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20 And when he has finished atoning for the Holy of Holies and the Tent of Meeting and the altar [of burnt offering], he shall present the live goat;

21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over him all the iniquities of the Israelites and all their transgressions, all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat [the sin-bearer], and send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man [a]who is timely (ready, fit).

22 The goat shall bear upon himself all their iniquities, carrying them to a land cut off (a land of forgetfulness and separation, not inhabited)! And the man leading it shall let the goat go in the wilderness.(A)

23 Aaron shall come into the Tent of Meeting and put off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy of Holies, and leave them there;

24 And he shall bathe his body with water in a sacred place and put on his garments, and come forth and offer his burnt offering and that of the people, and make atonement for himself and for them.

25 And the fat of the sin offering he shall burn upon the altar.

26 The man who led the sin-bearing goat out and let him go for Azazel or removal shall wash his clothes and bathe his body, and afterward he may come into the camp.

27 The bull and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy of Holies, shall be carried forth without the camp; their skins, their flesh, and their dung shall be burned with fire.(B)

28 And he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.

29 It shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month [nearly October] on the tenth day of the month you shall afflict yourselves [by fasting with penitence and humiliation] and do no work at all, either the native-born or the stranger who dwells temporarily among you.

30 For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord.(C)

31 It is a sabbath of [solemn] rest to you, and you shall afflict yourselves [by fasting with penitence and humiliation]; it is a statute forever.

32 And the priest who shall be anointed and consecrated to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments;

33 He shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, for the Tent of Meeting, and for the altar [of burnt offering in the court], and shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.

34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, that atonement may be made for the Israelites for all their sins once a year. And Moses did as the Lord commanded him.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 16:21 This is suggestive of the part the personal worker has to play in showing the sinner that Christ the great Sin-bearer has made full substitution for him, if he will accept it. Notice the qualifications of this man, sent along to complete the picture of the transaction between the sinner and his only sin-bearer. He is to be a man, says the Hebrew, “timely (ready, fit)” to do such a task.

20 “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat.(A) 21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat(B) and confess(C) over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins(D) to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

23 “Then Aaron is to go into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments(E) he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there.(F) 24 He shall bathe himself with water in the sanctuary area(G) and put on his regular garments.(H) Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people,(I) to make atonement for himself and for the people.(J) 25 He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

26 “The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat(K) must wash his clothes(L) and bathe himself with water;(M) afterward he may come into the camp. 27 The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp;(N) their hides, flesh and intestines are to be burned up. 28 The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.(O)

29 “This is to be a lasting ordinance(P) for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month(Q) you must deny yourselves[a](R) and not do any work(S)—whether native-born(T) or a foreigner residing among you— 30 because on this day atonement will be made(U) for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins.(V) 31 It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves;(W) it is a lasting ordinance.(X) 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained(Y) to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments(Z) 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the tent of meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the members of the community.(AA)

34 “This is to be a lasting ordinance(AB) for you: Atonement is to be made once a year(AC) for all the sins of the Israelites.”

And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses.

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 16:29 Or must fast; also in verse 31