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Priests are special servants of God

29 When you make the priests God's special servants, do it in this way: Take a young bull and two male sheep. They must not have anything wrong with them. Use good flour from wheat to make three kinds of bread, with no yeast in it. Mix olive oil with some of the flour before you cook it. Cook some of the flour without any oil in it. And cook some flour to make biscuits that you then put oil on. Put the bread and the biscuits into a basket. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting with the bull and the two sheep.[a]

Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Use water to wash them there and make them clean. Then take the special clothes. Dress Aaron in the shirt, the robe, the ephod and the breastpiece. Tie the ephod on him with its special belt. Put the linen hat on Aaron's head. Fix the special gold sign to the hat. Take the special olive oil. Pour it on his head to show that God has chosen him to be his servant.

Bring Aaron's sons and dress them in their special shirts. Put the cloth hats on their heads. Tie the long cloth belts around Aaron and on his sons. These men and their descendants will always be priests. That is a law that continues for ever. That is how you must make Aaron and his sons God's special servants.

10 Bring the bull to the front of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron and his sons must put their hands on the bull's head. 11 Then kill the animal as an offering to the Lord, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. 12 Take some of the bull's blood. Use your finger to put some of it on the horns of the altar. Pour the blood that remains on the ground around the altar. 13 Take all the fat that is round the inside parts of the animal. Take the best part of the liver. Take both the kidneys with the fat that is round them. Burn all these things on the altar. 14 But burn the rest of the bull's body outside the camp, with its skin and the food in its stomach. It is an offering to make the priests clean from their sins.

15 Take one of the male sheep. Aaron and his sons must put their hands on its head. 16 Kill the sheep and take its blood to the altar. Throw some of the blood onto every side of the altar. 17 Cut the sheep into pieces. Wash its inside parts and its legs. Then put them together with its head and the other pieces. 18 Completely burn the whole sheep on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. Its smell pleases him.

19 Take the second male sheep. Aaron and his sons must put their hands on its head. 20 Kill the sheep. Put some of its blood on Aaron's right ear, the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. Do the same thing to each of his sons. Then throw some of the sheep's blood onto every side of the altar. 21 Mix together some of the blood on the altar and some of the special oil. Splash this onto Aaron and onto his clothes. Splash it also onto his sons and onto their clothes. Then Aaron and his sons and their clothes will be holy.

22 Take all the fat from this male sheep. Take its fat tail, the fat around its inside parts and the best part of the liver. Take the two kidneys with the fat that is round them. Also take the top part of its right leg. (This is the sheep that makes Aaron and his sons special servants of God.) 23 Take one piece of each kind of flat bread out of the basket: bread that has no oil in it, bread with oil in it and a biscuit. These are an offering to the Lord. 24 Put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Then lift these things up to the Lord as an offering to him. 25 Then take them from Aaron and his sons and burn them on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. Its smell pleases him.

26 Take the meat from the ribs of the sheep that makes Aaron God's special servant. Lift it up to the Lord as an offering to him. Then you may eat this meat from the sheep. 27 You must keep separate this meat from the sheep's ribs, as well as the top part of its right leg. Those are the pieces that you lifted up to the Lord as an offering to him. Those pieces belong to Aaron and his sons. 28 In the future, when the Israelites bring a peace offering to the Lord, these pieces will belong to Aaron and his descendants. This will always be the regular gift from the Israelites to the priests. That is the law that will continue for ever. It is the gift that the Israelites must bring to the Lord.

29 Aaron's special clothes will belong to his descendants after he dies. When they too become God's special servants as his priests, they will wear them. 30 After Aaron's death, his son who becomes priest will first take seven days to serve the Lord in the tabernacle. The new priest must wear the special clothes in the Holy Place for those seven days.

31 Take the male sheep that makes Aaron God's special servant. Cook its meat in a holy place in the yard of the tabernacle. 32 Aaron and his sons must eat this meat and the bread that was in the basket. They must do this at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. 33 That meat was part of the sacrifice which made them clean from their sins. It made them God's special servants as his priests. No other person may eat those things, because they are holy. 34 But if any of the meat from the offerings remains until the morning, you must burn it. Also burn any bread that remains. You must not eat it, because it is holy.

35 Do everything that I have commanded you, to make Aaron and his sons my special servants. Take seven days to do this. 36 Kill a bull each day, as a sacrifice that makes people clean from their sins.

Also make the altar clean and pure. Pour oil over it to make it holy for me. 37 Do this to the altar for seven days to make it pure. Then it will be completely holy. Anything that touches the altar will become holy too. 38 You must offer a regular gift on the altar each day. This offering must be two lambs that are one year old. 39 Offer one lamb in the morning and the other lamb in the evening. 40 With the first lamb, offer two litres of good flour. Mix the flour with one litre of olive oil. Also offer one litre of wine as a drink offering. 41 Kill the other lamb in the evening. Offer it with the same gifts of food and drink as in the morning. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. Its smell pleases him.

42 You and your descendants must continue to make this burnt offering as a regular offering to me, the Lord. Offer it to me at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. I will meet with you there and I will speak to you. 43 I will meet with the Israelites there. My bright glory will make it a holy place.

44 In that way I will make the Tent of Meeting and its altar a special, holy place. Aaron and his sons will become my special servants. They will serve me as my priests. 45 I will live among the Israelites and I will be their God. 46 They will know that I am the Lord their God. I brought them out of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the Lord their God.

Footnotes

  1. 29:3 ‘Tent of Meeting’ was another name for the tabernacle.

Instructions for Consecrating Aaron and His Sons

29 “And this is the thing that you will do for them to consecrate them to serve as a priest for me: Take one young bull[a] and two rams without defect and unleavened bread and unleavened, ring-shaped bread cakes mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened breads smeared with oil. You will make them with finely milled wheat flour, and you will put them on one basket, and you will bring them on the basket and bring the bull and the two rams. And you will bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of assembly, and you will wash them with water. And you will take the garments and clothe Aaron with the tunic and the robe of the ephod, and you will fasten to him the ephod and the breast piece with the waistband of the ephod. And you will set the turban on his head, and you will put the holy diadem on the turban. And you will take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. And you will bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. And you will gird Aaron and his sons with sashes and wrap headdresses on them. And priesthood will be theirs as a lasting rule, and you will ordain Aaron and his sons.[b]

10 “And you will bring the bull before the tent of assembly, and Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on the head of the bull. 11 And you will slaughter the bull before Yahweh at the entrance of the tent of assembly. 12 And you will take some of the blood of the bull and with your finger put it on the horns of the altar, and you will pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. 13 And you will take and turn into smoke on the altar all the fat covering the inner parts and the lobe on the liver and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them. 14 And the flesh of the bull and its skin and its offal you will burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

15 “And you will take the one ram, and Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on the head of the ram. 16 And you will slaughter the ram and take its blood and sprinkle it on the altar all around. 17 And you will cut the ram into pieces and wash its inner parts, and you will put its legs with its pieces and with its head. 18 And you will turn into smoke on the altar all of the ram; it is a burnt offering for Yahweh; it is a smell of appeasement, an offering by fire for Yahweh.

19 “And you will take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on the head of the ram. 20 And you will slaughter the ram and take some of its blood and put it on Aaron’s right earlobe and on the right earlobe of his sons and on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe[c] of their right foot, and you will sprinkle the blood at the base of the altar all around. 21 And you will take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and you will spatter it on Aaron and on his garments and on his sons and on his sons’ garments with him, and he will be sacred, and his garments and his sons and his sons’ garments with him. 22 And you will take from the ram the fat and the fat tail and the fat covering the inner parts and the lobe of the liver and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them and the right thigh, because it is the ram of ordination.

23 “And one loaf of bread and one ring-shaped bread cake of oiled bread and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that is before Yahweh— 24 you will put them all on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and you will wave them as a wave offering before Yahweh. 25 And you will take them from their hand and turn them to smoke on the altar beside the burnt offering as a fragrance of appeasement before Yahweh; it is an offering made by fire before Yahweh.

26 “And you will take the breast section from the ram of ordination that is for Aaron, and you will wave it as a wave offering before Yahweh. It will be your portion. 27 And you will consecrate the wave offering breast section and the thigh of the contribution that was waved and that was presented[d] from the ram of the ordination that is for Aaron and for his sons. 28 And it will be for[e] Aaron and for his sons as a lasting rule from the Israelites,[f] because it is a contribution, and it will be a contribution from the Israelites[g] from their sacrifices of fellowship, their contribution to Yahweh.

29 “And the holy garments that are for Aaron will be for his sons after him in which to anoint them and to ordain them.[h] 30 Seven days the priest who replaces him from among his sons will wear them, who comes to the tent of assembly to serve in the sanctuary. 31 And you will take the ram of ordination and boil its meat in a holy place. 32 And Aaron and his sons will eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket at the entrance of the tent of assembly. 33 And they will eat them—the things by which atonement was made for them to ordain them to consecrate them—and a stranger will not eat them because they are holy objects. 34 If any remains until morning from the ordination meat or from the bread, you will burn the remainder in fire; it will not be eaten, because it is a holy object. 35 And you will do so for Aaron and for his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; seven days you will ordain them.

Instructions for Regular Offerings at the Tabernacle

36 “And you will offer a bull for a sin offering every day for the atonement; and you will offer a sin offering on the altar[i] when you make atonement for it, and you will anoint it to consecrate it. 37 Seven days you will make atonement for the altar, and you will consecrate it, and the altar will be a most holy thing.[j] Anyone who[k] touches the altar will be holy.

38 “And this is what you shall offer on the altar: Two one-year-old[l] male lambs every day[m] continually. 39 The first lamb you will offer in the morning, and the second lamb you will offer at twilight.[n] 40 And a tenth of finely milled flour mixed with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine as a libation with the first lamb. 41 And the second lamb you will offer at twilight;[o] you will offer a grain offering and its libation like that of the morning for a fragrance of appeasement, an offering made by fire for Yahweh. 42 It will be a burnt offering of continuity throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of assembly before Yahweh, where I will meet with you to speak to you there.

43 “And I will meet with the Israelites[p] there, and it will be consecrated by my glory. 44 And I will consecrate the tent of assembly and the altar, and Aaron and his sons I will consecrate to serve as priests for me. 45 And I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites,[q] and I will be their God. 46 And they will know that I am Yahweh, their God, who brought them out from the land of Egypt in order to dwell in their midst. I am Yahweh their God.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 29:1 Literally “a son of cattle”
  2. Exodus 29:9 Literally “you will fill the hand of Aaron and the hands of his sons”
  3. Exodus 29:20 Literally “the thumb of”
  4. Exodus 29:27 Literally “lifted up”
  5. Exodus 29:28 Or “belong to”
  6. Exodus 29:28 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  7. Exodus 29:28 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  8. Exodus 29:29 Literally “to fill in them their hands”
  9. Exodus 29:36 Or “you will purify the altar”
  10. Exodus 29:37 Literally “a holiness of holinesses” or “a holy thing among holy things,” a thing of utmost holiness
  11. Exodus 29:37 Or “anything that”; literally “all touching”
  12. Exodus 29:38 Literally “sons of a year”
  13. Exodus 29:38 Literally “for the day,” or per day
  14. Exodus 29:39 Literally “between the evenings”
  15. Exodus 29:41 Literally “between the evenings”
  16. Exodus 29:43 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  17. Exodus 29:45 Literally “sons/children of Israel”

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,

And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.

And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.

And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.

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:

And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.

Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.

And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.

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.