Leviticus 16:1-19

Common English Bible

The Day of Reconciliation

16 After the death of Aaron’s two sons, which happened when they approached the Lord and died, the Lord spoke to Moses: ² Tell your brother Aaron that he cannot come whenever he wants into the holy area inside the inner curtain, to the front of the cover^[a] that is on the chest, or else he will die, because I am present^[b] in the cloud above the cover. ³ No, but Aaron must enter the holy area as follows: with a bull from the herd as a purification offering and a ram as an entirely burned offering. ⁴ Aaron must dress in a holy linen tunic and wear linen undergarments on his body. He must tie a linen sash around himself and wrap a linen turban around his head. These are holy clothes—Aaron will first bathe his body in water and then put them on. ⁵ He will take from the Israelite community two male goats for a purification offering and one ram for an entirely burned offering.

⁶ Aaron will offer the bull as a purification offering to make reconciliation for himself and his household. ⁷ He will take the two male goats and place them before the Lord at the meeting tent’s entrance. ⁸ Aaron will cast lots over the two goats: one lot labeled “the Lord’s” and the other lot labeled “Azazel’s.”^{[c] 9} Aaron will present the goat selected by the Lord’s lot and perform a purification offering with it. ¹⁰ But the goat selected by Azazel’s lot will be left standing alive before the Lord in order to make reconciliation upon it^[d] by sending it away into the wilderness to Azazel.

¹¹ Aaron will offer the bull for his purification offering to make reconciliation for himself and his household. He will slaughter the bull for his purification offering. ¹² Then he will take an incense pan full of burning coals from the altar, from before the Lord, and two handfuls of finely ground perfumed incense and bring them inside the inner curtain. ¹³ He will put the incense on the fire before the Lord so that the cloud of incense conceals the cover that is on top of the covenant document, or else he will die. ¹⁴ He will take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the cover from the east side. He will then sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times in front of the cover. ¹⁵ Then he will slaughter the goat for the people’s purification offering, bring the blood inside the inner curtain, and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: he will sprinkle it on the cover and in front of the cover. ¹⁶ In this way, he will make reconciliation for the inner holy area because of the pollution of the Israelites and because of their rebellious sins, as well as for all their other sins.

Aaron must do the same for the meeting tent, which is with them among their pollution. ¹⁷ No one can be in the meeting tent from the time Aaron enters to make reconciliation in the inner holy area until the time he comes out. He will make reconciliation for himself, for his household, and for the whole assembly of Israel.

¹⁸ Aaron will then go to the altar that is before the Lord and make reconciliation for it: He will take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on each of the altar’s horns. ¹⁹ He will sprinkle some of the blood on the altar with his finger seven times. In this way, he will purify it and make it holy again from the Israelites’ pollution.