Beginning
16 The Eternal One spoke to Moses after Aaron’s two sons died from entering into the Eternal’s presence.[a]
Eternal One (to Moses): 2 Go, talk to Aaron, and warn him that he cannot go whenever he wants beyond the veil to the holy place before the seat of mercy that covers the covenant chest. If he does, he will lose his life because I will appear in the cloud above the seat of mercy. 3 Instead, he may enter into the holy place with a bull from the herd for the purification offering for sin and a ram for the burnt offering. 4 Aaron will wash himself with water and then put on his sacred garments: the linen underclothes and the sacred linen tunic. He will tie the linen sash around his waist and put on his linen turban. 5 From the community of My people Israel, he will take two male goats as a purification offering for sin and a ram as a burnt offering. 6 Aaron will present the bull as a purification offering to cover himself and his family. 7 Then he will take the two goats and present them to Me at the entrance of the congregation tent. 8 There he will cast lots for the goats: one lot for Me and one lot for the scapegoat. 9 Whichever goat My lot falls upon, Aaron will offer that goat as a purification offering for sin. 10 Whichever goat the scapegoat’s lot falls upon, Aaron will keep it alive, bring it before Me as a covering for the people, and set it free into the wilderness.
There are two goats for the annual Day of Atonement. Lots are cast—perhaps the Urim and the Thummim—to see which goat is slaughtered for Israel’s purification before God and which goat is released into the desert. The meaning of the Hebrew term Azazel is translated “scapegoat” but is uncertain; Azazel may refer to the name of a wilderness demon or a place in the desert, or it may simply refer to the goat that takes Israel’s sin deep into the desert, that is, “scapegoat.”
Eternal One: 11 Aaron will offer the bull for the purification offering to cover his and his family’s sins; and he will slaughter it himself. 12 He will gather embers from My altar in a censer and also two handfuls of the finest, sweetest crushed incense and take it behind the veil.
13 He is to place the incense on the embers in My presence so that the cloud of incense engulfs the seat of mercy—where sins are atoned—on the covenant chest, so he will not die. 14 He must also dip his finger into the bull’s blood and sprinkle it on the east side of the seat of mercy; in all he is to sprinkle the blood seven times in front of the seat of mercy.
15 He will then slaughter the goat for the purification offering on behalf of the community’s sin, take its blood behind the veil, and do the same thing with it that he did with the bull’s blood. He will sprinkle it on and in front of the seat of mercy. 16 This is how he will cover the impurities of the sanctuary because the impurities, rebellion, and sin of the people of Israel have defiled it. He will perform the same ritual for the congregation tent since it stands in the heart of their uncleanness. 17 When the high priest enters the sanctuary to cover the impurities in the sacred space, no one else is allowed inside the tent until he comes outside again after atoning for himself, his family, and the entire community of Israel.
18 Then the priest will approach the altar that sits in My presence and cover any impurity it has by taking some of the bull’s and goat’s blood and placing it around the four horns of the altar. 19 Then he must sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times in order to purify it from the Israelites’ impurities and set it apart for My holy purposes.
20 When the priest has finished covering the impurities in the sanctuary, the entire congregation tent, and the altar, he must then present the living goat, the scapegoat. 21-22 Aaron will place both his hands on the goat’s head and confess aloud over it all the guilt, rebellion, and wrongdoings of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the sins of the people onto the goat’s head; then another man who has been selected for this special task will drive the goat into the wilderness. When the man releases the goat into the desert, it will carry all the offenses of God’s people away into the desolate wastelands.
23 Afterward, Aaron will enter the congregation tent, remove all of the linen clothing he put on when he entered, and leave them there. 24 He will wash himself with water in the sacred space, dress himself in his normal, priestly clothes, and present his own burnt offering and the burnt offering for the community to atone for himself and the community. 25 Then on the altar, he must offer up the fat of the purification offering as smoke. 26 As for the man who let the scapegoat go free, he must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and then he may reenter the community. 27 The remains of the bull and goat whose blood was used to purify the sacred space will be carried outside the camp. Their skins, meat, and dung must be burned up completely in a fire. 28 Whoever does the burning must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and then he may reenter the community.
29 This directive stands for all time: on the tenth day of the seventh month, all of you must humble yourselves and do no work—all native-born children of Israel as well as outsiders living among you. 30 This must be a day when the high priest comes before Me to cover your sins and cleanse you from all your impurities. 31 This day will be a Sabbath of sacred rest for you and you are to humble yourselves. This directive stands for all time. 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained as high priest—succeeding his father Aaron—is to make atonement and thereby cover the sins of the people. He will clothe himself in the sacred linen garments 33 and cover the impurities of the sanctuary, the congregation tent, and the altar. He will cover the priests and the entire community. 34 This directive stands for all time: atone for the sins of My people Israel once every year.
Moses did exactly what the Eternal commanded him.
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year. On this day the high priest enters into the holiest chamber of the congregation tent, the place where the covenant chest resides. Here, in God’s immediate earthly presence, he makes reparations for the sins of the people.
Chapters 17–26 are often referred to as the “Holiness Code.” The words “holy” and “sacred” are repeated over and over again throughout these chapters. God reminds His people to be different from the rest of the nations for He chose and set them apart for a special purpose. They are to be holy for He is holy.
17 The Eternal One spoke to Moses.
Eternal One: 2 Go, say to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites: Here is what the Eternal has commanded: 3 If an Israelite slaughters an ox, lamb, or goat inside or outside the camp 4 and does not present it at the entrance of the congregation tent as an offering to Me in front of My sanctuary, then he is to be considered guilty of murder. He has spilled blood and is to be cut off from the community. 5 I want the Israelites to stop sacrificing to Me in the open field and do it only at the entrance of the congregation tent. They must present their sacrifices to the priest and sacrifice them as peace offerings to Me. 6 The priest will splatter the blood on My altar at the entrance of the congregation tent and offer the fat on the altar; and the smoke of the sacrifice will rise and become a pleasant aroma to Me. 7 They must not offer any more sacrifices to the goat demons, the pagan gods with whom they’ve been unfaithful to Me until now. This directive stands for all time throughout their generations.
8 Then warn them that if any Israelite or outsider living among you presents a burnt offering or other sacrifice 9 and fails to present it to Me at the entrance of the congregation tent, then he will be cut off from the community.
10 If anyone from the community of Israel or an outsider living among you consumes any blood, I will be at odds with him and cut him off from the community of Israel. 11 You see, the life of the body is in the blood, and I have directed that you are to take blood and offer it on the altar to atone for your lives and cover your sins. It is the life flowing in the blood that atones for you and covers you. 12 This is why I told the people of Israel, “No one of you or any outsider living among you is allowed to eat blood.”
13 Now if any Israelite or outsider living among you hunts and kills an animal or a bird that is acceptable and may be eaten, then that person must drain its blood from it and cover it up with the soil of the earth.
14 You see, the life of every creature is its blood; blood represents life. Blood is life. This is why I told the people of Israel, “Do not eat the blood of any living creature; for the life of any creature is its blood.” Anyone who consumes blood will be cut off from the community. 15 Any time a person eats an animal that has died of natural causes or has been killed by another animal—regardless of whether that person is native-born or an outsider living among you—he is to wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be regarded as impure until dusk; afterward, he will be ritually pure again. 16 But if the person does not wash his clothes or bathe his body, then he carries his guilt and will suffer the consequences.
God allowed His people to eat meat, but He had concerns about how and where these animals would be killed. The commandments can be summarized this way: every time an animal is used for food, its death must be treated as a sacred event. That’s why God tells the people to present it to Him in the sanctuary. Whenever one of God’s creatures gives its life for one of our meals, that life is to be respected.
Blood is central to life. It makes life possible. That’s why blood is so significant to the sacrifices, and violating any of these laws results in severe penalties.
18 The Eternal One spoke to Moses.
Eternal One: 2 Go, talk with the Israelites. Tell them I am the Eternal One, your God. 3 You must not act as you saw the Egyptians do when you lived in Egypt, nor should you act as they do in Canaan where I am taking you. Do not follow their practices. 4 From here on out, you will live by My commands and honor My decrees and live your lives according to them alone. I am the Eternal One, your God. 5 Stay devoted to My decrees and commands. The person who observes them will live by them.[b] I am the Eternal One.
6 You must not have sexual relations with anyone closely related to you. I am the Eternal One. 7 This includes your father and your mother. You are to honor her as your mother and not have sexual relations with her. 8 You are not to have sexual relations with your father’s wife; you might as well violate your father. 9 You are not to have sexual relations with your sister—whether she is your father’s daughter or mother’s daughter, regardless of where she has lived, with your family or elsewhere. 10 Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; since they are your own flesh and blood, such an act would bring shame to you. 11 You are not to have sexual relations with your stepsister, the daughter of your father and his wife;[c] for she is still your sister. 12 Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister, your aunt; she is your father’s flesh and blood. 13 Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, your aunt; she is your mother’s flesh and blood. 14 You are not to dishonor your father’s brother, your uncle, by approaching his wife for sexual relations. She is your aunt. 15 You are not to have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife. 16 You are not to have sexual relations with your brother’s wife, your sister-in-law;[d] you might as well violate your brother. 17 You are not to have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter, her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter; they are blood relations. It would be a disgusting act. 18 As long as your wife is living, do not marry her sister or have sexual relations with her. This would make them rivals.
19 You are not to have sexual relations with a woman while she is in her menstrual impurity. 20 Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife; such an act defiles you both. 21 Do not sacrifice your children to Molech. Such an unholy sacrifice desecrates your God’s name. I am your God, the Eternal One. 22 You are not to have sexual relations with a man in the same way you do with a woman; such a thing is detestable. 23 Do not engage in a sexual act with an animal—this includes men as well as women; such behavior defiles you and perverts the proper order of things.
24 Do not defile yourselves by engaging in any of these perverse things. I am driving out all these other nations ahead of you because they have corrupted themselves with disgusting acts like these. 25 The entire land of Canaan is so impure that I will punish the land until it vomits out those who dwell upon it. 26 I want you to keep My decrees and judgments. No Israelite and no outsider living among you should commit any of the detestable acts that 27 the people who were in Canaan before you committed when they desecrated the land. 28 Do not desecrate the land or the land will vomit you from it as it has done to those who were there before you. 29 All those who commit these disgusting acts will be cut off from their community. 30 Therefore, observe My laws and do not commit any of these disgusting acts which have been committed by the people who lived in the land before you. If you observe them, you will not defile yourselves like they did. I am the Eternal One, your God.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.