Beginning

Animals Pay the Price for Man’s Sin

16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons, when they had come near the Lord and died. ² The Lord said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he must not come just any time into the holy place inside the curtain, in front of the mercy-seat on the special box of the agreement or he will die. For I will show Myself in the cloud over the mercy-seat. ³ Only this way will Aaron go into the holy place, with a bull for a sin gift and a ram for a burnt gift. ⁴ He will put on the holy linen coat. And the linen under-clothing will be next to his body. He will be wearing the linen belt and the linen head-covering. These are holy clothing. He will wash his body in water and then dress himself. ⁵ He will take from the people of Israel two male goats for a sin gift and one ram for a burnt gift. ⁶ Then Aaron will give the bull as a sin gift for himself, to pay for the sins of himself and those in his house. ⁷ He will take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the door of the meeting tent. ⁸ Aaron will draw names for the two goats, choosing one for the Lord and the other to be sent away. ⁹ Then Aaron will bring the goat that was chosen for the Lord and give it as a sin gift. ¹⁰ But the goat that was chosen to be sent away will be brought alive before the Lord, for the taking away of sin. And it will be sent into the desert.

¹¹ “Then Aaron will give the bull as the sin gift for himself, to pay for the sins of himself and those in his house. He will kill the bull as the sin gift for himself. ¹² He will take a fire pan full of fire from the altar before the Lord, and enough fine, ground, sweet perfume to fill two hands. And he will bring it inside the curtain. ¹³ He will put the special perfume on the fire before the Lord so that the cloud of the special perfume covers the mercy-seat on the special box of the agreement or he will die. ¹⁴ He will take some of the bull’s blood and put it with his finger on the east side of the mercy-seat. And with his finger he will put some of the blood seven times in front of the mercy-seat.

¹⁵ “Then he will kill the goat as the sin gift for the people. He will bring its blood inside the curtain, and do the same with its blood as he did with the bull’s blood. He will put it on the seat and in front of the mercy-seat. ¹⁶ He will make the holy place, and also the meeting tent which is in the center of the camp, clean and pure because all the sins of the people make them unclean. ¹⁷ When he goes in to pay for sins in the holy place, no one will be in the meeting tent until he comes out. He will pay for the sins of himself, of those in his house, and of all the people of Israel. ¹⁸ Then he will go out to the altar before the Lord and make it clean and pure. He will take some of the bull’s blood and goat’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. ¹⁹ With his finger he will put some of the blood on the altar seven times so it will be clean. He will set it apart from what is unclean among the people of Israel.

²⁰ “When he finishes making the holy place, the meeting tent and the altar free from sin, he will give the live goat. ²¹ Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and tell of all the sins and wrong-doings of the people of Israel. He will lay them upon the head of the goat and send it away into the desert by the hand of a man ready to help. ²² The goat will carry upon itself all their sins to a land where no one lives. Then the man will let the goat go free there.

²³ “Aaron will come into the meeting tent. He will take off the linen clothing he put on when he went into the holy place. And he will leave them there. ²⁴ He will wash his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes. Then he will come out and give his burnt gift and the people’s burnt gift, to pay for the sins of himself and the people. ²⁵ He will burn the fat of the sin gift on the altar. ²⁶ The man who let the goat carry away the sins will wash his clothes and wash his body with water. Then he may come among the tents. ²⁷ The bull and the goat for the sin gift, whose blood was brought in to pay for sins in the holy place, will be taken away from the tents. Their skin, their flesh and their waste will be burned with fire. ²⁸ Whoever burns them will wash his clothes and wash his body with water. Then he may come among the tents.

²⁹ “This will be a Law forever for you. On the tenth day of the seventh month, you must get rid of your pride and not do any work, both those who live in the land and those who visit from another land. ³⁰ For on this day your sin will be taken away and you will be clean. You will be made free from all your sins before the Lord. ³¹ It is to be a special Day of Rest for you, that you may be free from pride. It is a Law forever. ³² The chosen religious leader who is set apart to work as religious leader in his father’s place will pay for the sin. He will put on the holy linen clothing ³³ and make the holy place, the meeting tent and the altar free from sin. He will make the religious leaders and all the people free from sin also. ³⁴ This will be a Law forever for you. The people of Israel must be made free from all their sins once a year.” And Moses did what the Lord told him to do.

Blood Must Not Be Eaten

17 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord has told us to do. ³ If any man of the house of Israel kills a bull, lamb or goat, among the tents or away from the tents, ⁴ and has not brought it to the door of the meeting tent to give it to the Lord, he will be guilty for that blood, and will not be among God’s people. ⁵ The reason is so that the people of Israel may bring their gifts which were killed in the open field to the Lord, to the religious leader at the door of the meeting tent. Then they can be given as peace gifts to the Lord. ⁶ The religious leader will put the blood on the altar of the Lord at the door of the meeting tent. And he will burn the fat for a pleasing smell to the Lord. ⁷ So they will no longer give their gifts to the goat-like gods to whom they sell themselves. This will be a Law to them for all their people forever.’

⁸ “Then say to them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel, or visiting from another land, who gives a burnt gift or other gift, ⁹ and does not bring it to the door of the meeting tent to give it to the Lord, will be cut off from his people.

¹⁰ ‘If any man of the house of Israel, or visiting from another land, eats any blood, I will turn against that person who eats blood, and he will not be among God’s people. ¹¹ For the life of the flesh is in the blood. I have given it to you on the altar to make your souls free from sin. For the blood makes you free from sin because of the life in it.’ ¹² So I have said to the people of Israel, ‘None of you should eat blood. And the man who visits you from another land should not eat blood.’ ¹³ If any man from the people of Israel, or from other people living among them, catches an animal or bird which may be eaten, he should pour out its blood and cover it with dust.

¹⁴ “For blood is the life of every living thing. So I said to the people of Israel, ‘Do not eat the blood of any living thing. For the life of every living thing is its blood. Whoever eats it will be cut off.’ ¹⁵ Every person, both living in the land or one who has come from another land, who eats an animal that dies or is killed by wild animals, must wash his clothes and wash himself in water. He will be unclean until evening. Then he will be clean. ¹⁶ But if he does not wash them or wash his body, he will suffer for his own sin.”

Laws about Sex

18 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord your God. ³ Do not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived. And do not do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you. Do not follow their laws. ⁴ You are to do what I say and keep My Laws and live by them. I am the Lord your God. ⁵ So keep My Laws and do what I say. If a man obeys them, My Laws will be life for him. I am the Lord.

⁶ ‘You should not go near a person of your own family to have sex. I am the Lord. ⁷ Do not put your father to shame by taking the clothes off your mother. She is your mother. Do not take her clothes off. ⁸ Do not take the clothes off your father’s wife. Her body is for your father. ⁹ Do not take the clothes off your sister, the daughter of your father or of your mother, if she is born at home or away from home. ¹⁰ Do not take the clothes off your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter. For they are of your own family. ¹¹ Do not take the clothes off your father’s wife’s daughter, born to your father. She is your sister. ¹² Do not take the clothes off your father’s sister. She is of your father’s own family. ¹³ Do not take the clothes off your mother’s sister. She is of your mother’s own family. ¹⁴ Do not put your father’s brother to shame. Do not go near to take the clothes off his wife. She is of your family. ¹⁵ Do not take the clothes off your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife. Do not take her clothes off. ¹⁶ Do not take the clothes off your brother’s wife. Her body is for your brother. ¹⁷ Do not take the clothes off a woman and her daughter. And do not take the clothes off her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter. They are of her own family. It is sin. ¹⁸ While your wife is still living do not marry her sister making her as important to you. Do not take off her sister’s clothes.

¹⁹ ‘And you are not to go near a woman to take off her clothes during the time when she has a flow of blood. ²⁰ Do not have sex with your neighbor’s wife. You would be unclean. ²¹ Do not give any of your children as a gift on an altar to the false god Molech. Do not put the name of your God to shame. I am the Lord. ²² Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman. It is a sinful thing. ²³ Do not have sex with any animal, or you will be unclean. And no woman should give herself to an animal to lie with it. It is a sin.

²⁴ ‘Do not allow yourself to sin in any of these ways. For by doing all these things the nations that I am driving out in front of you became unclean. ²⁵ For the land is unclean. So I have punished its sin. The land has spit out its people. ²⁶ But as for you, you are to keep My Laws and do what I have decided. Do not do any of these sinful things, not you or the man who lives among you from another land. ²⁷ For the men who have lived in the land before you have done all of these sinful things. The land is unclean. ²⁸ Do none of these things or the land will spit you out when you make it sinful, as it has spit out the nation that was before you. ²⁹ Whoever does any of these sinful things will be cut off from his people. ³⁰ So do what I say. Do not do any of these sinful things that were done before you. Do not make yourselves sin by doing them. I am the Lord your God.’”