Leviticus 16
New American Standard Bible
Law of Atonement
16 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after (A)the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died. 2 The Lord said to Moses:
“Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter (B)at [a]any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the [b]atoning cover which is on the ark, or he will die; for (C)I will appear in the cloud over the [c]atoning cover. 3 Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with this: with a [d]bull as a [e](D)sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the (E)holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his [f]body, and he shall be wrapped about the waist with the linen sash and the linen turban wound around his forehead (these are holy garments). He shall (F)bathe his [g]body in water and put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel (G)two male goats as a [h]sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. 6 Then (H)Aaron shall offer the bull as the [i]sin offering, which is for himself, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household. 7 He shall then take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 8 Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for [j]the [k]scapegoat. 9 Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a [l]sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot for [m]the [n]scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make (I)atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness [o]as the [p]scapegoat.
11 “Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the [q]sin offering (J)which is for himself and make atonement for himself and (K)for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the [r]sin offering which is for himself. 12 He shall take a (L)firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the Lord and [s]two handfuls of finely ground (M)sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. 13 He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud of incense may cover the (N)atoning cover that is on the ark of the testimony, (O)otherwise he will die. 14 Moreover, (P)he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it (Q)with his finger on the atoning cover on the east side; also in front of the atoning cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
15 “Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, (R)which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the atoning cover and in front of the atoning cover. 16 (S)He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall do so for the tent of meeting which remains with them in the midst of their impurities. 17 When he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it; he shall take some of the blood from the bull and some of the blood from the goat, and (T)put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. 19 (U)With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and consecrate it from the impurities of the sons of Israel.
20 “When he finishes atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. 21 Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and (V)confess over it all the wrongdoings of the sons of Israel and all their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall place them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands ready. 22 Then the goat shall carry on itself all their wrongdoings to an [t]isolated territory; he shall release the goat in the wilderness.
23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off (W)the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. 24 And (X)he shall bathe his [u]body with water in a holy place and put on (Y)his clothes, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar. 26 The one who released the goat [v]as the [w]scapegoat (Z)shall wash his clothes and bathe his [x]body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp. 27 But the bull of the [y]sin offering and the goat of the [z]sin offering, (AA)whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire. 28 Then the (AB)one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; and afterward he shall come into the camp.
An Annual Atonement
29 “This shall be a permanent statute for you: (AC)in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble [aa]yourselves and not (AD)do any work, whether the native, or the stranger who resides among you; 30 for it is on this day that [ab]atonement shall be made for you to (AE)cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 31 It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, so that you may (AF)humble [ac]yourselves; it is a permanent statute. 32 So the priest who is anointed and [ad]ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall put on (AG)the linen garments, the holy garments, 33 and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for (AH)the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 Now you shall have this as a (AI)permanent statute, to (AJ)make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 16:2 I.e., of his own choosing
- Leviticus 16:2 Also called mercy seat, and so throughout the ch; i.e., where blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement
- Leviticus 16:2 Also called mercy seat, and so throughout the ch; i.e., where blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement
- Leviticus 16:3 Or bull of the herd
- Leviticus 16:3 Or purification offering
- Leviticus 16:4 Lit flesh
- Leviticus 16:4 Lit flesh
- Leviticus 16:5 Or purification offering
- Leviticus 16:6 Or purification offering
- Leviticus 16:8 Or possibly, Azazel (a name)
- Leviticus 16:8 I.e., the goat that leaves (escapes); or goat of removal of sins
- Leviticus 16:9 Or purification offering
- Leviticus 16:10 Or possibly, Azazel (a name)
- Leviticus 16:10 I.e., the goat that leaves (escapes); or goat of removal of sins
- Leviticus 16:10 Or possibly, for Azazel
- Leviticus 16:10 I.e., the goat that leaves (escapes); or goat of removal of sins
- Leviticus 16:11 Or purification offering
- Leviticus 16:11 Or purification offering
- Leviticus 16:12 Lit the filling of the hollow of his hands
- Leviticus 16:22 Or infertile
- Leviticus 16:24 Lit flesh
- Leviticus 16:26 Or possibly, for Azazel (a name)
- Leviticus 16:26 I.e., the goat that leaves (escapes); or goat of removal of sins
- Leviticus 16:26 Lit flesh
- Leviticus 16:27 Or purification offering
- Leviticus 16:27 Or purification offering
- Leviticus 16:29 Lit your souls
- Leviticus 16:30 Lit he shall make atonement
- Leviticus 16:31 Lit your souls
- Leviticus 16:32 Lit whose hand is filled
Leviticus 16
English Standard Version
The Day of Atonement
16 The Lord spoke to Moses after (A)the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, 2 and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to (B)come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For (C)I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3 But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: (D)with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and (E)a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on (F)the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. (G)He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. 5 And he shall take from (H)the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
6 “Aaron shall (I)offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall (J)make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for (K)Azazel.[a] 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for (L)Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to (M)Azazel.
11 “Aaron shall present (N)the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall kill the bull as a sin offering for himself. 12 And he shall take (O)a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil 13 (P)and put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover (Q)the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die. 14 And (R)he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
15 (S)“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood (T)inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. 16 Thus he shall (U)make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. 17 (V)No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is (W)before the Lord and (X)make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.
20 “And when he has made an end of (Y)atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall (Z)put 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 shall (AA)bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and (AB)he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.
23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and (AC)shall take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the Holy Place and shall leave them there. 24 And he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his garments and come out and (AD)offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 And (AE)the fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. 26 And he who lets the goat go to (AF)Azazel shall wash his clothes and (AG)bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. 27 (AH)And 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, shall be carried outside the camp. Their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be burned up with fire. 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 “And it shall be a statute to you forever that (AI)in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall (AJ)afflict yourselves[b] and shall do no work, either (AK)the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. 30 For on this day shall atonement be made for you (AL)to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins. 31 (AM)It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall (AN)afflict yourselves; it is a statute forever. 32 (AO)And the priest who is anointed and (AP)consecrated as priest in his father's place (AQ)shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. 33 He shall make atonement for (AR)the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for (AS)the altar, and he shall make atonement for (AT)the priests and for (AU)all the people of the assembly. 34 And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel (AV)once in the year because of all their sins.” And Aaron[c] did as the Lord commanded Moses.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Leviticus 16:8 The meaning of Azazel is uncertain; possibly the name of a place or a demon, traditionally a scapegoat; also verses 10, 26
- Leviticus 16:29 Or shall fast; also verse 31
- Leviticus 16:34 Hebrew he
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
