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Leviticus 16
Lexham English Bible

The Day of Atonement

16 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons, when they had come near before[b] Yahweh and they died. 2 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell[c] your brother Aaron that he should not enter at any time into the sanctuary behind[d] the curtain in front of[e] the atonement cover that is on the ark, so that he might not die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

3 “Aaron must enter the sanctuary with this: a young bull[f] as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. 4 He must put on a holy linen tunic,[g] and linen undergarments must be on his body, and he must fasten himself[h] with a linen sash, and he must wrap a linen turban around his head[i]—they are holy garments, and he shall wash his body with water, then[j] he shall put them on. 5 And he must take from the Israelites’[k] community two he-goats as a sin offering and one ram as a burnt offering.

6 “And Aaron shall present the sin offering’s bull, which is for himself, and so he shall make atonement for himself and for his family. 7 And he shall take the two goats, and he shall present them before[l] Yahweh at the tent of assembly’s entrance. 8 Then[m] Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for Yahweh and one for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot for Yahweh fell, and he shall sacrifice[n] it as a sin offering. 10 But[o] he must present alive before[p] Yahweh the goat on which the lot for Azazel fell to make atonement for himself, to send it away into the desert to Azazel.

11 “And Aaron shall present the sin offering’s bull, which is for himself, and so he shall make atonement for himself and for his family; then[q] he shall slaughter the sin offering’s bull, which is for himself. 12 And he shall take a[r] censer full of burning charcoal[s] from upon the altar from before[t] Yahweh and two handfuls[u] of incense of powdered fragrant perfumes, and he shall bring it from behind[v] the curtain, 13 and he shall put the incense on the fire before[w] Yahweh so that the cloud of incense might cover the atonement cover, which is on the covenant text,[x] so that he might not die. 14 And he shall take some of[y] the bull’s blood, and he shall spatter it[z] with his finger on the atonement cover’s surface on the eastern side, and before[aa] the atonement cover he shall spatter some of[ab] the blood with his finger seven times.

15 “And he shall slaughter the sin offering’s goat, which is for the people, and he shall bring its blood from behind[ac] the curtain, and he shall do with its blood as that which he did with[ad] the bull’s blood, and he shall spatter it on the atonement cover and before[ae] the atonement cover. 16 Thus[af] he shall make atonement for the sanctuary from the Israelites’[ag] impurities and from their transgressions for all their sins; and so he must do for the tent of assembly, which dwells with them in the midst of their impurities. 17 And no person[ah] shall be in the tent of assembly when he enters to make atonement in the sanctuary until he comes out, and so he shall make atonement for himself and for his family and for all of Israel’s assembly.

18 “Then[ai] he shall go out to the altar that is before[aj] Yahweh, and he shall make atonement for it; and he shall take some of[ak] the bull’s blood and some of[al] the goat’s blood, and he shall put it[am] all around on the altar’s horns. 19 And he shall spatter some of[an] the blood on it seven times with his finger, and he shall cleanse it and consecrate[ao] it from the Israelites’[ap] impurities.

20 “And he shall finish making atonement for the sanctuary and the tent of assembly and the altar; then[aq] he shall present the living goat. 21 And Aaron shall place his two hands on the living goat’s head, and he shall confess over it all the Israelites’[ar] iniquities and all their transgressions for all their sins, and he shall put them on the goat’s head, and he shall send it[as] away into the desert with[at] a man standing ready.[au] 22 Thus[av] the goat shall bear on it to a barren region[aw] all their guilt, and he shall send the goat away into the desert.

23 “And Aaron shall enter the tent of assembly, and he shall take off the linen garments that he put on at his coming to the sanctuary, and he shall leave them there. 24 And he shall wash his body with water in a holy place, and he shall put on his garments and go out and sacrifice[ax] his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering, and so he shall make atonement for himself and for people. 25 And he must turn into smoke the sin offering’s fat on the altar.

26 “And the person who sends out the goat for Azazel shall wash his garments, and he shall wash his body with water, and afterward[ay] he shall come to the camp. 27 And the sin offering’s bull and the sin offering’s goat, whose blood was brought to make atonement in the sanctuary, shall be brought outside the camp,[az] and they shall burn their hide and their flesh and their offal in the fire. 28 And the person who burns them shall wash his garments, and he shall wash his body with water, and afterward[ba] he must come to the camp.

29 “And this shall be a lasting statute[bb] for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you must deny yourselves and you must not do any work, whether the native or[bc] the alien who is dwelling in your midst, 30 because on this day he shall make atonement for you to cleanse you; you must be clean from all your sins before[bd] Yahweh. 31 It is a Sabbath of complete rest[be] for you, and you shall deny yourselves—it is a lasting statute.[bf] 32 And the priest who is anointed and who is ordained[bg] to serve as a priest in place of his father shall make atonement; thus[bh] he shall put on the linen garments, the holy garments, 33 and he shall make atonement for the sanctuary’s holy place, and he shall make atonement for the tent of assembly and the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all of the assembly’s people. 34 And this shall be a lasting statute[bi] for you to make atonement for the Israelites[bj] one time in a year from all their sins.”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 16:1 Or “And”
  2. Leviticus 16:1 Literally “before faces of”
  3. Leviticus 16:2 Or “Speak to”
  4. Leviticus 16:2 Literally “from the interior/inside to”
  5. Leviticus 16:2 Literally “to the faces of”
  6. Leviticus 16:3 Literally “a bull a son of cattle”
  7. Leviticus 16:4 Literally “a tunic of linen of holiness”
  8. Leviticus 16:4 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  9. Leviticus 16:4 Supplied from context in the English translation
  10. Leviticus 16:4 Or “and”
  11. Leviticus 16:5 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  12. Leviticus 16:7 Literally “to the faces of”
  13. Leviticus 16:8 Or “And”
  14. Leviticus 16:9 Literally “do” or “make”
  15. Leviticus 16:10 Or “And”
  16. Leviticus 16:10 Literally “to the faces of”
  17. Leviticus 16:11 Or “and”
  18. Leviticus 16:12 Hebrew “the”
  19. Leviticus 16:12 Literally “burning charcoal of fire”
  20. Leviticus 16:12 Literally “to the faces of”
  21. Leviticus 16:12 Literally “the fullness of the hollow of his hands”
  22. Leviticus 16:12 Literally “from the interior/inside of”
  23. Leviticus 16:13 Literally “to the faces of”
  24. Leviticus 16:13 Literally “testimony”
  25. Leviticus 16:14 Literally “from”
  26. Leviticus 16:14 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  27. Leviticus 16:14 Literally “to the faces of”
  28. Leviticus 16:14 Literally “from”
  29. Leviticus 16:15 Literally “from the interior/inside of”
  30. Leviticus 16:15 Hebrew “to”
  31. Leviticus 16:15 Literally “to the faces of”
  32. Leviticus 16:16 Or “And”
  33. Leviticus 16:16 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  34. Leviticus 16:17 Literally “any man not”
  35. Leviticus 16:18 Or “And”
  36. Leviticus 16:18 Literally “to the faces of”
  37. Leviticus 16:18 Literally “from”
  38. Leviticus 16:18 Literally “from”
  39. Leviticus 16:18 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  40. Leviticus 16:19 Literally “from”
  41. Leviticus 16:19 Literally “he shall consecrate”
  42. Leviticus 16:19 Literally “of the sons/children of Israel”
  43. Leviticus 16:20 Or “and”
  44. Leviticus 16:21 Literally “of the sons/of the children of Israel”
  45. Leviticus 16:21 The direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  46. Leviticus 16:21 Literally “by the hand of”
  47. Leviticus 16:21 Or “at hand”
  48. Leviticus 16:22 Or “And”
  49. Leviticus 16:22 Literally “a land of separation” or “a land of infertility”
  50. Leviticus 16:24 Literally “he shall do” or “he shall make”
  51. Leviticus 16:26 Literally “after thus”
  52. Leviticus 16:27 Literally “to from an outside place of the camp”
  53. Leviticus 16:28 Literally “after thus”
  54. Leviticus 16:29 Literally “a statute of eternity” or “a statute of long duration”
  55. Leviticus 16:29 Or “and”
  56. Leviticus 16:30 Literally “to the faces of”
  57. Leviticus 16:31 Literally “a Sabbath of ‘Sabbathation.’” “Sabbathation” is not a real word, but it is devised as an attempt to convey the sounds of the related nouns in the Hebrew phrase
  58. Leviticus 16:31 Literally “a statute of eternity” or “a statute of long duration”
  59. Leviticus 16:32 Literally “filled his hand”
  60. Leviticus 16:32 Or “and”
  61. Leviticus 16:34 Literally “a statute of eternity” or “a statute of long duration”
  62. Leviticus 16:34 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
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Leviticus 16
Christian Standard Bible

The Day of Atonement

16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence(A) of[a] the Lord and died.(B) 2 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he may not come whenever he wants into the holy place(C) behind the curtain(D) in front of the mercy seat(E) on the ark or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud(F) above the mercy seat.(G)

3 “Aaron is to enter the most holy place(H) in this way: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.(I) 4 He is to wear a holy linen tunic, and linen undergarments are to be on his body. He is to tie a linen sash around him and wrap his head with a linen turban.(J) These are holy garments; he must bathe his body with water before he wears them. 5 He is to take from the Israelite community two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.(K)

6 “Aaron will present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household. 7 Next he will take the two goats and place them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 After Aaron casts lots(L) for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other for an uninhabitable place,[b][c](M) 9 he is to present the goat chosen by lot for the Lord and sacrifice it as a sin offering.(N) 10 But the goat chosen by lot for an uninhabitable place is to be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement with it by sending it into the wilderness(O) for an uninhabitable place.

11 “When Aaron presents the bull for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household, he will slaughter the bull for his sin offering. 12 Then he is to take a firepan full of blazing coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense,(P) and bring them inside the curtain.(Q) 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud(R) of incense covers the mercy seat that is over the testimony,(S) or else he will die.(T) 14 He is to take some of the bull’s blood(U) and sprinkle it with his finger against the east side of the mercy seat; then he will sprinkle some of the blood with his finger before the mercy seat seven times.(V)

15 “When he slaughters the male goat for the people’s sin offering and brings its blood inside the curtain, he will do the same with its blood as he did with the bull’s blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it. 16 He will make atonement for the most holy place in this way for all their sins because of the Israelites’ impurities and rebellious acts.(W) He will do the same for the tent of meeting that remains among them, because it is surrounded by their impurities. 17 No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the most holy place until he leaves after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel.(X) 18 Then he will go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the horns on all sides of the altar. 19 He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse and set it apart(Y) from the Israelites’ impurities.(Z)

20 “When he has finished making atonement for the most holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar, he is to present the live male goat. 21 Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess(AA) over it all the Israelites’ iniquities(AB) and rebellious acts—all their sins.(AC) He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness(AD) by the man appointed for the task.[d] 22 The goat will carry all their iniquities into a desolate land,(AE) and the man will release it there.

23 “Then Aaron is to enter the tent of meeting, take off the linen garments(AF) he wore when he entered the most holy place, and leave them there. 24 He will bathe his body with water in a holy place(AG) and put on his clothes.(AH) Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering; he will make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 He is to burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar. 26 The man who released the goat for an uninhabitable place is to wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; afterward he may reenter the camp. 27 The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the most holy place to make atonement, must be brought outside the camp(AI) and their hide,(AJ) flesh, and waste burned.(AK) 28 The one who burns them is to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.

29 “This is to be a permanent statute(AL) for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month you are to practice self-denial(AM) and do no work,(AN) both the native and the alien(AO) who resides among you. 30 Atonement will be made for you on this day to cleanse you,(AP) and you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 31 It is a Sabbath(AQ) of complete rest for you,(AR) and you must practice self-denial; it is a permanent statute. 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained[e](AS) to serve as high priest(AT) in place of his father will make atonement. He will put on the linen garments, the holy garments, 33 and make atonement for the most holy place. He will make atonement for the tent of meeting and the altar and will make atonement for the priests and all the people of the assembly. 34 This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement for the Israelites once a year(AU) because of all their sins.” And all this was done as the Lord commanded Moses.

Footnotes

  1. 16:1 LXX, Tg, Syr, Vg read they brought strange fire before; Nm 3:4
  2. 16:8 Lit for Azazel, also in vv. 10 (2x),26
  3. 16:8 Traditionally “for the scapegoat”; perhaps a term that means “for the goat that departs,” or “for removal,” or “for a rough, difficult place,” or “for a goat-demon”; Hb obscure, also in vv. 10,26
  4. 16:21 Lit wilderness in the hand of a ready man
  5. 16:32 Lit and will fill his hand
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