Leviticus 1-8

Complete Jewish Bible

Parashah 24: Vayikra (He called) 1:1–5:26(6:7)

1 Adonai called to Moshe and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said, ² “Speak to the people of Isra’el; say to them, ‘When any of you brings an offering to Adonai, you may bring your animal offering either from the herd or from the flock. ³ If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he must offer a male without defect. He is to bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, so that it can be accepted by Adonai. ⁴ He is to lay his hand upon the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. ⁵ He is to slaughter the young bull before Adonai ; and the sons of Aharon, the cohanim, are to present the blood. They are to splash the blood against all sides of the altar, which is by the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁶ He is to skin the burnt offering and cut it in pieces. ⁷ The descendants of Aharon the cohen are to put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. ⁸ The sons of Aharon, the cohanim, are to arrange the pieces, the head and the fat on the wood which is on the fire on the altar. ⁹ He is to wash the entrails and lower parts of the legs with water, and the cohen is to cause all of it to go up in smoke on the altar as a burnt offering; it is an offering made by fire, a fragrant aroma for Adonai.

¹⁰ “‘If his offering is from the flock, whether from the sheep or from the goats, for a burnt offering, he must offer a male without defect. ¹¹ He is to slaughter it on the north side of the altar before Adonai; and the sons of Aharon, the cohanim, are to splash its blood against all sides of the altar. ¹² He is to cut it into pieces, and the cohen is to arrange them with the head and fat on the wood which is on the fire on the altar. ¹³ He is to wash the entrails and lower parts of the legs with water; and the cohen is to offer it all and make it go up in smoke on the altar as a burnt offering; it is an offering made by fire, a fragrant aroma for Adonai.

(ii) ¹⁴ “‘If his offering to Adonai is a burnt offering of birds, he must offer a dove or a young pigeon. ¹⁵ The cohen is to bring it to the altar, snap off its head and make it go up in smoke on the altar; its blood is to be drained out on the side of the altar. ¹⁶ He is to remove the food pouch and its feathers from its neck and discard it on the pile of ashes just east of the altar. ¹⁷ He is to pull it open with a wing on each side, but without tearing it in half. The cohen is to make it go up in smoke on the altar, on the wood which is on the fire, as a burnt offering; it is an offering made by fire, a fragrant aroma for Adonai.

2 “‘Anyone who brings a grain offering to Adonai is to make his offering of fine flour; he is to pour olive oil on it and put frankincense on it. ² He is to bring it to the sons of Aharon, the cohanim. The cohen is to take a handful of fine flour from it, together with its olive oil and all its frankincense, and make this reminder portion go up in smoke on the altar as an offering made by fire, a fragrant aroma for Adonai. ³ But the rest of the grain offering will belong to Aharon and his sons; it is an especially holy part of the offerings for Adonai made by fire.

⁴ “‘When you bring a grain offering which has been baked in the oven, it is to consist of either unleavened cakes made of fine flour mixed with olive oil or matzah spread with olive oil. ⁵ If your offering is a grain offering cooked on a griddle, it is to consist of unleavened fine flour mixed with olive oil; ⁶ you are to break it in pieces and pour olive oil on it — it is a grain offering. (iii) ⁷ If your offering is a grain offering cooked in a pot, it is to consist of fine flour with olive oil.

⁸ “‘You are to bring the grain offering prepared in any of these ways to Adonai ; it is to be presented to the cohen, and he is to bring it to the altar. ⁹ The cohen is to remove the reminder portion of the grain offering and make it go up in smoke on the altar as an offering made by fire, a fragrant aroma for Adonai. ¹⁰ But the rest of the grain offering will belong to Aharon and his sons; it is an especially holy part of the offerings for Adonai made by fire.

¹¹ “‘No grain offering that you bring to Adonai is to be made with leaven, because you are not to cause any leaven or honey to go up in smoke as an offering made by fire to Adonai. ¹² As an offering of firstfruits you may bring these to Adonai, but they are not to be brought up onto the altar to make a fragrant aroma. ¹³ You are to season every grain offering of yours with salt — do not omit from your grain offering the salt of the covenant with your God, but offer salt with all your offerings.

¹⁴ “‘If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to Adonai, you are to bring as the grain offering from your firstfruits kernels of grain from fresh ears, dry-roasted with fire. ¹⁵ Put olive oil on it, and lay frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. ¹⁶ The cohen is to cause the reminder portion of it, its grits and olive oil, with all its frankincense, to go up in smoke; it is an offering made by fire for Adonai.

3 (iv) “‘If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings, then, if he offers before Adonai an animal from the herd, then, no matter whether it is male or female, it must be without defect. ² He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the tent of meeting; and the sons of Aharon, the cohanim, are to splash the blood against all sides of the altar. ³ He is to present the sacrifice of the peace offerings as an offering made by fire to Adonai; it is to consist of the fat covering the inner organs, all the fat above the inner organs, ⁴ the two kidneys, the fat on them near the flanks, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys. ⁵ Aharon’s sons will make it go up in smoke on the altar on top of the burnt offering which is on the wood on the fire; it is an offering made by fire, a fragrant aroma for Adonai.

⁶ “‘If his offering for a sacrifice of peace offerings to Adonai is from the flock, then, when he offers it, no matter whether it is male or female, it must be without defect. ⁷ If he brings a lamb for his offering, then he is to present it before Adonai. ⁸ He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aharon are to splash its blood against all sides of the altar. ⁹ From the sacrifices made as peace offerings, he is to present Adonai with an offering made by fire; it is to consist of its fat, the entire fat tail, which he will remove close to the lower backbone, the fat covering the inner organs, all the fat above the inner organs, ¹⁰ the two kidneys, the fat on them near the flanks, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys. ¹¹ The cohen will make it go up in smoke on the altar; it is food, an offering made by fire to Adonai.

¹² “‘If his offering is a goat, then he is to present it before Adonai. ¹³ He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aharon are to splash its blood against all sides of the altar. ¹⁴ He is to present from it his offering, an offering made by fire to Adonai ; it is to consist of the fat covering the inner organs, all the fat above the inner organs, ¹⁵ the two kidneys, the fat on them near the flanks, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys. ¹⁶ The cohen will make them go up in smoke on the altar; it is food, an offering made by fire to be a fragrant aroma; all the fat belongs to Adonai. ¹⁷ It is to be a permanent regulation through all your generations wherever you live that you will eat neither fat nor blood.’”

4 (v) Adonai said to Moshe, ² “Tell the people of Isra’el: ‘If anyone sins inadvertently against any of the mitzvot of Adonai concerning things which should not be done, if he does any one of them, ³ then, if it is the anointed cohen who sinned and thus brought guilt on the people, he is to offer Adonai a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he committed. ⁴ He must bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before Adonai, lay his hand on the bull’s head and slaughter the bull in the presence of Adonai. ⁵ The anointed cohen is to take some of the bull’s blood and bring it to the tent of meeting. ⁶ The cohen is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times in the presence of Adonai in front of the curtain of the sanctuary. ⁷ The cohen is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for fragrant incense before Adonai there in the tent of meeting. All the remaining blood of the bull he is to pour out at the base of the altar for burnt offerings, which is at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁸ He is to remove from the bull for the sin offering all of its fat — the fat covering the inner organs, all the fat above the inner organs, ⁹ the two kidneys, the fat on them near the flanks, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys ¹⁰ as it is removed from an ox sacrificed as a peace offering; and the cohen is to make these parts go up in smoke on the altar for burnt offerings. ¹¹ But the bull’s hide and all its flesh, with its head, the lower parts of its legs, its inner organs and dung — ¹² in other words, the entire bull — he is to bring outside the camp to a clean place, where the ashes are emptied out. There he is to burn it on wood with fire; there, where the ashes are emptied out, it is to be burned up.

¹³ “‘If the entire community of Isra’el inadvertently makes a mistake, with the assembly being unaware of the matter, and they do something against any of the mitzvot of Adonai concerning things which should not be done, they are guilty. ¹⁴ When the sin they have committed becomes known, then the assembly is to offer a young bull as a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting. ¹⁵ The leaders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull’s head and slaughter the bull in the presence of Adonai. ¹⁶ The anointed cohen is to bring some of the bull’s blood to the tent of meeting. ¹⁷ The cohen is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times in the presence of Adonai in front of the curtain. ¹⁸ He is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar before Adonai, there in the tent of meeting. All the remaining blood he is to pour out at the base of the altar for burnt offerings, which is at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ¹⁹ He is to remove all its fat and make it go up in smoke on the altar. ²⁰ This is what he is to do with the bull — he must do the same with this bull as he does with the one for the sin offering. Thus the cohen will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven. ²¹ He is to bring the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.

²² “‘When a leader sins and inadvertently does something against any of the mitzvot of Adonai concerning things which should not be done, he is guilty. ²³ If the sin which he committed becomes known to him, he is to bring as his offering a male goat without defect, ²⁴ lay his hand on the goat’s head and slaughter it in the place where they slaughter the burnt offering in the presence of Adonai ; it is a sin offering. ²⁵ The cohen is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. Its remaining blood he is to pour out at the base of the altar for burnt offerings. ²⁶ All its fat he is to make go up in smoke on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice for peace offerings; thus the cohen will make atonement for him in regard to his sin, and he will be forgiven.

(vi) ²⁷ “‘If an individual among the people commits a sin inadvertently, doing something against any of the mitzvot of Adonai concerning things which should not be done, he is guilty. ²⁸ If the sin he committed becomes known to him, he is to bring as his offering a female goat without defect for the sin he committed, ²⁹ lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter the sin offering in the place of burnt offerings. ³⁰ The cohen is to take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. All its remaining blood he is to pour out at the base of the altar. ³¹ All its fat he is to remove, as the fat is removed from the sacrifice for peace offerings; and the cohen is to make it go up in smoke on the altar as a fragrant aroma for Adonai. Thus the cohen will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.

³² “‘If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, he is to bring a female without defect, ³³ lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it as a sin offering in the place where they slaughter burnt offerings. ³⁴ The cohen is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. All its remaining blood he is to pour out at the base of the altar. ³⁵ All its fat he is to remove, as the fat of a lamb is removed from the sacrifice for peace offerings; and the cohen is to make it go up in smoke on the altar on top of the offerings for Adonai made by fire. Thus the cohen will make atonement for him in regard to the sin he committed, and he will be forgiven.

5 “‘If a person who is a witness, sworn to testify, sins by refusing to tell what he has seen or heard about the matter, he must bear the consequences. ² If a person touches something unclean, whether the carcass of an unclean wild animal, a domestic animal or a reptile, he is guilty, even though he may not be aware that he is unclean. ³ If he touches some human uncleanness, no matter what the source of his uncleanness is, and is unaware of it, then, when he learns of it, he is guilty. ⁴ If someone allows to slip from his mouth an oath to do evil or to do good, and he doesn’t remember that he clearly spoke this oath, then, no matter what it was about, when he learns of it, he is guilty. ⁵ A person guilty of any of these things is to confess in what manner he sinned ⁶ and bring his guilt offering to Adonai for the sin he committed; it is to be a female from the flock, either a lamb or a goat, as a sin offering; and the cohen will make atonement for him in regard to his sin.

⁷ “‘If he can’t afford a lamb, he is to bring as his guilt offering for the sin he committed two doves or two young pigeons for Adonai — the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. ⁸ He is to bring them to the cohen, who will offer the one for a sin offering first. He is to wring its neck but not remove the head, ⁹ sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar and drain out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering. ¹⁰ He is to prepare the second as a burnt offering in the manner prescribed. Thus the cohen will make atonement for him in regard to the sin which he committed, and he will be forgiven.

(vii) ¹¹ “‘But if his means are insufficient even for two doves or two young pigeons, then he is to bring as his offering for the sin he committed two quarts of fine flour for a sin offering; he is not to put any olive oil or frankincense on it, because it is a sin offering. ¹² He is to bring it to the cohen, and the cohen is to take a handful of it as its reminder portion and make it go up in smoke on the altar on top of the offerings for Adonai made by fire; it is a sin offering. ¹³ Thus the cohen will make atonement for him in regard to the sin he committed concerning any of these things, and he will be forgiven. The rest will belong to the cohanim, as with a grain offering.’”

¹⁴ Adonai said to Moshe, ¹⁵ “If anyone acts improperly and inadvertently sins in regard to the holy things of Adonai, he is to bring as his guilt offering for Adonai a ram without defect from the flock or its equivalent in silver shekels (using the sanctuary shekel as the standard), according to your appraisal of its value; it is a guilt offering. ¹⁶ In addition, he is to make restitution for whatever he did wrong in regard to the holy thing; moreover, he is to add to that one-fifth and give it to the cohen. Then the cohen will make atonement with the ram of the guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.

¹⁷ “If someone sins by doing something against any of the mitzvot of Adonai concerning things which should not be done, he is guilty, even if he is unaware of it; and he bears the consequences of his wrongdoing. ¹⁸ He must bring a ram without defect from the flock, or its equivalent according to your appraisal, to the cohen for a guilt offering; the cohen will make atonement concerning the error which he committed, even though he was unaware of it; and he will be forgiven. ¹⁹ It is a guilt offering — he is certainly guilty before Adonai.”

^20 (6:1) Adonai said to Moshe, ^21 (6:2) “If someone sins and acts perversely against Adonai by dealing falsely with his neighbor in regard to a deposit or security entrusted to him, by stealing from him, by extorting him, ^22 (6:3) or by dealing falsely in regard to a lost object he has found, or by swearing to a lie — if a person commits any of these sins, ^23 (6:4) then, if he sinned and is guilty, he is to restore whatever it was he stole or obtained by extortion, or whatever was deposited with him, or the lost object which he found, (Maftir) ^24 (6:5) or anything about which he has sworn falsely. He is to restore it in full plus an additional one-fifth; he must return it to the person who owns it, on the day when he presents his guilt offering. ^25 (6:6) He is to bring as his guilt offering to Adonai a ram without defect from the flock, or its equivalent according to your appraisal, to the cohen; it is a guilt offering. ^26 (6:7) Thus the cohen will make atonement for him before Adonai, and he will be forgiven in regard to whatever it was he did that made him guilty.

Haftarah Vayikra: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 43:21–44:23

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Vayikra: Romans 8:1–13; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 10:1–14; 13:10–16

Parashah 25: Tzav (Give an order) 6:1(8) – 8:36

6 ⁽⁸⁾ Adonai said to Moshe, ^2 (9) “Give this order to Aharon and his sons: ‘This is the law for the burnt offering ^[a]: it is what goes up ^[b] on its firewood upon the altar all night long, until morning; in this way the fire of the altar will be kept burning. ^3 (10) When the fire has consumed the burnt offering on the altar, the cohen, having put on his linen garment and covered himself with his linen shorts, is to remove the ashes and put them beside the altar. ^4 (11) Then he is to remove those garments and put on others, before carrying the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. ^5 (12) In this way, the fire on the altar will be kept burning and not be allowed to go out. Each morning, the cohen is to kindle wood on it, arrange the burnt offering and make the fat of the peace offerings go up in smoke. ^6 (13) Fire is to be kept burning on the altar continually; it is not to go out.

^7 (14) “‘This is the law for the grain offering: the sons of Aharon are to offer it before Adonai in front of the altar. ^8 (15) He is to take from the grain offering a handful of its fine flour, some of its olive oil and all of the frankincense which is on the grain offering; and he is to make this reminder portion of it go up in smoke on the altar as a fragrant aroma for Adonai. ^9 (16) The rest of it Aharon and his sons are to eat; it is to be eaten without leaven in a holy place — they are to eat it in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. ^10 (17) It is not to be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of my offerings made by fire; like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is especially holy. ^11 (18) Every male descendant of Aharon may eat from it; it is his share of the offerings for Adonai made by fire forever through all your generations. Whatever touches those offerings will become holy.’”

(ii) ^12 (19) Adonai said to Moshe, ^13 (20) “This is the offering for Adonai that Aharon and his sons are to offer on the day he is anointed: two quarts of fine flour, half of it in the morning and half in the evening, as a grain offering from then on. ^14 (21) It is to be well mixed with olive oil and fried on a griddle; then bring it in, break it in pieces and offer the grain offering as a fragrant aroma for Adonai. ^15 (22) The anointed cohen who will take Aharon’s place from among his descendants will offer it; it is a perpetual obligation. It must be entirely made to go up in smoke for Adonai; ^16 (23) every grain offering of the cohen is to be entirely made to go up in smoke — it is not to be eaten.”

^17 (24) Adonai said to Moshe, ^18 (25) “Tell Aharon and his sons, ‘This is the law for the sin offering: the sin offering is to be slaughtered before Adonai in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is especially holy. ^19 (26) The cohen who offers it for sin is to eat it — it is to be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. ^20 (27) Whatever touches its flesh will become holy; if any of its blood splashes on any item of clothing, you are to wash it in a holy place. ^21 (28) The clay pot in which it is cooked must be broken; if it is cooked in a bronze pot, it must be scoured and rinsed in water. ^22 (29) Any male from a family of cohanim may eat the sin offering; it is especially holy. ^23 (30) But no sin offering which has had any of its blood brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place is to be eaten; it is to be burned up completely.

7 “‘This is the law for the guilt offering: it is especially holy. ² They are to slaughter the guilt offering in the place where they slaughter the burnt offering, and its blood is to be splashed against all sides of the altar. ³ He is to offer all its fat — the fat tail, the fat covering the inner organs, ⁴ the two kidneys, the fat on them near the flanks, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys. ⁵ The cohen will make them go up in smoke on the altar as an offering made by fire to Adonai ; it is a guilt offering. ⁶ Every male from a family of cohanim may eat it; it is to be eaten in a holy place; it is especially holy. ⁷ The guilt offering is like the sin offering; the same law governs them — it will belong to the cohen who uses it to make atonement.

⁸ “‘The cohen who offers someone’s burnt offering will possess the hide of the burnt offering which he has offered.

⁹ “‘Every grain offering baked in the oven, cooked in a pot or fried on a griddle will belong to the cohen who offers it. ¹⁰ But every grain offering which is mixed with olive oil or is dry will belong to all the sons of Aharon equally.

(iii) ¹¹ “‘This is the law for sacrificing peace offerings offered to Adonai: ¹² If a person offers it for giving thanks, he is to offer it with the thanksgiving sacrifice of unleavened cakes mixed with olive oil, matzah spread with olive oil, and cakes made of fine flour mixed with olive oil and fried. ¹³ With cakes of leavened bread he is to present his offering together with the sacrifice of his peace offerings for giving thanks. ¹⁴ From each kind of offering he is to present one as a gift for Adonai; it will belong to the cohen who splashes the blood of the peace offerings against the altar. ¹⁵ The meat of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for giving thanks is to be eaten on the day of his offering; he is not to leave any of it until morning. ¹⁶ But if the sacrifice connected with his offering is for a vow or is a voluntary offering, then, while it is to be eaten on the day he offers his sacrifice, what remains of it may be eaten the next day. ¹⁷ However, what remains of the meat of the sacrifice on the third day is to be burned up completely. ¹⁸ If any of the meat of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is eaten on the third day, the sacrifice will neither be accepted nor credited to the person offering it; rather, it will have become a disgusting thing, and whoever eats it will bear the consequences of his wrongdoing. ¹⁹ Meat which touches something unclean is not to be eaten but burned up completely. As for the meat, everyone who is clean may eat it; ²⁰ but a person in a state of uncleanness who eats any meat from the sacrifice of peace offerings made to Adonai will be cut off from his people. ²¹ Anyone who touches something unclean — whether the uncleanness be from a person, from an unclean animal or from some other unclean detestable thing — and then eats the meat from the sacrifice of peace offerings for Adonai, that person will be cut off from his people.’”

²² Adonai said to Moshe, ²³ “Say to the people of Isra’el, ‘You are not to eat the fat of bulls, sheep or goats. ²⁴ The fat of animals that die of themselves or are killed by wild animals may be used for any other purpose, but under no circumstances are you to eat it. ²⁵ For whoever eats the fat of animals of the kind used in presenting an offering made by fire to Adonai will be cut off from his people. ²⁶ You are not to eat any kind of blood, whether from birds or animals, in any of your homes. ²⁷ Whoever eats any blood will be cut off from his people.’”

²⁸ Adonai said to Moshe, ²⁹ “Say to the people of Isra’el, ‘A person who offers his sacrifice of peace offerings to Adonai is to bring part of his sacrifice of peace offerings as his offering for Adonai. ³⁰ He is to bring with his own hands the offerings for Adonai made by fire — he is to bring the breast with its fat. The breast is to be waved as a wave offering before Adonai. ³¹ The cohen is to make the fat go up in smoke on the altar, but the breast will belong to Aharon and his descendants. ³² You are to give the right thigh from your sacrifices of peace offerings to the cohen as a contribution. ³³ The descendant of Aharon who offers the blood of the peace offerings is to have the right thigh as his share. ³⁴ For the breast that has been waved and the thigh that has been contributed I have taken from the people of Isra’el out of their sacrifices of peace offerings and given them to Aharon the cohen and to his descendants as their share forever from the people of Isra’el.’”

³⁵ On the day when Aharon and his sons were presented to serve Adonai in the office of cohen, this portion was set aside for him and his descendants from the offerings for Adonai made by fire. ³⁶ On the day they were anointed, Adonai ordered that this be given to them by the people of Isra’el. It is their share forever through all their generations.

³⁷ This is the law for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the consecration offering and the sacrifice of peace offerings ³⁸ which Adonai ordered Moshe on Mount Sinai on the day he ordered the people of Isra’el to present their offerings to Adonai, in the Sinai Desert.

8 (iv) Adonai said to Moshe, ² “Take Aharon and his sons with him, the garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams and the basket of matzah; ³ and assemble the entire community at the entrance to the tent of meeting.” ⁴ Moshe did as Adonai ordered him, and the community was assembled at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁵ Moshe said to the community, “This is what Adonai has ordered to be done.”

⁶ Moshe brought Aharon and his sons, washed them with water, ⁷ put the tunic on him, wrapped the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, put the ritual vest on him, wrapped around him the decorated belt and fastened the vest to him with it. ⁸ He put the breastplate on him, and on the breastplate he put the urim and tumim. ⁹ He set the turban on his head, and on the front of the turban he affixed the gold plate, the holy ornament, as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

¹⁰ Then Moshe took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, thus consecrating them. ¹¹ He sprinkled some on the altar seven times, anointing the altar with all its utensils and the basin with its base, to consecrate them. ¹² He poured some of the anointing oil on Aharon’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. ¹³ Moshe brought Aharon’s sons, clothed them with tunics, wrapped sashes on them and put headgear on them, as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

(v) ¹⁴ Then the young bull for the sin offering was brought, and Aharon and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering. ¹⁵ After it had been slaughtered, Moshe took the blood and put it on the horns of the altar all the way around with his finger, thus purifying the altar. The remaining blood he poured out at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it. ¹⁶ Moshe took all the fat on the inner organs, the covering of the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and made it go up in smoke on the altar. ¹⁷ But the bull, its hide, its flesh and its dung were taken outside the camp and burned up completely, as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

¹⁸ Next, the ram for the burnt offering was presented. Aharon and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram; ¹⁹ and after it had been slaughtered, Moshe splashed the blood on all sides of the altar. ²⁰ When the ram had been cut in pieces, Moshe made the head, the pieces and the fat go up in smoke. ²¹ When the inner organs and the lower parts of the legs had been washed with water, Moshe made the entire ram go up in smoke on the altar; it was a burnt offering giving a fragrant aroma, an offering made by fire to Adonai — as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

(vi) ²² Then the other ram was presented, the ram of consecration; Aharon and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ²³ After it had been slaughtered, Moshe took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aharon’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁴ Next Aharon’s sons were brought, and Moshe put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet; then Moshe splashed the blood on all sides of the altar. ²⁵ He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat covering the inner organs, the covering of the liver, the two kidneys with their fat, and the right thigh. ²⁶ From the basket of matzah that was before Adonai he took one piece of matzah, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat and on the right thigh. ²⁷ Then he put it all in Aharon’s hands and in the hands of his sons and waved them as a wave offering before Adonai. ²⁸ Moshe took them out of their hands and made them go up in smoke on the altar on top of the burnt offering; they were a consecration offering giving a fragrant aroma; an offering made by fire to Adonai. ²⁹ Moshe took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before Adonai; it was Moshe’s portion of the ram of consecration — as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

(vii) ³⁰ Moshe took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aharon and his clothing, and on his sons with him and their clothing, and consecrated Aharon and his clothing together with his sons and their clothing.

³¹ Moshe said to Aharon and his sons, “Boil the meat at the door of the tent of meeting; and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of consecration, as I ordered when I said that Aharon and his sons are to eat it. ³² Whatever is left over of the meat and bread you are to burn up completely. (Maftir) ³³ You are not to go out from the entrance to the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are over; since Adonai will be consecrating you for seven days. ³⁴ He ordered done what has been done today, in order to make atonement for you. ³⁵ You are to remain at the entrance to the tent of meeting day and night for seven days, thereby obeying what Adonai ordered done, so that you may not die. For this is what I was ordered.” ³⁶ Aharon and his sons did all the things which Adonai ordered through Moshe.

Haftarah Tzav: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 7:21–8:3; 9:22(23)–23(24)

Suggested readings for Parashah Tzav from the B’rit Hadashah: Mark 12:28–34; Romans 12:1–2; 1 Corinthians 10:14–23