Procedures for the Burnt Offering

1 The Lord called to Moses from the Tabernacle^[a] and said to him, ² “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you present an animal as an offering to the Lord, you may take it from your herd of cattle or your flock of sheep and goats.

³ “If the animal you present as a burnt offering is from the herd, it must be a male with no defects. Bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle so you^[b] may be accepted by the Lord. ⁴ Lay your hand on the animal’s head, and the Lord will accept its death in your place to purify you, making you right with him.^{[c] 5} Then slaughter the young bull in the Lord’s presence, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, will present the animal’s blood by splattering it against all sides of the altar that stands at the entrance to the Tabernacle. ⁶ Then skin the animal and cut it into pieces. ⁷ The sons of Aaron the priest will build a wood fire on the altar. ⁸ They will arrange the pieces of the offering, including the head and fat, on the wood burning on the altar. ⁹ But the internal organs and the legs must first be washed with water. Then the priest will burn the entire sacrifice on the altar as a burnt offering. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

¹⁰ “If the animal you present as a burnt offering is from the flock, it may be either a sheep or a goat, but it must be a male with no defects. ¹¹ Slaughter the animal on the north side of the altar in the Lord’s presence, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, will splatter its blood against all sides of the altar. ¹² Then cut the animal in pieces, and the priests will arrange the pieces of the offering, including the head and fat, on the wood burning on the altar. ¹³ But the internal organs and the legs must first be washed with water. Then the priest will burn the entire sacrifice on the altar as a burnt offering. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

¹⁴ “If you present a bird as a burnt offering to the Lord, choose either a turtledove or a young pigeon. ¹⁵ The priest will take the bird to the altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the altar. But first he must drain its blood against the side of the altar. ¹⁶ The priest must also remove the crop and the feathers^[d] and throw them in the ashes on the east side of the altar. ¹⁷ Then, grasping the bird by its wings, the priest will tear the bird open, but without tearing it apart. Then he will burn it as a burnt offering on the wood burning on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Further Instructions for the Burnt Offering

^8 [a]Then the Lord said to Moses, ⁹ “Give Aaron and his sons the following instructions regarding the burnt offering. The burnt offering must be left on top of the altar until the next morning, and the fire on the altar must be kept burning all night. ¹⁰ In the morning, after the priest on duty has put on his official linen clothing and linen undergarments, he must clean out the ashes of the burnt offering and put them beside the altar. ¹¹ Then he must take off these garments, change back into his regular clothes, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. ¹² Meanwhile, the fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must never go out. Each morning the priest will add fresh wood to the fire and arrange the burnt offering on it. He will then burn the fat of the peace offerings on it. ¹³ Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out.

⁸ In the case of the burnt offering, the priest may keep the hide of the sacrificed animal.

Procedures for the Grain Offering

2 “When you present grain as an offering to the Lord, the offering must consist of choice flour. You are to pour olive oil on it, sprinkle it with frankincense, ² and bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. The priest will scoop out a handful of the flour moistened with oil, together with all the frankincense, and burn this representative portion on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ³ The rest of the grain offering will then be given to Aaron and his sons. This offering will be considered a most holy part of the special gifts presented to the Lord.

⁴ “If your offering is a grain offering baked in an oven, it must be made of choice flour, but without any yeast. It may be presented in the form of thin cakes mixed with olive oil or wafers spread with olive oil. ⁵ If your grain offering is cooked on a griddle, it must be made of choice flour mixed with olive oil but without any yeast. ⁶ Break it in pieces and pour olive oil on it; it is a grain offering. ⁷ If your grain offering is prepared in a pan, it must be made of choice flour and olive oil.

⁸ “No matter how a grain offering for the Lord has been prepared, bring it to the priest, who will present it at the altar. ⁹ The priest will take a representative portion of the grain offering and burn it on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁰ The rest of the grain offering will then be given to Aaron and his sons as their food. This offering will be considered a most holy part of the special gifts presented to the Lord.

¹¹ “Do not use yeast in preparing any of the grain offerings you present to the Lord, because no yeast or honey may be burned as a special gift presented to the Lord. ¹² You may add yeast and honey to an offering of the first crops of your harvest, but these must never be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹³ Season all your grain offerings with salt to remind you of God’s eternal covenant. Never forget to add salt to your grain offerings.

¹⁴ “If you present a grain offering to the Lord from the first portion of your harvest, bring fresh grain that is coarsely ground and roasted on a fire. ¹⁵ Put olive oil on this grain offering, and sprinkle it with frankincense. ¹⁶ The priest will take a representative portion of the grain moistened with oil, together with all the frankincense, and burn it as a special gift presented to the Lord.

Further Instructions for the Grain Offering

¹⁴ “These are the instructions regarding the grain offering. Aaron’s sons must present this offering to the Lord in front of the altar. ¹⁵ The priest on duty will take from the grain offering a handful of the choice flour moistened with olive oil, together with all the frankincense. He will burn this representative portion on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁶ Aaron and his sons may eat the rest of the flour, but it must be baked without yeast and eaten in a sacred place within the courtyard of the Tabernacle.^{[a] 17} Remember, it must never be prepared with yeast. I have given it to the priests as their share of the special gifts presented to me. Like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is most holy. ¹⁸ Any of Aaron’s male descendants may eat from the special gifts presented to the Lord. This is their permanent right from generation to generation. Anyone or anything that touches these offerings will become holy.”

⁹ Any grain offering that has been baked in an oven, prepared in a pan, or cooked on a griddle belongs to the priest who presents it. ¹⁰ All other grain offerings, whether made of dry flour or flour moistened with olive oil, are to be shared equally among all the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

Procedures for the Ordination Offering

¹⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ²⁰ “On the day Aaron and his sons are anointed, they must present to the Lord the standard grain offering of two quarts^[a] of choice flour, half to be offered in the morning and half to be offered in the evening. ²¹ It must be carefully mixed with olive oil and cooked on a griddle. Then slice^[b] this grain offering and present it as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ²² In each generation, the high priest^[c] who succeeds Aaron must prepare this same offering. It belongs to the Lord and must be burned up completely. This is a permanent law. ²³ All such grain offerings of a priest must be burned up entirely. None of it may be eaten.”

Procedures for the Peace Offering

3 “If you present an animal from the herd as a peace offering to the Lord, it may be a male or a female, but it must have no defects. ² Lay your hand on the animal’s head, and slaughter it at the entrance of the Tabernacle.^[a] Then Aaron’s sons, the priests, will splatter its blood against all sides of the altar. ³ The priest must present part of this peace offering as a special gift to the Lord. This includes all the fat around the internal organs, ⁴ the two kidneys and the fat around them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver. These must be removed with the kidneys, ⁵ and Aaron’s sons will burn them on top of the burnt offering on the wood burning on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

⁶ “If you present an animal from the flock as a peace offering to the Lord, it may be a male or a female, but it must have no defects. ⁷ If you present a sheep as your offering, bring it to the Lord, ⁸ lay your hand on its head, and slaughter it in front of the Tabernacle. Aaron’s sons will then splatter the sheep’s blood against all sides of the altar. ⁹ The priest must present the fat of this peace offering as a special gift to the Lord. This includes the fat of the broad tail cut off near the backbone, all the fat around the internal organs, ¹⁰ the two kidneys and the fat around them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver. These must be removed with the kidneys, ¹¹ and the priest will burn them on the altar. It is a special gift of food presented to the Lord.

¹² “If you present a goat as your offering, bring it to the Lord, ¹³ lay your hand on its head, and slaughter it in front of the Tabernacle. Aaron’s sons will then splatter the goat’s blood against all sides of the altar. ¹⁴ The priest must present part of this offering as a special gift to the Lord. This includes all the fat around the internal organs, ¹⁵ the two kidneys and the fat around them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver. These must be removed with the kidneys, ¹⁶ and the priest will burn them on the altar. It is a special gift of food, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. All the fat belongs to the Lord.

¹⁷ “You must never eat any fat or blood. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation, wherever you live.”

Further Instructions for the Peace Offering

¹¹ “These are the instructions regarding the different kinds of peace offerings that may be presented to the Lord. ¹² If you present your peace offering as an expression of thanksgiving, the usual animal sacrifice must be accompanied by various kinds of bread made without yeast—thin cakes mixed with olive oil, wafers spread with oil, and cakes made of choice flour mixed with olive oil. ¹³ This peace offering of thanksgiving must also be accompanied by loaves of bread made with yeast. ¹⁴ One of each kind of bread must be presented as a gift to the Lord. It will then belong to the priest who splatters the blood of the peace offering against the altar. ¹⁵ The meat of the peace offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the same day it is offered. None of it may be saved for the next morning.

¹⁶ “If you bring an offering to fulfill a vow or as a voluntary offering, the meat must be eaten on the same day the sacrifice is offered, but whatever is left over may be eaten on the second day. ¹⁷ Any meat left over until the third day must be completely burned up. ¹⁸ If any of the meat from the peace offering is eaten on the third day, the person who presented it will not be accepted by the Lord. You will receive no credit for offering it. By then the meat will be contaminated; if you eat it, you will be punished for your sin.

¹⁹ “Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean may not be eaten; it must be completely burned up. The rest of the meat may be eaten, but only by people who are ceremonially clean. ²⁰ If you are ceremonially unclean and you eat meat from a peace offering that was presented to the Lord, you will be cut off from the community. ²¹ If you touch anything that is unclean (whether it is human defilement or an unclean animal or any other unclean, detestable thing) and then eat meat from a peace offering presented to the Lord, you will be cut off from the community.”