Parashat Acharei Mot

16 Then Adonai spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they approached the presence of Adonai and died. ² Adonai said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holiest Place behind the curtain^[a]—before the atonement cover which is on the Ark—so that he would not die. For I will be appearing in the cloud over the atonement cover.^[b]

Yom Kippur Service

³ “In this way should Aaron come into the Sanctuary: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. ⁴ He is to put on the holy linen garment, have the linen undergarments on his body, put on the linen sash, and wear the linen turban—they are the holy garments. He should bathe his body in water, and put them on.

⁵ “Then he is to take from the congregation of Bnei-Yisrael two he-goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. ⁶ Then Aaron is to offer the bull for the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and his house. ⁷ Then he is take the two goats and present them before Adonai at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ⁸ Aaron will then cast lots for the two goats—one lot for Adonai, and the other lot for the scapegoat. ⁹ Aaron is to present the goat on which the lot for Adonai fell and make it a sin offering. ¹⁰ But the goat upon which the lot for the scapegoat^[c] fell is to be presented alive before Adonai, to make atonement upon it,^[d] by sending it away as the scapegoat into the wilderness.

¹¹ “Also Aaron is to present the bull of the sin offering which is for himself and so make atonement for himself and his house. He is to slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself. ^{[e] 12} He is to take a firepan full of coals of fire from off the altar before Adonai plus two handfuls of sweet powdered incense and bring it within the curtain. ¹³ Then he is to put the incense on the fire before Adonai, so that the cloud of the incense may cover the atonement cover that is on the Ark, so that he would not die. ¹⁴ He is then to take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the atonement cover, on the east side. Before the atonement cover he is to sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.^[f]

¹⁵ “Then he is to slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, bring its blood behind the curtain, and do with its as he did with the blood of the bull—sprinkle it upon the atonement cover, and before the atonement cover. ^{[g] 16} So he is to make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of Bnei-Yisrael and because of their transgressions, all their sins.^[h] He is to do the same for the Tent of Meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their impurities. ¹⁷ No one is to be in the Tent of Meeting when he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out, and has made atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.

¹⁸ “Then he is to go out to the altar that is before Adonai and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and dab it around on the horns of the altar. ¹⁹ He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and consecrate it from the uncleanness of Bnei-Yisrael.

²⁰ “When he has finished atoning for the Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, then he is to present the live goat. ²¹ Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of Bnei-Yisrael and all their transgressions, all their sins. He should place them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. ²² The goat will carry all their iniquities by itself into a solitary land and he is to leave the goat in the wilderness.

²³ “Then Aaron is to come into the Tent of Meeting, take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and leave them there. ²⁴ He is to bathe himself with water in a holy place, put on his garments, and come out to offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, to make atonement for himself and for the people.

²⁵ “Then he is to burn up fat of the sin offering in smoke on the altar. ²⁶ The man who leaves the goat as a scapegoat is to wash his clothes and bathe his body in water. Afterward he may come into the camp.

²⁷ “The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, should be carried outside the camp, and their hides, their flesh, and their dung burned with fire. ^{[i] 28} The one who burns them is to wash his clothes and bathe his body in water. Then afterward he may come into the camp.

²⁹ “It is to be a statute to you forever, that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you are to afflict your souls, and do no kind of work—both the native-born and the outsider dwelling among you. ³⁰ For on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. From all your sins you will be clean before Adonai. ³¹ It is a Shabbat of solemn rest to you, and you are to afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. ³² The kohen who is anointed and who is consecrated to be kohen in his father’s place will make the atonement, and put on the linen garments, the holy garments. ³³ He is to make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, for the Tent of Meeting, for the altar, for the kohanim, and for all the people of the assembly.

³⁴ “This will be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for Bnei-Yisrael once in the year because of all their sins.” It was done as Adonai commanded Moses.

Sacrifice of Life in Blood

17 Then Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all Bnei-Yisrael, and say to them: This is the word which Adonai has commanded. ³ Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters a bull, a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside the camp, ⁴ but has not brought it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to offer it as a sacrifice to Adonai before the Tabernacle—let bloodguilt be charged to that man. He has shed blood—that man is to be cut off from among his people. ⁵ Thus Bnei-Yisrael may bring their sacrifices that they were making in the open field to Adonai, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to the kohen, and offer them as sacrifices of fellowship offerings to Adonai. ⁶ The kohen is to sprinkle the blood on the altar of Adonai at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and burn up the fat as smoke for a soothing aroma to Adonai. ⁷ They are no longer to offer their sacrifices to the goat-demons after which they play the prostitute. This will be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.

⁸ “Then you are to say to them: Anyone from the house of Israel, or from the outsiders dwelling among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, ⁹ but does not bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to Adonai, is to be cut off from his people.

¹⁰ “Anyone from the house of Israel, or from the outsiders dwelling among them, who eats any kind of blood, I will set my face against that soul—the one who eats blood—and will cut him off from among his people. ¹¹ For the life of the creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives—for it is the blood that makes atonement because of the life. ¹² Therefore I have said to Bnei-Yisrael: No person among you may eat blood, nor may any outsider dwelling among you eat blood.

¹³ “Any person from Bnei-Yisrael, or from the outsiders dwelling among them, who hunts as game any animal or bird that may be eaten, must drain its blood and cover it with dust. ¹⁴ For the life of every creature, its blood is in its life. Therefore I said to Bnei-Yisrael: You are not to eat the blood of any kind of creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it is to be cut off.

¹⁵ “Everyone who eats what dies naturally or is torn by animals—whether he is native-born or a foreigner—is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. He will be unclean until the evening, then he will be clean. ¹⁶ But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he will bear his iniquity.”

18 Adonai said to Moses: ² “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and say to them: I am Adonai your God. ³ You are not to act as they do in the land of Egypt, where you used to live. Nor are you to act as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, nor are you to walk in their customs. ⁴ You are to obey My ordinances and keep My statutes and walk in them—I am Adonai your God. ⁵ So you are to keep My statutes and My ordinances. The one who does them will live by them. I am Adonai.

Incest Forbidden

⁶ “None of you is to come near anyone who is his close relatives to uncover their nakedness. I am Adonai.

⁷ “You are not to uncover the nakedness of your father or your mother. She is your mother. You shall not uncover her nakedness. ⁸ You are not to uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife, for it is your father’s nakedness. ⁹ You are not to uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere. ¹⁰ You are not to uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter, or of your daughter’s daughter, for theirs is your own nakedness. ¹¹ You are not to uncover the nakedness of the daughter of your father’s wife, conceived by your father, since she is your sister. ¹² You are not to uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister, for she is your father’s direct relative. ¹³ You are not to uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s direct relative. ¹⁴ You are not to uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother by approaching his wife, for she is your aunt. ¹⁵ You are not to uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law, for she is your son’s wife. You are not to uncover her nakedness. ¹⁶ You are not to uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife, because that is your brother’s nakedness. ¹⁷ You are not to uncover the nakedness of both a woman and her daughter. You are not to take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness, for they are direct relatives. That is wickedness. ¹⁸ You are not to marry your wife’s sister, to be a rival, uncovering her nakedness, while her sister is still alive.

Other Forbidden Relations

¹⁹ “You are not to approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in the impurity of her niddah. ²⁰ You are not to lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.

²¹ “You are not to give any of your children in sacrifice to Molech, and defile the Name of your God. I am Adonai.

²² “You are not to lie with a man, as with a woman—that is an abomination. ²³ You are not to lie with any animal to defile yourself with it, nor is any woman to give herself to an animal, to lie down with it—that is a perversion.

²⁴ “Do not defile yourselves in any of these things, for in all of these ways the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled. ²⁵ The land has become defiled, so I will punish its iniquity, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants. ²⁶ You, however, are to keep My statutes and My ordinances, and do none of these abominations, neither the native-born, nor the outsider dwelling among you.

²⁷ “For all these abominations were done by the men of the land who were before you, and the land became defiled. ²⁸ If you defile it, the land will vomit you out as it vomited out the nation that was before you. ²⁹ For whoever does any of these detestable things, the souls that do them are to be cut off from the midst of their people. ³⁰ Therefore you are to keep My charge, so that you do not practice any of these detestable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am Adonai your God.”

David’s Sukkah Restored

Blood and Injustice

22 The word of Adonai came to me saying: ² “You, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the bloody city? So explain to her all her abominations. ³ Say, thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘City that spills blood in her midst and makes idols for herself that defile—her time has come! ⁴ You have become guilty in your blood that you have spilled, and are defiled by your idols that you have made. So you have brought your days near, and have come up to your years. Therefore I have made you a disgrace to the nations and a mockery to all the lands. ⁵ Those near and far from you will mock you—with a defiled name and full of turmoil.’

⁶ “Behold, each prince of Israel has used his own arm’s strength in you to shed blood. ⁷ Father and mother have been treated with contempt; the outsider has been oppressed in your midst; the orphan and the widow have been mistreated in you. ⁸ You have despised My holy things and profaned My Shabbatot. ⁹ Slanderous men are in you in order to shed blood. They have eaten at the mountain shrines; they commit immoral acts in your midst. ¹⁰ They have uncovered their fathers’ nakedness in you; they violate women that are in niddah within you. ¹¹ One has been detestable with his neighbor’s wife; another has wickedly defiled his daughter-in-law; yet another has violated his sister, his father’s daughter, in you. ¹² They accept bribes in order to shed blood in you; you have taken usurious interest. You have greedily gained by oppressing your neighbors, and you have forgotten Me.” It is a declaration of Adonai.

¹³ “Now look, I clap My hands at your dishonest gain that you have made and at your bloodshed in your midst. ¹⁴ Will your heart’s courage stand or your hands be strong in the days when I deal with you? I, Adonai, have spoken it and will do it. ¹⁵ I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you throughout the lands. I will purge your uncleanness from you. ¹⁶ You will be defiled in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am Adonai.”

Morality in the Temple of God

⁹ Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Don’t be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, those who practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ thieves, the greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ That is what some of you were—but you were washed, you were made holy, you were set right in the name of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah and by the Ruach of our God.

¹² “Everything is permitted for me”—but not everything is helpful. “Everything is permitted for me”—but I will not be controlled by anything. ¹³ “Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food”—but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. ¹⁴ Now God raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. ¹⁵ Don’t you know that your bodies are members of Messiah? Shall I then take the members of Messiah and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! ¹⁶ Or don’t you know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall become one flesh.” ^{[a] 17} But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality! Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body—but the one committing sexual immorality sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Ruach ha-Kodesh who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.^[b]