you shall do to them to set them apart as holy, so that they can minister to me in the priest’s office:
Take one young bull and two rams without defect, 2 unleavened bread, unleavened rolls mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed[a] with oil. Make them from fine wheat flour. 3 Put them into one basket and bring them in the basket when you bring the bull and the two rams. 4 Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. 5 Take the garments and put them on Aaron: the tunic, the robe to be worn under the vest, the vest, and the pouch. Clothe him with the sash of the vest. 6 Set the turban on his head and put the holy crest on the turban. 7 Then take the anointing oil and pour it on his head to anoint him. 8 You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. 9 Clothe them with sashes—Aaron and his sons—and bind small pointed turbans on them. Then they shall possess the priesthood by means of a perpetual regulation. You shall ordain Aaron and his sons for their work.[b]
10 Bring the bull in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. 11 Slaughter the bull in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. 12 Take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 13 Take all the fat that covers the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But the meat of the bull, its hide, and its intestines and their contents, you shall burn with fire outside of the camp. This is a sin offering.
15 Then take the first ram. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. 16 Slaughter the ram, and take its blood and splash it all around on the altar. 17 You shall cut the ram into pieces, wash its internal organs and its legs, and put them with the other pieces and with its head. 18 You shall burn the whole ram on the altar. This is a whole burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire[c] to the Lord.
19 Then take the other ram. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. 20 Then you shall slaughter the ram. Take some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot, and splash the blood all around on the altar. 21 Take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil and spatter it on Aaron and on his garments and on his sons and on the garments of his sons, who are with him. So he and his garments and his sons and his sons’ garments shall be consecrated. 22 From this ram take the fat, the fat tail, the fat that covers the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for this is a ram for the dedication), 23 and one loaf of bread, one roll made with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord. 24 You shall put all of this in Aaron’s hands and in his sons’ hands, and you shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. 25 Then you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar for the burnt offering as a pleasant aroma before the Lord. This is an offering made by fire to the Lord.
26 Take the breast from Aaron’s ram of ordination and wave it as a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion of the sacrifice. 27 Consecrate the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the elevated offering, which are waved and lifted up,[d] from the ram of ordination. They are for Aaron and for his sons. 28 It shall belong to Aaron and his sons perpetually as their portion of the offering from the people of Israel, because it is an elevated offering. It shall be an elevated offering from the people of Israel from their sacrifices, from their fellowship offerings, that is, their elevated offering to the Lord.
29 The holy garments of Aaron shall belong to his descendants after him, so they are to wear them while they are being anointed and ordained for their work. 30 The son who is to be high priest in Aaron’s place shall put them on for seven days when he comes into the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place.
31 Take the ram of ordination and boil its meat in a holy place. 32 Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. 33 They shall eat those things with which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration, but a non-priest[e] shall not eat them, because they are holy. 34 If any of the meat or the bread from the ordination remains until the next morning, you shall burn the remainder with fire. It must not be eaten, because it is holy.
35 This is what you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, exactly as I have commanded you. You shall ordain them[f] for seven days. 36 Every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you shall purify the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to make it holy. 37 For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar to make it holy. The altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.
The Regular Daily Offerings
38 Now this is what you shall offer on the altar regularly, every day: two lambs a year old. 39 The first lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.[g] 40 With the first lamb offer two quarts[h] of fine flour mixed with a quart[i] of beaten olive oil,[j] and a quart of wine for a drink offering. 41 The other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and you shall offer with it the same grain offering and the same drink offering as in the morning, for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire[k] to the Lord. 42 It shall be presented as a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord. There I will meet with you to speak to you. 43 There I will meet with the people of Israel, and the place will be made holy by my glory. 44 I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar. I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to minister to me in the priest’s office. 45 I will dwell among the people of Israel and I will be their God. 46 They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.
Footnotes
- Exodus 29:2 Or smeared
- Exodus 29:9 Literally fill the hands
- Exodus 29:18 Or perhaps a food offering or a special offering. The Hebrew term isheh was traditionally thought to be an offering made by fire because of its similarity to the Hebrew word for fire, but some contexts and some similar words in other Semitic languages suggest it may, at least at times, mean a gift of food. The Lord, of course, does not literally need food.
- Exodus 29:27 Waved and lifted up or elevated refer to the respective gestures with which these offerings were usually presented. This does not mean that all wave offerings and elevated offerings were literally elevated or waved.
- Exodus 29:33 Literally a stranger
- Exodus 29:35 Literally fill their hands
- Exodus 29:39 Literally between the evenings
- Exodus 29:40 That is, one tenth (of an ephah). The unit of measure is not specified. It is assumed that it is an ephah.
- Exodus 29:40 A fourth of a hin
- Exodus 29:40 The basic meaning of the Hebrew verb ktt is “beat.” The translation assumes that oil from beaten olives is the highest grade “extra virgin” olive oil from the first crushing or pressing of the olives, done by hand.
- Exodus 29:41 Or perhaps a special offering or food offering
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.