Exodus 29
English Standard Version
Consecration of the Priests
29 “Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. (A)Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish, 2 (B)and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour. 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 (C)wash them with water. 5 Then (D)you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the (E)skillfully woven band of the ephod. 6 (F)And you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. 7 You shall take (G)the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. 8 Then you (H)shall bring his sons and put coats on them, 9 and you shall gird Aaron and his sons with (I)sashes and bind caps on them. And (J)the priesthood shall be theirs by a statute forever. Thus you shall (K)ordain Aaron and his sons.
10 “Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting. (L)Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. 11 Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, 12 and (M)shall take part of the blood of the bull and put it on the (N)horns of the altar with your finger, and the rest of[a] the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar. 13 And you shall take all (O)the fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire (P)outside the camp; (Q)it is a sin offering.
15 “Then (R)you shall take one of the rams, and (S)Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, 16 and you shall kill the ram and shall take its blood and throw it against the sides of the altar. 17 Then you shall (T)cut the ram into pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head, 18 and burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a (U)pleasing aroma, a food offering[b] to the Lord.
19 (V)“You shall take the other ram, (W)and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, 20 and you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar. 21 Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the (X)anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and his sons' garments with him. He and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and his sons' garments with him.
22 “You shall also take the fat from the ram and the fat tail and the (Y)fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of (Z)ordination), 23 and (AA)one loaf of bread and one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord. 24 You shall put all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and (AB)wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. 25 Then (AC)you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a (AD)pleasing aroma before the Lord. It is a food offering to the Lord.
26 “You shall take the (AE)breast of the ram of Aaron's (AF)ordination and (AG)wave it for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion. 27 And you shall consecrate the (AH)breast of the wave offering that is waved and the (AI)thigh of the priests' portion that is contributed from the ram of (AJ)ordination, from what was Aaron's and his sons'. 28 It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a (AK)perpetual due from the people of Israel, for it is a (AL)contribution. It shall be a (AM)contribution from the people of Israel from their peace offerings, their contribution to the Lord.
29 “The holy garments of Aaron (AN)shall be for his sons after him; they shall (AO)be anointed in them and ordained in them. 30 The son who succeeds him as priest, who comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place, shall wear them (AP)seven days.
31 “You shall take the ram of ordination and (AQ)boil its flesh in a holy place. 32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the (AR)bread that is in the basket in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 33 (AS)They shall eat those things with which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration, but an (AT)outsider shall not eat of them, because they are holy. 34 And if any of the flesh for the ordination or of the bread remain until the morning, then you shall (AU)burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
35 “Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Through (AV)seven days shall you ordain them, 36 and every day you shall offer a (AW)bull as a sin offering for atonement. Also you shall purify the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall (AX)anoint it to consecrate it. 37 Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the (AY)altar shall be most holy. (AZ)Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.
38 “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: (BA)two lambs a year old (BB)day by day regularly. 39 One lamb you shall offer (BC)in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer (BD)at twilight. 40 And with the first lamb a tenth measure[c] of fine flour mingled with a fourth of a hin[d] of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering. 41 The other lamb you shall offer (BE)at twilight, and shall offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as (BF)in the morning, for a (BG)pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. 42 It shall be a (BH)regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, (BI)where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. 43 There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be (BJ)sanctified by my glory. 44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. (BK)Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. 45 (BL)I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that (BM)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.
Footnotes
- Exodus 29:12 Hebrew all
- Exodus 29:18 Or an offering by fire; also verses 25, 41
- Exodus 29:40 Possibly an ephah (about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters)
- Exodus 29:40 A hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters
Exodus 29
New King James Version
Aaron and His Sons Consecrated(A)
29 “And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests: (B)Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, 2 and (C)unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil (you shall make them of wheat flour). 3 You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams.
4 “And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, (D)and you shall wash them with water. 5 (E)Then you shall take the garments, put the tunic on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with (F)the intricately woven band of the ephod. 6 (G)You shall put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. 7 And you shall take the anointing (H)oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him. 8 Then (I)you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. 9 And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. (J)The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall (K)consecrate Aaron and his sons.
10 “You shall also have the bull brought before the tabernacle of meeting, and (L)Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull. 11 Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 12 You shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on (M)the horns of the altar with your finger, and (N)pour all the blood beside the base of the altar. 13 And (O)you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But (P)the flesh of the bull, with its skin and its offal, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.
15 (Q)“You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall (R)put their hands on the head of the ram; 16 and you shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood and (S)sprinkle it all around on the altar. 17 Then you shall cut the ram in pieces, wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and with its head. 18 And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a (T)burnt offering to the Lord; it is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.
19 (U)“You shall also take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram. 20 Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and 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 sprinkle the blood all around on the altar. 21 And you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar, and some of (V)the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him; and (W)he and his garments shall be hallowed, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.
22 “Also you shall take the fat of the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, the right thigh (for it is a ram of consecration), 23 (X)one loaf of bread, one cake made with oil, and one wafer from the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the Lord; 24 and you shall put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and you shall (Y)wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. 25 (Z)You shall receive them back from their hands and burn them on the altar as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma before the Lord. It is an offering made by fire to the Lord.
26 “Then you shall take (AA)the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration and wave it as a wave offering before the Lord; and it shall be your portion. 27 And from the ram of the consecration you shall consecrate (AB)the breast of the wave offering which is waved, and the thigh of the heave offering which is raised, of that which is for Aaron and of that which is for his sons. 28 It shall be from the children of Israel for Aaron and his sons (AC)by a statute forever. For it is a heave offering; (AD)it shall be a heave offering from the children of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, that is, their heave offering to the Lord.
29 “And the (AE)holy garments of Aaron (AF)shall be his sons’ after him, (AG)to be anointed in them and to be consecrated in them. 30 (AH)That son who becomes priest in his place shall put them on for (AI)seven days, when he enters the tabernacle of meeting to minister in the [a]holy place.
31 “And you shall take the ram of the consecration and (AJ)boil its flesh in the holy place. 32 Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the (AK)bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 33 (AL)They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; (AM)but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy. 34 And if any of the flesh of the consecration offerings, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then (AN)you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
35 “Thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. (AO)Seven days you shall consecrate them. 36 And you (AP)shall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. (AQ)You shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to sanctify it. 37 Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And the altar shall be most holy. (AR)Whatever touches the altar must be holy.
The Daily Offerings(AS)
38 “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: (AT)two lambs of the first year, (AU)day by day continually. 39 One lamb you shall offer (AV)in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer [b]at twilight. 40 With the one lamb shall be one-tenth of an ephah of flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering. 41 And the other lamb you shall (AW)offer [c]at twilight; and you shall offer with it the grain offering and the drink offering, as in the morning, for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord. 42 This shall be (AX)a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord, (AY)where I will meet you to speak with you. 43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle (AZ)shall be sanctified by My glory. 44 So I will consecrate the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. I will also (BA)consecrate both Aaron and his sons to minister to Me as priests. 45 (BB)I will dwell among the children of Israel and will (BC)be their God. 46 And they shall know that (BD)I am the Lord their God, who (BE)brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.
Footnotes
- Exodus 29:30 sanctuary
- Exodus 29:39 Lit. between the two evenings
- Exodus 29:41 Lit. between the two evenings
Exodus 29
Contemporary English Version
Instructions for Ordaining Priests
(Leviticus 8.1-36)
The Lord said to Moses:
29 When you ordain Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests, choose a young bull and two rams that have nothing wrong with them. 2 Then from your finest flour make three batches of dough without yeast. Shape some of it into larger loaves, some into smaller loaves mixed with olive oil, and the rest into thin wafers brushed with oil. 3 Put all of this bread in a basket and bring it when you come to sacrifice the three animals to me.
4 Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the sacred tent and tell them to wash themselves. 5 Dress Aaron in the priestly shirt, the robe that goes under the sacred vest, the vest itself, the breastpiece, and the sash. 6 Put on his turban with its narrow strip of engraved gold 7 and then ordain him by pouring olive oil on his head.
8 Next, dress Aaron's sons in their special shirts, 9 caps, and sashes,[a] then ordain them, because they and their descendants will always be priests.
10 Lead the bull to the entrance of the sacred tent, where Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on its head. 11 Kill the bull near my altar in front of the tent. 12 Use a finger to smear some of its blood on each of the four corners of the altar and pour out the rest of the blood on the ground next to the altar. 13 Then take the fat from the animal's insides, as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and send them up as an offering to me in the smoke from the altar. 14 But the meat, the skin, and the food still in the bull's stomach must be burned outside the camp as an offering to ask forgiveness for the sins of the priests.[b]
15 Bring one of the rams to Aaron and his sons and tell them to lay their hands on its head. 16 Kill the ram and splatter its blood against all four sides of the altar. 17 Cut up the ram, wash its insides and legs, and lay all of its parts on the altar, including the head. 18 (A) Then make sure that the whole animal goes up in smoke with a smell that pleases me.
19 Bring the other ram to Aaron and his sons and tell them to lay their hands on its head. 20 Kill the ram and place some of its blood on Aaron's right ear lobe, his right thumb, and the big toe of his right foot. Do the same for each of his sons and splatter the rest of the blood against the four sides of the altar. 21 Then take some of the blood from the altar, mix it with the oil used for ordination, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his clothes, and also on his sons and their clothes. This will show that they and their clothes have been dedicated to me.
22 This ram is part of the ordination service. So remove its right hind leg,[c] its fat tail, the fat on its insides, as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat. 23 Take one loaf of each kind of bread[d] from the basket, 24 and put this bread, together with the meat, into the hands of Aaron and his sons. Then they will lift it all up[e] to show that it is dedicated to me. 25 After this, put the meat and bread on the altar and send them up in smoke with a smell that pleases me.
26 You may eat the choice ribs from this second ram, but you must first lift them up[f] to show that this meat is dedicated to me.
27-28 In the future, when anyone from Israel offers the ribs and a hind leg of a ram either to ordain a priest or to ask for my blessing, the meat belongs to me, but it may be eaten by the priests. This law will never change.
29-30 After Aaron's death, his priestly clothes are to be handed down to each descendant who succeeds him as high priest, and these clothes must be worn during the seven-day ceremony of ordination.
31 Boil the meat of the ordination ram in a sacred place, 32 then Aaron and his sons are to eat it together with the three kinds of bread[g] at the entrance to the sacred tent. 33 At their ordination, a ceremony of forgiveness was performed for them with this sacred food, and only they have the right to eat it. 34 If any of the sacred food is left until morning, it must be completely burned.
35 Repeat this ordination ceremony for Aaron and his sons seven days in a row, just as I have instructed you. 36 Each day you must offer a bull as a sacrifice for sin and as a way of purifying the altar. In addition, you must smear the altar with olive oil to make it completely holy. 37 Do this for seven days, and the altar will become so holy that anyone who touches it will become holy.
Daily Sacrifices
(Leviticus 6.8-13; Numbers 28.1-8)
The Lord said:
38 Each day you must sacrifice two lambs a year old, 39 one in the morning and one in the evening. 40-41 With each lamb offer one kilogram of your finest flour mixed with a liter of pure olive oil, and also pour out a liter of wine as an offering. The smell of this sacrifice on the fires of the altar will be pleasing to me. 42-43 You and your descendants must always offer this sacrifice on the altar at the entrance to the sacred tent.
People of Israel, I will meet and speak with you there, and my shining glory will make the place holy. 44 Because of who I am, the tent will become sacred, and Aaron and his sons will become worthy to serve as my priests. 45 I will live among you as your God, 46 and you will know that I am the Lord your God, the one who rescued you from Egypt, so that I could live among you.
Footnotes
- 29.9 sashes: One ancient translation; Hebrew “the sashes of Aaron and his sons.”
- 29.14 for the sins of the priests: When a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins was made for someone other than priests, the part that was not burned on the altar could be eaten by the priests (see Leviticus 5.13; 6.26).
- 29.22 right hind leg: This was usually given to the officiating priest (see Leviticus 7.33).
- 29.23 each kind of bread: See verses 2,3.
- 29.24 lift it all up: Or “wave it all.”
- 29.26 lift it all up: Or “wave it all.”
- 29.32 three kinds of bread: See verses 2,3.
Exodus 29
King James Version
29 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,
2 And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.
3 And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.
4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.
5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod:
6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.
7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.
8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.
10 And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.
11 And thou shalt kill the bullock before the Lord, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.
13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.
14 But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.
15 Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
16 And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar.
17 And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head.
18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the Lord: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
19 And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
20 Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.
22 Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:
23 And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the Lord:
24 And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the Lord.
25 And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the Lord: it is an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
26 And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord: and it shall be thy part.
27 And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons:
28 And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the Lord.
29 And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them.
30 And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place.
31 And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place.
32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
33 And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.
34 And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
35 And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.
36 And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.
37 Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.
38 Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.
39 The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:
40 And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.
41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.
43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.
44 And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office.
45 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
46 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the Lord their God.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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