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
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Day of Atonement
16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died.(A) 2 The Lord said to Moses:
“Tell your brother Aaron not to come just at any time into the sanctuary inside the curtain before the cover that is upon the ark, or he will die, for I appear in the cloud upon the cover.(B) 3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bull for a purification offering and a ram for a burnt offering.(C) 4 He shall put on the holy linen tunic and shall have the linen undergarments next to his body, fasten the linen sash, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy vestments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on.(D) 5 He shall take from the congregation of the Israelites two male goats for a purification offering and one ram for a burnt offering.(E)
6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a purification offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.(F) 7 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 on the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 9 Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and offer it as a purification offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.
11 “Aaron shall present the bull as a purification offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house; he shall slaughter the bull as a purification offering for himself.(G) 12 He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of crushed sweet incense, and he shall bring it inside the curtain(H) 13 and put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may shroud the cover that is upon the covenant, or he will die.(I) 14 He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the cover, and before the cover he shall sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times.(J)
15 “He shall slaughter the goat of the purification offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the curtain and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it upon the cover and before the cover.(K) 16 Thus he shall make atonement for the sanctuary, because of the uncleannesses of the Israelites and because of their transgressions, all their sins, and so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which remains with them in the midst of their uncleanness.(L) 17 No one shall be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the sanctuary 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 before the Lord and make atonement on its behalf and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat and put it on each of the horns of the altar.(M) 19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times and cleanse it and sanctify it from the uncleannesses of the Israelites.(N)
20 “When he has finished atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 Then Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites, and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat and sending it away into the wilderness by means of someone designated for the task.[a](O) 22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a barren region, and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness.(P)
23 “Then Aaron shall enter the tent of meeting and shall take off the linen vestments that he put on when he went into the holy place and shall leave them there.(Q) 24 He shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his vestments; then he shall come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, making atonement for himself and for the people.(R) 25 The fat of the purification offering he shall turn into smoke on the altar. 26 The one who sets the goat free for Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water and afterward may come into the camp. 27 The bull of the purification offering and the goat of the purification offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp; their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be consumed in fire.(S) 28 The one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water and afterward may come into the camp.
29 “This shall be a statute to you forever: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble yourselves[b] and shall do no work, neither the native-born nor the alien who resides among you.(T) 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. 31 It is a Sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble yourselves;[c] it is a statute forever.(U) 32 The priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the linen vestments, the holy vestments.(V) 33 He shall make atonement for the sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.(W) 34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the Israelites once in the year for all their sins.” And Moses did as the Lord had commanded him.(X)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.