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Aaron and His Sons Made Priests(A)

Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Take Aaron and his sons, the priests’ clothes, the anointing oil, the bull that will be the offering for sin, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread. Gather the whole congregation at the entrance to the tent of meeting.”

Moses did as Yahweh commanded him, and the congregation gathered at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Moses told the congregation, “Yahweh has commanded that this is what you must do.”

Moses had Aaron and his sons come forward, and he washed them. He put the linen robe on Aaron and fastened the belt around him. He also dressed him in the robe that is worn with the ephod.[a] He fastened the ephod to it. Then he put the breastplate on him, and into it he placed the Urim and Thummim.[b] He put the turban on him and fastened the gold medallion (the holy crown) to the front of the turban as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

10 Moses took the anointing oil to anoint the tent and everything in it and dedicate them. 11 He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times and anointed the altar, all the utensils, and the basin with its stand to dedicate them.

12 He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to set him apart for his holy duties.

13 Moses had Aaron’s sons come forward. He put linen robes on them, fastened their belts around them, and put turbans on them as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

14 He brought the bull that was the offering for sin. Aaron and his sons placed their hands on its head. 15 When it was slaughtered, Moses took the blood and put it on the horns of the altar all around with his finger and cleansed the altar from sins. He poured the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar and declared it holy so that priests could use it to make peace with the Lord. 16 Moses took all the fat that was on the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and he burned them on the altar. 17 He burned the rest of the bull, its skin, meat, and excrement outside the camp, as Yahweh commanded him.

18 He brought forward the ram for the burnt offering. Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the ram’s head. 19 Moses slaughtered it and threw the blood against the altar on all sides. 20 When the ram was cut into pieces, Moses burned the head with the other pieces and the fat. 21 He washed the internal organs and the legs. Then Moses burned the whole ram on the altar as Yahweh commanded him. It was a burnt offering, a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to Yahweh.

22 He brought forward the second ram for the ordination offering. Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the ram’s head. 23 Moses slaughtered it, took some of the blood, and put it on Aaron’s right ear lobe, on his right thumb, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 Moses also brought Aaron’s sons forward. He put some of the blood on their right ear lobes, on their right thumbs, and on the big toes of their right feet. Moses threw the rest of the blood against all the sides of the altar. 25 He took the fat, the fat from the tail, all the fat on the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with their fat, and the right thigh. 26 He took a loaf of unleavened bread, a ring of bread made with olive oil, and a wafer from the basket of unleavened bread which was in Yahweh’s presence. He put them on the fat and the right thigh. 27 Then he placed all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Moses presented all these things to Yahweh as an offering. 28 Then he took them from their hands and burned them on top of the burnt offering on the altar. These were ordination offerings, offerings by fire, a soothing aroma to Yahweh. 29 Moses also took the breast from the ram of the ordination offering and presented it to Yahweh. It was Moses’ share, as Yahweh had commanded.

30 Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, sprinkled it on Aaron and his clothes and on his sons and their clothes. In this way he dedicated Aaron, his clothes, his sons, and their clothes.

31 Moses told Aaron and his sons: “Cook the meat at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Take the meat and the bread in the basket of the ordination offering. Eat them there as I commanded when I said, ‘Aaron and his sons will eat it.’ 32 You must burn any meat or bread that is left over. 33 You will not leave the entrance to the tent of meeting for seven days, not until the last day of your ordination is over. It will take seven days to ordain you. 34 I did today what Yahweh commanded me to make peace with the Lord for you. 35 You will stay at the entrance to the tent of meeting day and night for seven days and serve as Yahweh tells you. Then you will not die. This is what I was commanded.”

36 So Aaron and his sons did everything Yahweh commanded through Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 8:7 Ephod is a technical term for part of the priest’s clothes. Its exact usage and shape are unknown.
  2. Leviticus 8:8 The Urim and Thummim were used by the chief priest to determine God’s answer to questions.

Aaron and His Sons Consecrated(A)

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: (B)“Take Aaron and his sons with him, and (C)the garments, (D)the anointing oil, a (E)bull as the sin offering, two (F)rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.”

So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the Lord commanded to be done.”

Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and (G)washed them with water. And he (H)put the tunic on him, girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod, and with it tied the ephod on him. Then he put the breastplate on him, and he (I)put the [a]Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate. (J)And he put the turban on his head. Also on the turban, on its front, he put the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

10 (K)Also Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. 11 He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the laver and its base, to [b]consecrate them. 12 And he (L)poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him.

13 (M)Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons and put tunics on them, girded them with sashes, and put [c]hats on them, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

14 (N)And he brought the bull for the sin offering. Then Aaron and his sons (O)laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering, 15 and Moses killed it. (P)Then he took the blood, and put some on the horns of the altar all around with his finger, and purified the altar. And he poured the blood at the base of the altar, and consecrated it, to make [d]atonement for it. 16 (Q)Then he took all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned them on the altar. 17 But the bull, its hide, its flesh, and its offal, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the Lord (R)had commanded Moses.

18 (S)Then he brought the ram as the burnt offering. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 19 and Moses killed it. Then he sprinkled the blood all around on the altar. 20 And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses (T)burned the head, the pieces, and the fat. 21 Then he washed the entrails and the legs in water. And Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt sacrifice for a [e]sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord, (U)as the Lord had commanded Moses.

22 And (V)he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23 and Moses killed it. Also he took some of (W)its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 Then he brought Aaron’s sons. And Moses put some of the (X)blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar. 25 (Y)Then he took the fat and the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh; 26 (Z)and from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord he took one unleavened cake, a cake of bread anointed with oil, and one wafer, and put them on the fat and on the right thigh; 27 and he put all these (AA)in Aaron’s hands and in his sons’ hands, and waved them as a wave offering before the Lord. 28 (AB)Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar, on the burnt offering. They were consecration offerings for a sweet aroma. That was an offering made by fire to the Lord. 29 And (AC)Moses took the (AD)breast and waved it as a wave offering before the Lord. It was Moses’ (AE)part of the ram of consecration, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

30 Then (AF)Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.

31 And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, (AG)“Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of consecration offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ 32 (AH)What remains of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn with fire. 33 And you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are ended. For (AI)seven days he shall consecrate you. 34 (AJ)As he has done this day, so the Lord has commanded to do, to make atonement for you. 35 Therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and (AK)keep the [f]charge of the Lord, so that you may not die; for so I have been commanded.” 36 So Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 8:8 Lit. Lights and the Perfections, Ex. 28:30
  2. Leviticus 8:11 set them apart for the Lord
  3. Leviticus 8:13 headpieces
  4. Leviticus 8:15 Lit. covering
  5. Leviticus 8:21 pleasing
  6. Leviticus 8:35 office

The Rites of Ordination

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Take Aaron and his sons with him, the vestments, the anointing-oil, the bull of sin-offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread; and assemble the whole congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting, Moses said to the congregation, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded to be done.’

Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward, and washed them with water. He put the tunic on him, fastened the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him. He then put the decorated band of the ephod around him, tying the ephod to him with it. He placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden ornament, the holy crown, as the Lord commanded Moses.

10 Then Moses took the anointing-oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. 11 He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its base, to consecrate them. 12 He poured some of the anointing-oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. 13 And Moses brought forward Aaron’s sons, and clothed them with tunics, and fastened sashes around them, and tied head-dresses on them, as the Lord commanded Moses.

14 He led forward the bull of sin-offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bull of sin-offering, 15 and it was slaughtered. Moses took the blood and with his finger put some on each of the horns of the altar, purifying the altar; then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar. Thus he consecrated it, to make atonement for it. 16 Moses took all the fat that was around the entrails, and the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and turned them into smoke on the altar. 17 But the bull itself, its skin and flesh and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the Lord commanded Moses.

18 Then he brought forward the ram of burnt-offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 19 and it was slaughtered. Moses dashed the blood against all sides of the altar. 20 The ram was cut into its parts, and Moses turned into smoke the head and the parts and the suet. 21 And after the entrails and the legs were washed with water, Moses turned into smoke the whole ram on the altar; it was a burnt-offering for a pleasing odour, an offering by fire to the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

22 Then he brought forward the second ram, the ram of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23 and it was slaughtered. Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 After Aaron’s sons were brought forward, Moses put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet; and Moses dashed the rest of the blood against all sides of the altar. 25 He took the fat—the broad tail, all the fat that was around the entrails, the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat—and the right thigh. 26 From the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord, he took one cake of unleavened bread, one cake of bread with oil, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat and on the right thigh. 27 He placed all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and raised them as an elevation-offering before the Lord. 28 Then Moses took them from their hands and turned them into smoke on the altar with the burnt-offering. This was an ordination-offering for a pleasing odour, an offering by fire to the Lord. 29 Moses took the breast and raised it as an elevation-offering before the Lord; it was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, as the Lord commanded Moses.

30 Then Moses took some of the anointing-oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his vestments, and also on his sons and their vestments. Thus he consecrated Aaron and his vestments, and also his sons and their vestments.

31 And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, ‘Boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of ordination-offerings, as I was commanded, “Aaron and his sons shall eat it”; 32 and what remains of the flesh and the bread you shall burn with fire. 33 You shall not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day when your period of ordination is completed. For it will take seven days to ordain you; 34 as has been done today, the Lord has commanded to be done to make atonement for you. 35 You shall remain at the entrance of the tent of meeting day and night for seven days, keeping the Lord’s charge so that you do not die; for so I am commanded.’ 36 Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord commanded through Moses.