Bible in 90 Days

Rules for the people's gifts

1 The Lord spoke to Moses from the Tent of Meeting.^[a] He told him the rules that Israel's people must obey. ² The Lord said, ‘Speak to Israel's people. Tell them this. When a person gives an animal to the Lord, it must be a cow or a sheep or a goat. ³ A person may want to give a gift to the Lord. That gift must be a male animal from his group of animals. It must be perfect. He must burn the whole animal as a gift to the Lord. The person must bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting. If he does, the Lord will accept his gift. ⁴ The person must put his hand on the animal's head. Then he must kill it. The animal's death will pay for the person's sins. ⁵ The person must kill the young bull in front of the Lord. The priests who are the sons of Aaron will take the blood. They will throw it onto the sides of the altar. That is the altar near to the door of the Tent of Meeting. ⁶ The person must take the skin from the dead animal and then he must cut up the meat. ⁷ The sons of Aaron the priest will light a fire on the altar. Then they will put wood on it. ⁸ The priests will put the pieces of meat on the fire. They will put the head and the fat on the fire with the meat. ⁹ The person must wash the legs and the inside parts with water. Then the priest will burn the whole animal on the altar. The smell of it while it is burning will give the Lord pleasure.^[b]

¹⁰ A person may want to give a sheep or a goat as a gift to God. It must be a male animal. It must be perfect. ¹¹ The person must kill it at the north side of the altar. The priests will throw the blood onto the sides of the altar in front of the Lord. ¹² The person must cut the animal up. The priests will take the pieces of meat, the head and the fat. They will put them on the fire that is burning on the altar. ¹³ The person must wash the legs and the inside parts with water. The priest will burn the whole animal on the altar. It is a burnt offering. The smell of it while it is burning will give the Lord pleasure.

Moses tells Israel's people what to do with gifts that are birds

¹⁴ If a person wants to give a bird to the Lord, it must be a dove or a pigeon. ¹⁵ The priest will bring the bird to the altar. He will tear off the head and he will burn it on the altar. The priest will pour the blood onto the side of the altar. ¹⁶ Then the priest will remove the part of the bird where the food is stored. He will throw it on the east side of the altar, with the ashes. ¹⁷ He will hold the parts that the bird uses to fly. And then he will tear open the body. But he must not tear it completely. He will burn all of it on the fire that is on the altar. The smell of it while it is burning will give the Lord pleasure.

Moses tells Israel's people what to do with gifts that are grain

2 A person may want to give grain as a gift to the Lord. He must make it into flour. He must put oil and incense on the flour. ² He must take it to Aaron's sons, the priests. The priest will take some of the flour and oil and all the incense in his hand. He will burn them on the altar as a gift to the Lord. The smell of them while they are burning will give the Lord pleasure. ³ The flour that he did not burn is for the priests. It is very holy. That is because it is part of an offering to the Lord.

⁴ A person must not use yeast if he bakes his gift of grain. He must make cakes or biscuits with flour and oil. ⁵ He must not use yeast if he cooks his cake on a flat plate. He must make it with flour and oil. ⁶ He must break the cake into pieces. He must pour oil on it. It is a gift to God. ⁷ A person must use flour and oil to cook the cake in a pot. ⁸ He must give the cake to the priest. The priest will take it to the altar. ⁹ He will take a piece of it and he will burn it in the fire. It is a gift to the Lord. The smell of it while it is burning will give the Lord pleasure. ¹⁰ The part of the cake that he did not burn is for the priests. That is because it is most holy, part of a burnt offering to the Lord.

¹¹ A person must not use yeast when he gives a gift of grain to the Lord. He must not give yeast or honey for the priests to burn as gifts to the Lord. ¹² He can give them as the first part of his harvest. He must not burn them on the fire. He cannot use them to give the Lord pleasure. ¹³ A person must put salt in all his gifts of grain. Salt is a mark of God's promise to Israel's people.^[c]

¹⁴ A person may want to give the first part of his harvest to the Lord. He must break the grains into pieces and he must cook them in a fire. ¹⁵ They are a gift, so he must put oil and incense on them. ¹⁶ The priest will burn a part of the grain with all the incense. It is a burnt offering to the Lord.

Moses tells Israel's people what to do with their gifts for the Lord

3 A person might want to give a friendship offering to the Lord. He must take a perfect animal from his group of animals. The animal can be male or female. ² The person must put his hand on the animal's head. Then he must kill it at the door of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron's sons the priests will throw the blood onto the sides of the altar. ³ The person must burn some pieces of the animal as a gift to the Lord. It is a friendship offering. ⁴ He must bring all the fat from inside the animal. And he must bring the kidneys with their fat and the best piece of the liver. ⁵ The priests, Aaron's sons, will take the pieces. They must put them on top of the gift on the altar. The smell of them while they are burning will give the Lord pleasure.^[d]

⁶ If a person wants to give a sheep to the Lord as a friendship offering, it must be perfect. The person can give a male animal or a female animal to the Lord. ⁷ If it is a young sheep he must offer it to the Lord. ⁸ He must put his hand on its head. Then he must kill it at the front of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron's sons will throw the blood onto the sides of the altar. ⁹ The person must cut the tail off the animal. He must give the tail and all the fat from inside the body to the Lord. ¹⁰ He must also give the kidneys and the best piece of the liver. ¹¹ The priest will burn them as food on the altar. They are a burnt offering to the Lord.

¹² A person may offer a goat to the Lord. ¹³ The person must put his hand on the goat's head. Then he must kill it at the front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron's sons will throw the blood onto the sides of the altar. ¹⁴ The person must take all the fat round the inside parts. He must give it to the Lord for a burnt offering. ¹⁵ He must also give the kidneys with the fat on them and the best piece of the liver. ¹⁶ The priest will burn them as food on the altar. The smell of them while they are burning will give the Lord pleasure.

¹⁷ Israel's people must not eat any fat or drink any blood. This rule is for them and for their children everywhere. They must obey this rule always.’

Offerings for sins that people did not really want to do

4 The Lord said to Moses, ² ‘Say to Israel's people, “A man may sin, when he did not really want to sin against the Lord. This is what that person must do.

³ The man may be a priest that you have anointed. If that is true, his sins will cause the people to sin. He must bring a young bull as a gift to the Lord. ⁴ The priest must bring the young bull to the door of the Lord's Tent of Meeting. He must put his hand on the animal's head. And then he must kill it in front of the Lord. ⁵ The priest that you have anointed must carry some of the blood into the Tent of Meeting. ⁶ He must put his finger in the blood. He must shake it in front of the holy curtain seven times in front of the Lord. ⁷ He must put some of the blood on the horns of the incense altar in front of the Lord. The priest must pour the blood that he did not use onto the floor in front of the altar. That altar is near the door outside the Tent of Meeting. ⁸ He must cut all the fat from inside the dead animal. ⁹ He must also cut out the kidneys and the best piece of the liver. He must take them from inside the animal. ¹⁰ He must burn the fat on the altar. The priest does this when the people give a friendship offering to God. ¹¹ He must take up the skin and all the meat. He must take the head, the legs and all the inside pieces. He must include the stomach. ¹² The priest must take all the pieces to a clean place outside the camp. He must put them on the ashes and he must burn them on a wood fire.

¹³ All of the people might do bad things when they did not really want to do them. They might not obey some of the Lord's rules. They will have sinned, even if they did not know this. ¹⁴ When they do know about it they must bring a young bull to the Tent of Meeting. The animal is a sin offering. ¹⁵ The leaders of the people must put their hands on the young bull's head. Then they must kill it in front of the Lord. ¹⁶ The priest will take some of the blood into the Tent of Meeting. ¹⁷ He will put his finger in the blood. He must shake it in front of the Lord and the holy curtain seven times. ¹⁸ He will take some of the blood. Then he will put it on the horns of the altar that is in front of the Lord. He will pour the blood that he did not use onto the floor. He must pour it in front of the burnt offering altar. This altar is outside the door of the Tent of Meeting. ¹⁹ The priest will cut all the fat from the dead animal. And he will burn all the fat on the altar of burnt offering. ²⁰ He will do with this bull what he did with the bull for the sin offering. This is how the priest will atone for the sins of the people. God will forgive them when the priest does this. ²¹ The priest will take the dead animal outside the camp. He will put it on the ashes from the altar fire. He will burn the animal as he did the first bull. This is the sin offering for all the people.

²² A leader might do bad things when he did not really want to do them. He has sinned if he does not obey one of the Lord's rules. ²³ People will tell him that he has done wrong things. So then he must give a male goat to God. The animal must be perfect. ²⁴ He must put his hand on the goat's head and then he must kill it. He must do this where they kill animals in front of the Lord for the burnt offering. It is a sin offering. ²⁵ The priest will put his finger in the blood of the dead animal. He will put some of it on the horns of the altar. He will pour the blood that he did not use onto the ground. He will pour it in front of the altar. ²⁶ Then the priest will cut all the fat from the goat. And he will burn it on the altar. He will do this as he did for the friendship offering. This is how the priest will make atonement for the leader's sin. Then God will forgive the leader.

²⁷ One of the people might do bad things when he did not really want to do them. He did not obey one of the Lord's rules. That person has sinned. ²⁸ They will tell him that he has done bad things. Then he must give a female goat to God. The animal must be perfect. ²⁹ He must put his hand on the goat's head. Then he must kill it by the altar of burnt offering. ³⁰ The priest will put his finger in the blood of the goat. He will put some of it on the altar's corners. He will pour out the blood that he did not use. He will pour it onto the ground in front of the altar. ³¹ The priest will cut all the fat from the goat as he did with the friendship offering. And he will burn it on the altar. This will make atonement for the wrong things that the person has done. The smell of it while it is burning will give the Lord pleasure. Then the Lord will forgive the person.

³² If a person wants to give a young sheep to God, it must be a female. It must be perfect. ³³ He must put his hand on the animal's head. He will kill it at the altar of burnt offering. ³⁴ The priest will put his finger in the blood of the sheep. He will take some of it and he will put it on the horns of the altar. He will pour the blood that he did not use on the ground in front of the altar. ³⁵ The priest will cut all the fat from the sheep as he did with the friendship offering. He will burn it on the altar. He must burn it on top of the burnt offerings. This is how the priest will make atonement for the person's sin. Then the Lord will forgive the person.

Sins for which people must give an offering

5 A person may know about something that is wrong. He may not speak about it at a public meeting. That person is sinning.

² God has said that some animals and insects are not clean. A person may touch a dead animal or an insect like that. If he does, he is doing something wrong. It is a sin even if he did not really want to touch it.

³ A person may touch something that another person has made bad. If he does, he is doing something wrong. He might not know that it is bad, but he is still doing a wrong thing.

⁴ A person is doing a wrong thing if he says any careless promise. The promise might be good or bad. People will tell him that he has not obeyed God's rules. Then he will know that he has sinned.

⁵ A person must tell the priest if he has done any of these things. ⁶ He must give a sheep or a goat for a sin offering. Then the Lord will not be angry with him. The priest will kill the animal as a sacrifice to atone for that sin.

What the people should do if they do not have much money

⁷ A person may not have money to buy a sheep or a goat. If he does not, he must buy two doves or two pigeons.^[e] He must give them to the Lord. One bird will be a sin offering. The second bird will be a burnt offering.

⁸ The priest will bring one of the birds to the altar. It is the sin offering. He will break the neck of the bird, but he will not pull the head off. ⁹ He will shake some of the blood onto the side of the altar. He will pour the blood that he did not shake onto the floor. He must pour it in front of the altar. ¹⁰ The priest will burn the other bird. God will not be angry with the man when the priest does this.

¹¹ A person may not have money to buy two doves or two pigeons. If he does not, he must give a tenth of an ephah (about two litres) of flour. He must not put oil or incense on the flour because it is a sin offering. ¹² He must take it to the priest. The priest will burn some of the flour on the altar as a special part of the flour. It is a sin offering to the Lord. ¹³ He will forgive the person when the priest does this. The flour that he did not burn is like the grain offering. It belongs to the priests.” ’

The gift to the Lord when a person does wrong things

¹⁴ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁵ ‘If a person does not obey the Lord's holy rules he is sinning. He must give a male sheep to the Lord. He must do this even if he did not know that he had sinned. It is a gift to the Lord to pay for his sins. It must be a perfect male animal. It must be worth the correct amount of money. ¹⁶ He must also give money worth one fifth more. The person must give the sheep and the money to the priest. The priest will sacrifice the sheep. It is an atonement for the wrong things that the person has done. God will forgive the person.

¹⁷ A person might do wrong things against the Lord. But the person might not know that they were wrong. He is sinning. ¹⁸ When he knows about it, he must bring a sheep to the priest. The animal must be a perfect male. The sheep must be worth the right amount of money. The priest will give the sheep to the Lord. It will be an atonement for the wrong things that the person has done. Then the Lord will forgive the person. ¹⁹ The sheep is an offering because the person did not obey the Lord.’

6 The Lord said to Moses, ² ‘A person may take something that is not his. Or he may find it and keep it. He may tell his friend that he has not taken it. He might not give him the correct price for something. But then he is not obeying the Lord. ³ A person may speak words that are not true. That is a sin. A person may keep something that belongs to another person. He does not give it back. That is a wrong thing to do. He might find something and then he might say that it is his. If it is not his, he is not obeying God. ⁴ He has done something that is wrong. So he must show that he is sorry. He must give back anything that is not his. He must give back anything that he has found. He must give back anything that he has kept. He must give it to the person to whom it belongs. ⁵ He must give back everything and one fifth more. He must also, on the same day, give a gift to the Lord. ⁶ He must bring a sheep to the priest. The sheep must be a perfect male animal. The sheep must be worth the right amount of money. ⁷ The priest will give the sheep to the Lord. It is an atonement for the wrong things that the person has done. Then the Lord will forgive the person.’

Rules for the priests

⁸ The Lord said to Moses, ⁹ ‘Tell Aaron and his sons my rules. They must burn these gifts on the altar. The fire must burn all night. ¹⁰ When the morning comes, the priest must dress himself in his linen clothes. The linen must be next to his skin. He must take the ashes from the fire and he must put them at the side of the altar. ¹¹ Then he must dress himself in other clothes. He must carry the ashes outside the camp and he must put them in a special place. ¹² The fire that is on the altar must never stop burning. Every morning the priest must put wood on it. He must also put on it the gifts and the fat of the friendship offerings. ¹³ The fire must always burn. It must not go out.

¹⁴ These are the rules for the gift of grain. Aaron's sons must bring it in front of the altar to give to the Lord. ¹⁵ A priest must take some of the flour and oil. He must mix this special part with incense and he must burn all of it on the altar. The smell of them while they are burning will give the Lord pleasure. ¹⁶ The priests will make into bread the flour that he did not burn. They must not use yeast to make the bread. They must eat the bread in a holy place, in the yard outside the Tent of Meeting. ¹⁷ The bread is for the priests because it is a holy part of a gift. It is holy, like the offerings for sin. And it is like the gifts when somebody does anything wrong. ¹⁸ Any son, grandson or male of Aaron's family can eat the bread. It is his usual part of the burnt offerings to the Lord. A person who touches the bread will become holy.’

¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁰ ‘When Aaron is anointed, Aaron and his sons must give an offering to the Lord. It must be a tenth of an ephah (about two litres) of best flour. They must bring half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening. ²¹ They must mix it with oil and they must cook it on a flat plate. Then they must break it into pieces and they must offer it to the Lord. The smell of it will give the Lord pleasure. ²² The son whom they will anoint to take Aaron's place must prepare the offering. ²³ All of the gifts that the priests give to God must be burnt completely. Nobody should eat them.’

The sin offering

²⁴ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁵ ‘Tell Aaron and his sons this rule. When a person does wrong things he must give an animal to the Lord. The animal will be holy. The person must kill the animal at the north side of the altar. That is where they kill the offerings for sin. ²⁶ The priest who offered it will eat his part of the gift in a holy place. That is the yard outside the Tent of Meeting. ²⁷ If anyone or anything touches the meat they will become holy. If the blood touches the clothes of a person, he must wash them in a holy place. ²⁸ If a person cooks the meat in a clay pot, he must break the pot. He must break it when he has cooked the meat. If a person cooks the meat in a metal pot, he must wash the pot. He must wash it well when he has cooked the meat. And he must wash it again with clean water. ²⁹ The meat is holy.^[f] Only the priests' sons can eat it. ³⁰ They must take the blood of a sin offering into the Tent of Meeting. It is a sacrifice to atone for sin. Nobody should eat any of that offering. The priest must burn it.

7 These are the rules for a most holy offering. A person may be sorry for the wrong things that he has done. That person must obey these rules. ² The priest must kill an animal at the north side of the altar. He must throw the blood onto the sides of the altar. ³ The priest will bring all the fat from the tail and the inside parts to the altar. ⁴ He will bring the kidneys and the best piece of the liver. ⁵ Then he will burn the pieces on the altar. They are a gift to the Lord to make a person clean from sin. ⁶ Aaron's sons can eat the meat that is not burnt. They must eat it in a holy place because it is most holy.

⁷ The rules are the same for sacrifices for sin and for a person who is sorry for his sins. The gifts of meat are for the priest who brings them to the altar. ⁸ The skin of the animal is for the priest. ⁹ People may give gifts of grain that they cooked in an oven or on a flat plate. They should give them all to the priest. ¹⁰ Grain that is dry is also a gift. And grain that a man mixes with oil is also a gift. They should give them to Aaron's sons.

The Friendship offering

¹¹ These rules are for friendship offerings to the Lord. ¹² If a man wants to thank God, he must give an animal and flat loaves of bread. He must mix the flour for the bread with oil. He must not mix the flour with yeast. ¹³ He must also give other loaves of bread to God. He must make these with flour, oil and yeast. ¹⁴ A man must offer one of each kind of loaf to the Lord. These belong to the priest who throws the blood on the altar. ¹⁵ The person must not keep the meat from the animal until the next day. He must eat it on the day that he offers it.

¹⁶ The gift to God may be for a promise. The gift may be because the person loves God. That person will not have to eat it all on the same day. He can eat some of it on the next day. ¹⁷ On the third day, there may still be some meat that he has not eaten. If there is, he must burn it. ¹⁸ If the person eats the meat on the third day, God will not accept the gift. The meat is not good. The person who eats it will not give God pleasure.

¹⁹ Some meat may touch something that is not clean. Nobody should eat that meat. People must burn it. Only a clean person can eat the meat that is a gift to God. ²⁰ A person who is not clean might eat the friendship offering to the Lord. If he does, they must send him away from Israel's people. ²¹ A person might touch something that is not clean. He must not eat the meat of the offering to the Lord. That person must not eat it if he has touched an unclean animal or an unclean person. If he does eat it, they must send him away. They must send him away from Israel's people.’

Israel's people must not eat blood or fat

²² The Lord said to Moses, ²³ ‘Tell Israel's people this. They must not eat the fat from sheep, cows or goats. ²⁴ A person can use the fat of a dead animal that he has found, but he must not eat it. ²⁵ They must not eat the fat of an animal that they have burnt as a gift on the Lord's altar. They must send away from God's people anyone who does eat it. ²⁶ You must not eat the blood of an animal or of a bird even if you are living in another country. ²⁷ You must send away from Israel's people any person who eats blood.’

Moses tells the priests which parts of the animal they can eat

²⁸ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁹ ‘Say to Israel's people, “When a person gives an animal as a friendship offering, he must bring part of it to the Lord. ³⁰ He must carry the offering in his own hands to the fire. He must bring the fat and the meat of the ribs and he must lift the meat to the Lord. ³¹ The priest will burn the fat at the altar. He will lift the meat of the ribs to God. Then Aaron's sons can eat it. ³² The top part of the back right leg of the animal is a gift. ³³ It is for the priest who offers the blood and the fat. ³⁴ The ribs and the top part of the right leg are gifts. They are from the friendship offering. God wants Aaron and his sons to have them. People must give these parts of their gift to the priests. ³⁵ The Lord gave this part of the Israelites' offerings to Aaron's sons. He gave it to them on the day when they became the Lord's priests. ³⁶ The Lord told the Israelites that they must do this. He told them that on the day that Aaron's sons became priests. All their sons and grandsons must always give these offerings to the priests.” ’

³⁷ These are all the rules that a person must use. They are for when he gives a gift to God. They are the rules for offerings of grain and the friendship offering. And they are rules for the offerings that people give to take away their sin. The rules tell them how to make Aaron's sons priests. And they tell people who have done bad things what to do. They must show God that they are sorry. ³⁸ Israel's people were in the Sinai desert. The Lord gave the rules to Moses on Sinai mountain. That was on the day that the Lord spoke to the people. He told them that they should bring their offerings to him there.

Moses anoints Aaron and his sons

8 The Lord said to Moses, ² ‘Fetch Aaron and his sons.^[g] Bring their special clothes. Bring the oil. Bring the basket of bread that they made without yeast. Also bring the bull for the sin offering and the two male sheep. ³ Cause all the people to come to the door of the Tent of Meeting.’

⁴ Moses did what the Lord said. Moses and the priests and all the people came to the door of the Tent of Meeting. ⁵ Moses said to the people, ‘The Lord said that I must do this.’ ⁶ Moses washed Aaron and his sons with water. ⁷ Moses put a shirt on Aaron and he tied a belt round Aaron. He put a robe and an ephod on him. He tied the ephod with its special belt. ⁸ Moses put the breastpiece on Aaron, and he put the Urim and Thummim in its pocket.^{[h] 9} Moses tied a piece of linen as a hat round Aaron's head. On the front of this linen he put a plate of gold with valuable stones on it. The Lord had said that Moses must do this.

¹⁰ Moses put some of the special olive oil on the tabernacle and on everything in it. He did this to make those things holy. ¹¹ Moses shook oil on the altar seven times. He put oil on the altar table and on all the tools to use with it. He put oil on the washing dish and on the table on which it stood. ¹² Moses anointed Aaron's head with oil to make him holy. ¹³ He put a robe on each of Aaron's sons. He tied cloth belts around them and cloth hats on their heads. The Lord had commanded Moses to do this.

¹⁴ Moses brought the bull as a gift to God. Aaron and his sons put their hands on the bull's head. ¹⁵ Moses killed the bull. He put his finger in the blood. He put the blood on the horns of the altar. That made it holy. Moses poured out the blood that he had not used. He poured it onto the floor in front of the altar. This is how he made the altar ready to make sacrifices. ¹⁶ He burnt the fat and the kidneys and the best piece of the liver on the altar. ¹⁷ Moses burnt the meat with the inside parts and the skin of the bull outside the camp. The Lord had said that Moses must do this.

¹⁸ Moses brought a male sheep to burn as a gift to God. Aaron and his sons put their hands on the sheep's head. ¹⁹ Moses killed the sheep. He threw the blood onto the sides of the altar. ²⁰ Moses cut the sheep into small pieces. He burnt the fat and the head and the pieces on the altar. ²¹ He washed the legs and the inside parts. He burnt them on the altar as an offering to the Lord. The smell of them while they were burning gave the Lord pleasure. The Lord had said that Moses must do this.

²² Moses brought the other male sheep. It was a gift. It showed that God had chosen Aaron's family to become his priests. Aaron and his sons put their hands on the sheep's head. ²³ Moses killed the sheep. He put some of its blood on Aaron's right ear. He also put blood on the thumb of Aaron's right hand. And he put some on the big toe of his right foot.^{[i] 24} Moses did the same to Aaron's sons. Then he threw blood on all the sides of the altar. ²⁵ Moses took the fat tail and the fat and the kidneys from inside the animal. He took the best piece of the liver from inside the animal. He took the top part of the right back leg. ²⁶ Moses took two flat loaves of bread that they had made without yeast and a biscuit. He took them from the basket that was in front of the Lord. One of the loaves had oil in it. He put them on top of the fat and the leg. ²⁷ Moses gave them to Aaron and to his sons. They lifted them up as a special gift to the Lord. ²⁸ Moses took the special gift from them and he burnt it on the altar. The smell of it while it was burning gave the Lord pleasure. ²⁹ Moses took his part of the animal, the meat of the ribs, and he lifted it up to the Lord. The Lord had said that Moses must do this.

³⁰ Moses took some of the oil and some of the blood from the altar. He shook them on Aaron and his sons. He also shook some of the blood and some of the oil on their clothes. He did that to make them holy.

³¹ Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, ‘Cook the meat at the door of the Tent of Meeting. Eat the meat with the bread in the basket by the door of the Tent of Meeting. ³² Burn the meat and bread that you do not eat. ³³ You must stay at the door of the Tent of Meeting for seven days. This will make you holy. You must stay for seven days to become holy. ³⁴ The Lord said that you must do this to atone for your sin. ³⁵ Remember that you must stay at the door of the Tent of Meeting. You must stay there for seven days and seven nights. The Lord told me that you must do this. If you do not obey him, you will die.’ ³⁶ So Aaron and his sons did everything that the Lord had told Moses.

The priests begin their work

9 On the eighth day, Moses told Aaron and his sons and the leaders of Israel that they must come.^{[j] 2} He said to Aaron, ‘Bring a young bull for your sin offering. And bring a male sheep for your burnt offering. They must be perfect to give to the Lord.’ ³ Moses said to Aaron, ‘Tell Israel's people that they must bring a male goat for a sin offering. And they must bring a young cow and a young sheep. The young cow and the young sheep must be one year old. They must be perfect to burn as an offering. ⁴ Tell Israel's people that they must bring a bull and a male sheep. They must bring them to sacrifice as a friendship offering to the Lord. They will sacrifice them. They must mix grain and oil to offer with them. They must do that because the Lord will appear to them today.’

⁵ The people brought all the animals and the grain to the door of the Tent of Meeting. Moses and all the people came. And they stood at the door of the Tent of Meeting to worship the Lord. ⁶ Moses said to the people, ‘The Lord has told you that you must do this. Do it. And then the Lord will show you how great he is.’

⁷ Moses said to Aaron, ‘Go to the altar. Sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering to the Lord. You must do that to pay for your sins and those of the people. Then sacrifice the people's gift. Their offerings are an atonement for the bad things that they have done. The Lord said that you should do this.’

⁸ Aaron brought the young bull to the altar. He killed it. This was his offering to the Lord to atone for his sin. ⁹ His sons brought the blood to Aaron. He put his finger in the blood and he put it on the horns of the altar. He poured the blood that he did not use onto the floor in front of the altar. ¹⁰ Aaron burnt the fat, the kidneys and the best piece of the liver on the altar as a sin offering. He did it as the Lord had told Moses. ¹¹ He took the meat and the skin from the young bull outside the camp and he burnt it.

¹² Aaron brought the male sheep for the burnt offering to the altar. He killed it. His sons brought the blood to him. He threw the blood onto the sides of the altar. ¹³ The priests gave the pieces of the animal, including the head, to Aaron. Aaron burnt them on the altar. ¹⁴ He washed the inside parts and the legs. He burnt them on the altar on top of the burnt offering.

¹⁵ Aaron brought the goat. This was the people's sacrifice to God. Aaron killed it and he burnt it on the altar. It was an offering to atone for the people's sin. He offered this sacrifice in the same way as the first sacrifice for sin.

¹⁶ Aaron brought the other young cow. He killed it and he burnt it on the altar. He did it as Moses had told him. ¹⁷ He also brought the grain offering. He took some of it and he burnt it on the altar. He burnt it with the morning sacrifice.

¹⁸ Aaron killed the bull and the male sheep. These were friendship offerings from the people. The priests brought the blood to him. He threw it onto the sides of the altar. ¹⁹ Aaron took the fat tail, the fat and the kidneys and the best piece of the liver. ²⁰ He put them on the meat of the animal's ribs. Then he burnt the fat on the altar. ²¹ Aaron lifted up the meat as an offering to the Lord. Moses had told him that he must do this.

²² When Aaron had finished burning the gifts, he lifted up his hands over the people. He had sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the friendship offering. Then he asked God to do good things for the people. And Aaron came down from the altar.

²³ Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they asked God to do good things for the people. The bright light from the Lord appeared to the people to show how great he is. ²⁴ Then the Lord sent a fire to show that he accepted the gifts.^[k] It completely burnt all the fat and the offerings that were on the altar. The people were very happy when they saw this. They shouted and they fell down with their faces to the ground.

The Lord kills Nadab and Abihu

10 Nadab and Abihu were sons of Aaron.^[l] They put hot material in the pots that they used to burn incense. They threw incense over the hot material. They offered the incense to the Lord. This was a wrong thing to do. The Lord had not told them that they should do it. So it was wrong. ² The Lord was angry and he sent fire to burn them. They died there in front of the Lord's altar. ³ Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the Lord said,

“People may come near to me. But those people must see that I am holy.

All the people must give honour to me.” ’

Aaron did not reply.

⁴ Mishael and Elzaphan were sons of Aaron's father's brother, Uzziel. Moses said to them, ‘Carry Nadab and Abihu away from the altar. Take your cousins outside the camp.’ ⁵ Nadab and Abihu were still wearing their robes. Mishael and Elzaphan carried Nadab and Abihu outside the camp. Moses had told them that they must do that.

⁶ Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, ‘Comb your hair. Do not tear your clothes. If you do that, you will die. And the Lord will be angry with all the people. But Israel's people can show that they are sad. They are sad because the Lord has killed Nadab and Abihu with fire. ⁷ If you go away from the door of the Tent of Meeting you will die. You will die because the Lord's holy oil is on you.’ So Aaron and his sons did as Moses had said.

⁸ The Lord then said to Aaron, ⁹ ‘Do not drink wine before you go into the Tent of Meeting. And do not drink anything that contains alcohol. If you do, you will die. This rule is for you and for all your sons and grandsons. ¹⁰ You must know what is holy. And you must know what is not holy. You must know what you can use. And you must know what you must not use to worship me. ¹¹ You must teach Israel's people all the rules that I, the Lord, gave to them by Moses.’

¹² Moses said to Aaron and to his two other sons Eleazar and Ithamar, ‘The grain offering is most holy. Take the part that you did not burn in front of the Lord. And make it into bread. Do not use yeast. Take it to the side of the altar and eat it. ¹³ Eat it in a holy place. The Lord has said that it is your part of the grain offering. It is for you and for your sons. ¹⁴ You and your sons and daughters can eat the meat of the ribs that you held up to God. And all your family can eat the top part of the leg. Eat the meat in a place that is clean and ready for God's use. It is your part of the people's friendship offering. ¹⁵ Bring the top of the leg and the meat of the ribs. Lift them up to the Lord. The Lord has given them to you and to your children. Lift them up with the fat parts of the burnt offering. He told you that you should do this.’

¹⁶ Moses looked for the goat that was to atone for the people's sin. Moses was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, sons of Aaron. He was angry because they had burnt the goat. ¹⁷ Moses said to them, ‘This gift was for the Lord. It was a very holy gift. It was to atone for the people's sins. Why did you not take it to the holy place and eat it? ¹⁸ You did not bring the blood into the holy place. I told you that you must eat its meat in the Tent of Meeting.’ ¹⁹ Aaron said to Moses, ‘My sons sacrificed their gifts to the Lord today. But very bad things have happened to me today. I would not have given the Lord any pleasure if I had eaten the sin offering today.’ ²⁰ When Moses heard this, he was not angry any longer.

The Lord gives rules about food to the people

11 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² ‘Some animals walk on the land. Tell Israel's people which of these animals they can eat. ³ Each foot on the animal must have two separate parts. The animal must eat its food and then it must bring the food back into its mouth. And then it must eat the food again. Some animals eat their food twice and they have feet with two parts. You can eat those animals.

⁴ Some animals have feet that have two separate parts. But they do not eat their food twice. Other animals eat their food twice. But their feet do not have two separate parts. You must not eat those animals. The camel eats its food twice. But its feet are not in two separate parts. The people must not eat the camel. ⁵ The rock badger eats its food twice. But its feet are not in two separate parts. They must not eat the rock badger. ⁶ The rabbit eats its food twice. But its feet are not in two separate parts. They must not eat the rabbit. ⁷ The pig's feet are in two parts. But when the pig eats its food, it does not bring the food back into its mouth. It does not eat it twice. The people must not eat the pig. ⁸ They must not touch the dead bodies of those animals. They must not eat their meat. They are not clean for you to eat.

⁹ They can eat some animals that live in the sea or in the river. Those animals must have fins and scales on their bodies.^{[m] 10} They must not eat any other animals from the sea or the river. They must keep away from them. ¹¹ They must not touch the dead bodies of the animals from the sea or the river. They must not eat the meat from those other animals. ¹² Animals from the sea and the river may have fins and scales on their bodies. Those are the only ones that you can eat. Those without fins or scales are unclean.

¹³ They must not eat some birds because they are not clean. They must not eat either the eagle or the vulture. ¹⁴ They must not eat the buzzard or the kite. ¹⁵ They must not eat the raven. ¹⁶ They must not eat any owl, seagull or hawk. ¹⁷ They must not eat the cormorant. ¹⁸ They must not eat the osprey. ¹⁹ They must not eat the heron, the hoopoe or the bat. The people must not eat them nor touch their dead bodies. They are not clean.^[n]

²⁰ Some insects fly in the air and walk on the ground. The people must not eat them. ²¹ Some insects can fly. And they have legs that can jump. They can eat those insects. ²² They can eat any of these. They include the locust, the cricket and the grasshopper. ²³ They must not eat any other flying insect that has legs.

²⁴ A person may touch the dead body of an animal that is not clean. If he does, that person is not clean either. They must keep him separate from the other people until the evening. ²⁵ He must wash his clothes immediately.

²⁶ An animal might not have feet that are in two separate parts. It is wrong to touch the dead body of this animal. Some animals do not bring food back into their mouths and eat it again. It is wrong to touch the dead bodies of these animals. ²⁷ Some animals walk on four feet. It is wrong to touch the dead body of an animal that has paws. ²⁸ A person who picks up the dead body of these animals must wash his clothes immediately. They must keep him separate from the people until the evening.

²⁹ Some animals that walk on the ground are not clean. You must not touch a weasel, a rat or a mouse. ³⁰ You must not touch any kind of lizard. ³¹ A person might touch the dead body of one of those animals. If he does, he will not be clean. So they must keep him separate from the people until evening. ³² A dead animal may fall onto something that someone made from wood, cloth or skin. That thing becomes unclean. A person must put it into water until the evening. Then it will be clean. ³³ A dead animal might fall into a pot. Then the pot and the things in it are not clean. The person must break the pot. ³⁴ The food or water from the pot is not clean. A person must not drink it or eat any of that food. Water from the pot may have touched some food. If it did, that food is not clean. You must not eat it. ³⁵ If a dead animal falls onto a cooking pot, then the pot is not clean. You must break the pot. ³⁶ If a dead animal falls into a fresh water stream, the stream stays clean. The pot that a person uses to get fresh water from the stream is clean. ³⁷ If a dead animal falls onto some seeds, they stay clean. ³⁸ A person might pour water on the seeds. A dead animal might fall on the wet seeds. Then those seeds are not clean.

³⁹ An animal that is good for food might die. A man might touch its dead body. If he does, they must keep him separate from the people until the evening. ⁴⁰ If a person eats meat from the body of the dead animal, he must wash his clothes. He will not be clean until the evening. If a person picks up the body of the dead animal, he must wash his clothes. He will not be clean until the evening.

⁴¹ The people must not eat small animals that move across the ground. ⁴² This means animals that pass across the ground on their stomachs. It also means animals that walk on four legs or many legs. ⁴³ The people must not touch them or eat them. ⁴⁴ God says, “I am the Lord your God. I am holy. Make yourselves holy. Do not touch any small animal that moves across the ground. If you do, you will not be clean or holy ⁴⁵ I am the Lord who brought you away from Egypt. I became your God. So be holy because I am holy.” ’

⁴⁶ These rules are about animals, birds and all animals that move in water or on the ground. ⁴⁷ The people must learn to know which animals are clean. They must recognize which animals they can eat. And they must recognize which animals they must not eat.^[o]

What a woman must do when she has a baby

12 The Lord said to Moses, ² ‘Say this to Israel's people. When a boy is born, his mother is not clean for seven days. When she is bleeding each month, the rule is the same. She is not clean. ³ Eight days after he is born, they must circumcise the boy. ⁴ The woman must wait for 35 days after the boy is born. All this time she must not touch anything that is holy. She must not go into the Tent of Meeting. After this time, she will become clean.

⁵ After a girl is born, her mother will not be clean for two weeks. The rule is the same as for each month, when she is bleeding. She will not be clean then. She must wait 66 days after a girl is born. Then she will become clean.

⁶ When the days to wait are finished, the woman must come to the door of the Tent of Meeting. She must bring to the priest a sheep that is one year old for a burnt offering. And she must bring a bird for a sin offering. The bird must be a pigeon or a dove. These are gifts to God. ⁷ The priest will offer the gifts to the Lord. Then the woman will become clean. These are the rules at the birth of a boy or of a girl.

⁸ If the woman does not have money to buy a sheep she can give two doves or pigeons. The priest will use one bird for a sin offering and he will burn the other one. That is how he will make atonement for her. Then she will be clean.’

Rules for diseases in the skin

13 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² ‘A person may have a kind of mark on his skin that might be a disease. He might give the disease to other people. If he has a mark like that, you must bring him to the priest. ³ The priest must look at the mark. If the hair on the mark is white, it might be a disease. If the mark is under the skin and on the skin it might be a disease. The priest must say that the person is not clean. ⁴ If the mark on the skin is white but not under the skin it might not be a disease. If the hair on the skin is not white, it might not be a bad disease. The priest must keep him separate from the people for seven days. ⁵ On the seventh day, the priest must look at the person. The mark may not be any bigger. If it is not, he must keep the person separate from the people for seven more days. ⁶ On the seventh day, the priest must look at the person. The mark may not be so dark and it may not be any bigger. The priest can say that the disease has left that person. The person must wash his clothes. ⁷ A person might see that the mark on his skin had grown. This might happen after the priest had said that the disease had left him. Then the person must go again to the priest. ⁸ The priest must look at the person. The mark might be bigger. The priest must say that the person has a disease. It is a disease that he could give to other people.

⁹ If a person has a disease on his skin, you must bring him to the priest. ¹⁰ The priest must look at the person. If the skin has a white mark and white hair on it, the person has a disease. If the mark has no skin on part of it, the person has a disease. But it may not be a disease that he could give to other people. ¹¹ The priest must say that the person is not clean. The priest need not keep him separate from the people. He already has a disease.

¹² If the disease is all over the body of the person, the priest must look at the person. ¹³ If the skin is all white the priest must say that the person is clean. ¹⁴ If there is an open hole in the skin, the person is not clean. ¹⁵ The priest will see the hole in the skin. He must say that the person has a disease. ¹⁶ The hole might close up and the skin might go white. If it does, the person must go to the priest. ¹⁷ The priest must look at the skin. It may be white. The priest must say that the disease has left the person. Then he will be clean.

¹⁸ A person might have a boil on his skin. Then it might get better. ¹⁹ If there is still a red or white mark on the skin, the person must go to the priest. ²⁰ The priest must look at the person's skin. The red mark might be under the skin and the hair on the skin might be white. Then the priest must say that the person has a disease. The person is not clean. ²¹ If the red mark is not under the skin, it might not be a bad disease. There may not be any white hair on the red mark and the mark may be less red. If that is true, it might not be a bad disease. The priest must keep the person separate from the people for seven days. ²² If the red mark becomes bigger, the priest must say that the person has a bad disease. ²³ If the red mark is not becoming bigger, the disease is getting better. It is a mark that remains on the skin from the boil. The priest must say that the person is now clean again.

²⁴ A person who has burnt his skin might have a red or white mark. It might be where he burnt himself. ²⁵ The priest must look at him. If the hair on the mark is white, it is a disease. If the mark is under the skin and on the skin, it is a disease. The priest must say that the person is not clean. He might give the disease to other people. ²⁶ There may not be any white hair and the mark may not be under the skin. The disease is leaving the person. Then the priest must keep him separate from the people for seven days. ²⁷ On the seventh day, the priest must look at the person. If the mark is getting bigger, it is a disease. The priest must say that the person is not clean. ²⁸ If the mark is getting smaller, it is not a disease. The mark is because the person burnt himself. The priest must say that the person is clean.

²⁹ A person may have a mark that hurts on his head. ³⁰ The priest must look at the mark. The mark may be under the skin and on the skin, and it may have thin yellow hair on it. That is a bad disease. He could give that disease to other people. The priest must say that the person is not clean. ³¹ If the mark is not under the skin, it might not be a bad disease. If there is not any black hair on the mark, it might not be a disease. The priest must keep that person separate from the people for seven days. ³² On the seventh day, the priest must look at the mark that is hurting. The mark might not be under the skin. There might not be any yellow hair on it. ³³ The person must cut the hair off his head. He must not cut the hair off where the mark is. Then the priest must keep the person separate from everyone else for seven more days. ³⁴ On the seventh day, the priest must look at the mark that is hurting. The mark may be no bigger and not under the skin. The priest can say that the person is clean. The person must wash his clothes. ³⁵ The mark might get bigger after the priest has said that the disease has left the person. ³⁶ The priest must look at the mark. If it is bigger, he need not look for yellow hair. The person is not clean. ³⁷ The mark may be no bigger and black hair may have grown on it. If that is true, the disease has left the person.

³⁸ If a person has white marks on his skin, ³⁹ the priest must look at the marks. If the colour of the marks is not bright, it is not a disease. The person is clean.

⁴⁰ The hair may fall from the head of a man until he is bald. That man remains clean. ⁴¹ If the hair falls from the front of the man's head, it is bald. The man is clean. ⁴² If the man has a red and white mark on his bald head, it is a disease. ⁴³ The priest must look at the red and white mark on the bald head. ⁴⁴ The priest must say that the man has a disease. It is a disease that he might give to other people,

⁴⁵ A person with this disease must tear his clothes. He must not comb his hair. He must cover the lower part of his face. He must shout, “I am not clean.” ⁴⁶ He must be alone all the time that he has a disease. He must live outside the camp.

Rules for clothes that have mildew

⁴⁷ Clothes might become bad because of mildew.^{[p] 48} People might have made the clothes from wool, linen or leather. ⁴⁹ If the mark in the clothes is green or red, the mildew is growing. People must show these clothes to the priest. ⁵⁰ The priest must look at the mildew. And he must keep the clothes separate from other clothes for seven days. ⁵¹ On the seventh day, the priest must look at the clothes. If the disease is getting bigger, the person must not wear them. ⁵² The priest must burn the wool, leather or linen clothes. They have a disease that will destroy them.

⁵³ When the priest looks at the clothes, the mildew might not be getting bigger. ⁵⁴ He must tell the people that they must wash the clothes. The people must keep these clothes separate from their other clothes for seven more days. ⁵⁵ The priest will look at the clothes after the people have washed them. If the mildew still seems the same, the people must not wear the clothes. The people must burn the clothes whether the mark is inside or outside them. ⁵⁶ The colour of the mark might be less bright, after the people have washed the clothes. If it is, the priest must tear the marked part out of the clothes. ⁵⁷ If the mildew comes back to the clothes, the people must burn them. ⁵⁸ If there is no mildew in the washed clothes, the people must wash the clothes again. Then the clothes will be clean.’

⁵⁹ These are the rules for mildew in linen cloth. They are rules for wool or leather clothes. They tell the priest how to know whether they are clean or not clean.

Rules for the people after a disease of the skin leaves them

14 The Lord said to Moses, ² ‘These rules are for a person who has had a disease on his skin. They are rules about how to make him clean. When the disease leaves the person, you must bring him to the priest. ³ The priest must go outside the camp and he must look at the person. If the disease has gone away, ⁴ he must speak to the person. He must tell the person that he must bring two birds. They must be birds that are good for food. The birds must be alive. They must also bring wood from the cedar tree, red wool and some hyssop. ⁵ The priest will bring a pot with water in it. He will hold one of the birds over the pot and he will kill it. ⁶ The priest will take the other bird and the wood from the cedar tree. He will take the red wool and the hyssop. He will put all of them into the blood of the dead bird. ⁷ The priest will shake the blood over the person who had the disease. He will do this seven times. The priest will then say that the person is clean. The priest will let the live bird go. It will fly away.

⁸ The person who had the disease must wash his clothes. He must wash his body with water and he must cut off all his hair. Then he will be clean. He can go into the camp. But he must stay outside the home that he has made from animal skins for seven days. ⁹ On day seven, he must cut all the hair off his head and his face. He must wash his clothes and his body with water.

¹⁰ On the eighth day, the person must bring two young male sheep and one female sheep. The female sheep must be one year old. Both the animals must be perfect. He must also bring three tenths (3/10) of an ephah of flour (about six litres) mixed with oil. And he must bring a cup of olive oil. ¹¹ The priest who is making him clean must be there. He must bring the person to the door of the Tent of Meeting. The person must bring with him his offerings to the Lord.

¹² The priest must take one of the male sheep and the oil. He must lift them up to the Lord as a gift. ¹³ He must kill the sheep at the north side of the altar. That is where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering. The gift is holy. It is food for the priests. ¹⁴ The priest must put some of the blood on the lowest part of the person's right ear. He must put blood on the thumb of the person's right hand. And he must put blood on the big toe of the person's right foot. ¹⁵ The priest must pour some of the oil into his own left hand. ¹⁶ He must put a finger from his right hand into the oil. He must shake the oil seven times in front of the Lord's altar. ¹⁷ The priest must put oil on the lowest part of the person's right ear. He must put some of the oil on the thumb of the person's right hand. He must put some of the oil on the big toe of the person's right foot. He will put the oil on top of the offering's blood. ¹⁸ The priest must put the oil that he did not use on the person's head. This makes his atonement in front of the Lord.

¹⁹ Then the priest must offer the sin offering. That will make atonement for the man who will become clean. Then the priest must kill another sheep. It is a burnt offering. ²⁰ The priest must sacrifice the dead animal. It is a burnt offering. The priest must offer it on the altar. He must burn the flour and the oil with it on the altar. All this will make atonement for the person. This makes the person who had the disease clean.

²¹ If the person is poor, he must bring one young male sheep. And he must bring a tenth of an ephah of flour (about 2 litres) mixed with oil. And he must give a cup of olive oil. The priest must lift them to the Lord. ²² The person must also bring two birds. They must be doves or pigeons. These will be his gift. One bird is for a sin offering and the other one is for a burnt offering.

²³ On the eighth day, the person must bring his gifts to the Lord. He must bring them to the door of the Tent of Meeting. ²⁴ The priest will take the young sheep and the oil and he will lift them up to the Lord. ²⁵ He will kill the sheep. He will put some of its blood on the lowest part of the person's ear. He will put the blood on the thumb of the person's right hand. He will put the blood on the big toe of the person's right foot. ²⁶ The priest will pour some of the oil into his own left hand. ²⁷ He will put a finger from his right hand into the oil. He will shake it seven times in front of the Lord's altar. ²⁸ He will put oil from his hand on the lowest part of the person's ear. He will also put oil on the thumb of the person's right hand. He will put oil on the big toe of the person's right foot. ²⁹ The priest will put the oil that he did not use on the person's head. Then the Lord can see that he is clean. ³⁰ The priest will kill the pigeons or doves. ³¹ One bird is for a sin offering. The priest will burn the other bird with the grain offering. This is how the priest will make atonement in front of the Lord. He will do it for the person who was not clean.

³² These are the rules for a person who had a disease in his skin. They are for a disease that he might give to other people. They are for people who are too poor to buy three sheep.’