Leviticus 8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Rites of Ordination
8 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Take Aaron and his sons with him, the vestments, the anointing oil, the bull for the purification offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread;(A) 3 and assemble the whole congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting.” 4 And Moses did as the Lord had commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting, 5 Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the Lord has commanded to be done.”
6 Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water.(B) 7 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. 8 He placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim.(C) 9 And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden ornament, the holy diadem, as the Lord had commanded Moses.(D)
10 Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it and consecrated them.(E) 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.(F) 13 And Moses brought forward Aaron’s sons and clothed them with tunics and fastened sashes around them and tied headdresses on them, as the Lord had commanded Moses.(G)
14 He led forward the bull of purification offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bull for the purification offering,(H) 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.(I) 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.(J) 17 But the bull itself, its skin and flesh and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the Lord had commanded Moses.(K)
18 Then he brought forward the ram of burnt offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,(L) 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 rest of the ram on the altar; it was a burnt offering for a pleasing odor, an offering by fire[a] to the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.(M)
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,(N) 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 fatty 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.(O) 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.(P) 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 odor, an offering by fire[b] to the Lord.(Q) 29 Moses took the breast and raised it as an elevation offering before the Lord; it was Moses’s portion of the ram of ordination, as the Lord had commanded Moses.(R)
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.(S)
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,’(T) 32 and what remains of the flesh and the bread you shall burn with fire.(U) 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;(V) 34 as has been done today, the Lord has commanded to be done to make atonement for you.(W) 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 have I been commanded.” 36 Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord had commanded through Moses.
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Leviticus 8
New Living Translation
Ordination of the Priests
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Bring Aaron and his sons, along with their sacred garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of bread made without yeast, 3 and call the entire community of Israel together at the entrance of the Tabernacle.[a]”
4 So Moses followed the Lord’s instructions, and the whole community assembled at the Tabernacle entrance. 5 Moses announced to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded us to do!” 6 Then he presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. 7 He put the official tunic on Aaron and tied the sash around his waist. He dressed him in the robe, placed the ephod on him, and attached the ephod securely with its decorative sash. 8 Then Moses placed the chestpiece on Aaron and put the Urim and the Thummim inside it. 9 He placed the turban on Aaron’s head and attached the gold medallion—the badge of holiness—to the front of the turban, just as the Lord had commanded him.
10 Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Tabernacle and everything in it, making them holy. 11 He sprinkled the oil on the altar seven times, anointing it and all its utensils, as well as the washbasin and its stand, making them holy. 12 Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head, anointing him and making him holy for his work. 13 Next Moses presented Aaron’s sons. He clothed them in their tunics, tied their sashes around them, and put their special head coverings on them, just as the Lord had commanded him.
14 Then Moses presented the bull for the sin offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the bull’s head, 15 and Moses slaughtered it. Moses took some of the blood, and with his finger he put it on the four horns of the altar to purify it. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. Through this process, he made the altar holy by purifying it.[b] 16 Then Moses took all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat around them, and he burned it all on the altar. 17 He took the rest of the bull, including its hide, meat, and dung, and burned it on a fire outside the camp, just as the Lord had commanded him.
18 Then Moses presented the ram for the burnt offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram’s head, 19 and Moses slaughtered it. Then Moses took the ram’s blood and splattered it against all sides of the altar. 20 Then he cut the ram into pieces, and he burned the head, some of its pieces, and the fat on the altar. 21 After washing the internal organs and the legs with water, Moses burned the entire ram on the altar as a burnt offering. It was a pleasing aroma, a special gift presented to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded him.
22 Then Moses presented the other ram, which was the ram of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram’s head, 23 and Moses slaughtered it. Then Moses took some of its blood and applied it to the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot. 24 Next Moses presented Aaron’s sons and applied some of the blood to the lobes of their right ears, the thumbs of their right hands, and the big toes of their right feet. He then splattered the rest of the blood against all sides of the altar.
25 Next Moses took the fat, including the fat of the broad tail, the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat around them, along with the right thigh. 26 On top of these he placed a thin cake of bread made without yeast, a cake of bread mixed with olive oil, and a wafer spread with olive oil. All these were taken from the basket of bread made without yeast that was placed in the Lord’s presence. 27 He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and he lifted these gifts as a special offering to the Lord. 28 Moses then took all the offerings back from them and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering. This was the ordination offering. It was a pleasing aroma, a special gift presented to the Lord. 29 Then Moses took the breast and lifted it up as a special offering to the Lord. This was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, just as the Lord had commanded him.
30 Next Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, and he sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. In this way, he made Aaron and his sons and their garments holy.
31 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the remaining meat of the offerings at the Tabernacle entrance, and eat it there, along with the bread that is in the basket of offerings for the ordination, just as I commanded when I said, ‘Aaron and his sons will eat it.’ 32 Any meat or bread that is left over must then be burned up. 33 You must not leave the Tabernacle entrance for seven days, for that is when the ordination ceremony will be completed. 34 Everything we have done today was commanded by the Lord in order to purify you, making you right with him.[c] 35 Now stay at the entrance of the Tabernacle day and night for seven days, and do everything the Lord requires. If you fail to do this, you will die, for this is what the Lord has commanded.” 36 So Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord had commanded through Moses.
Read full chapterNew 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.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
