Chronological
The Day of Atonement
16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons when they had approached the Lord and died. 2 The Lord told Moses, “Remind[a] your brother Aaron that at no time is he to enter the sacred place from the room that contains the curtain into the presence of the Mercy Seat[b] on top of the ark. Otherwise, he’ll die, because I will appear in a cloud at the Mercy Seat. 3 Aaron is to enter the sacred place with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a whole burnt offering. 4 He is to wear a sacred linen tunic and linen undergarments that will cover his genitals. He is to clothe himself with a sash and wrap his head with a linen turban. Because they are sacred garments, he is to wash himself with water before putting them on.”
The Atonement and Scapegoat Lots
5 “He is to take two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a whole burnt offering from the assembly of the Israelis. 6 Then Aaron is to bring the bull as a sin offering for himself and make atonement for himself and his household. 7 Then he is to take the two male goats and present them in the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 8 Aaron is to cast lots over the two male goats—one lot for the Lord and the other one for the scapegoat.[c] 9 Aaron is then to bring the male goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and offer it as a sin offering. 10 The male goat on which the lot fell for the scapegoat is to be brought alive into the Lord’s presence to make atonement for himself. Then he is to send it into the wilderness.”
The Sin Offering
11 “Aaron is then to bring the bull for a sin offering for himself, thus making atonement for himself and his household. He is to slaughter the ox for himself. 12 Then he is to take a censer and fill it with coals from the fire on the altar in the Lord’s presence. With his hands full of spiced and refined incense, he is to bring it beyond the curtain.
13 “Then he is to place the incense over the fire in the Lord’s presence, ensuring that the smoke[d] from the incense covers the Mercy Seat, according to regulation, so he won’t die. 14 He is to take blood from the ox and sprinkle it with his forefinger toward the surface of the Mercy Seat. Then he is to sprinkle the blood on the surface of the Mercy Seat with his forefinger seven times.
15 “He is to slaughter the male goat as a sin offering for the people and bring its blood beyond the curtain and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull: He is to sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat—that is, over the surface of the Mercy Seat. 16 Then he is to make atonement on the sacred[e] place on account of the uncleanness of the Israelis, their transgressions, and all their sins. This is how he is to act in the Tent of Meeting, which will remain with them in the middle of their uncleanness.
17 “No person[f] is to be there when he enters the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the sacred place, until he comes out and has made atonement on account of himself, his household, and the entire assembly of Israel. 18 When he goes to the altar in the Lord’s presence to make atonement for himself, he is to take some of the blood from the bull and the male goat, place it around the horns of the altar, 19 and sprinkle it with the blood on his forefinger seven times, cleansing and sanctifying it from Israel’s sins.”
The Scapegoat Offering
20 “When he has completed making atonement at the sacred place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, then he is to present the live male goat. 21 Aaron is to lay his two hands upon the head of the male goat and confess over it the sins of Israel, all their transgressions, and all their sins, thus placing them on the head of the male goat that he’ll then send out to the wilderness by the hand of a man capable of carrying out this task.[g] 22 The male goat will bear on itself all their sins to a solitary land as Aaron sends the goat out to the wilderness.
23 “Then Aaron is to enter the Tent of Meeting, take off his white linen clothes that he had put on when he entered the sacred place, and leave them there. 24 He is to wash his body with water at the sacred place and put on his clothes. Then he is to go out and offer a whole burnt offering for himself and a whole burnt offering for the people, thereby making atonement on account of himself and on account of the people.
25 “As to the fat from the burnt offering, he is to incinerate it on the altar. 26 The one who sent away the male goat as a scapegoat[h] is to wash his clothes and bathe his body with water. After doing so, he may enter the camp.
27 “The bull for the sin offering and the male goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the sacred place, are to be taken outside the camp. Their skin, meat, and offal are to be incinerated. 28 The one who burns them is to wash his clothes and bathe his body with water. After doing so, he may enter the camp.”
The Perpetual Statute
29 “This is to be a perpetual statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you (including both the native born and the resident alien) are to humble yourselves by not doing any work, 30 because on that day, atonement will be made[i] for you to cleanse you from all your sins. You are to be clean in the Lord’s presence. 31 It’s the Sabbath of all Sabbaths for you, so humble yourselves. This is to be a perpetual statute. 32 The priest who has been anointed and consecrated to be priest after his father is to make the atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen clothing 33 and make atonement for the sacred sanctuary, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar where atonement is carried out. He is also to make atonement for the priests and the people of the entire assembly. 34 This will be a perpetual statute for you as you make atonement once a year for the Israelis on account of all their sins.”
So Moses did just as the Lord had commanded him.
Ritual Animal Slaughter
17 The Lord told Moses, 2 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelis and tell them that this is what the Lord has commanded: 3 When a person from the house of Israel slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat (whether in the camp or outside the camp), 4 but fails to bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting as an offering in the presence of the tent of the Lord, that person will incur bloodguilt. Because he has shed blood, that person is to be eliminated from contact with[j] his people.”
Centralized Sacrificial Slaughter
5 “This statute is required so that[k] the Israelis may bring their sacrifices that they have been sacrificing to the Lord in the open field to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, where they are to slaughter their peace offering to the Lord. 6 The priest is to sprinkle the blood on the Lord’s altar at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and incinerate the fat, making a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 7 They are no longer to slaughter their sacrifices to the goat demons, with whom they have been committing prostitution. This will be a perpetual statute for you throughout your generations. 8 Tell them that if a person from the house of Israel or a resident alien who lives among you brings a whole burnt offering or a sacrifice 9 to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, but fails to bring it to offer[l] it to the Lord, that person[m] is to be eliminated from contact with[n] his people.”
Prohibitions against Eating Blood
10 “If anyone from the house of Israel or a resident alien who lives among you eats any form of blood, I’ll oppose[o] that person who ate the blood and eliminate him from his people, 11 because the life of the flesh is in the blood itself, and I myself have given it to you all so that atonement may be made for your souls on the altar, since the blood itself makes atonement through the life that is in it. 12 This is why I’ve told the Israelis that no person[p] among you is to eat blood. Even the resident alien who lives among you is not to eat blood.
13 “If a person from the house of Israel or a resident alien who lives among you has hunted live game or a bird that may be eaten, he is to extract its blood and cover it with soil, 14 because the life of any flesh is the blood itself. Therefore, I’m saying to the Israelis that the blood of any flesh is not to be eaten, because the life of any flesh is in its blood. Anyone who eats of it is to be eliminated from contact with his people.[q]
15 “Any person who eats a carcass or an animal that was torn by beasts (whether that person is native born or is a resident alien), is to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and he will remain unclean until evening, and then he’ll become clean. 16 But if he doesn’t wash or bathe his body, then he is to bear the punishment of his iniquity.”
Sexual Relations with Relatives Prohibited
18 The Lord told Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelis that I am the Lord your God. 3 You are not to do what you used to do in the land of Egypt where you lived. You are not to do what Canaan does, where I’m about to bring you, so that you live according to their statutes. 4 Obey[r] my ordinances and keep my statutes by living by them. I am the Lord your God. 5 Keep my statutes and my ordinances, which a person[s] is to obey in order to live in them. I am the Lord.
6 “A person is not to approach a near blood relative for sexual relations.[t] I am the Lord.
7 “Neither your father’s nakedness nor your mother’s nakedness is to be exposed. She’s your mother, so you are not to have sexual relations with her.
8 “You are not to have sexual relations with your father’s wife. It’s your own father’s nakedness.
9 “You are not to have sexual relations with your sister, whether she’s your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she’s born in your home or outside your home. You are not to have sexual relations with her.
10 “You are not to have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter. You are not to have sexual relations with them, because their nakedness is your own nakedness.
11 “You are not to have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife. Born of your father, she’s your sister, so you are not to have sexual relations with her.
12 “You are not to have sexual relations with your father’s sister. She’s your father’s near blood relative.
13 “You are not to have sexual relations with your mother’s sister. She’s your mother’s near blood relative.
14 “You are not to expose the nakedness of your father’s brother by having sexual relations with his wife. She’s your aunt.
15 “You are not to expose the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She’s the wife of your son. You are not to have sexual relations with her.
16 “You are not to have sexual relations with your brother’s wife. She’s the nakedness of your brother.
17 “You are not to have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter.
“You are not to have sexual relations with her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter. They’re near blood relatives. It’s wickedness.
18 “You are not to marry a woman and then have sexual relations with her sister as a rival when your wife[u] is still alive.
19 “You are not to approach a menstruating woman to have sexual relations with her.[v]
20 “You are not to have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and thereby become ceremonially unclean with her.”
Child Sacrifice Prohibited
21 “You are not to present any of your children to Molech as a sacrifice.[w] That way, you won’t defile the name of your God.”
Same Sex Unions Prohibited
“I am the Lord. 22 You are not to have sexual relations[x] with a male as you would with a woman. It’s detestable.”
Sexual Relations with Animals Prohibited
23 “You are not to present yourself to an animal in order to have sexual relations with it and by doing so to defile yourself. A woman is not to present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it. It’s detestable.
24 “You are not to defile yourselves by doing any of these things, since all of these nations that I’m casting out before you have defiled themselves this way. 25 The land has been defiled, so I brought the punishment of its iniquity to it. As a result, the land is vomiting out its inhabitants.
26 “Therefore, keep my statutes and ordinances. You are not to do any of these detestable things—this applies to the native born and the resident alien who lives among you— 27 because the inhabitants[y] of the land did all of these detestable things and by doing so defiled the land before you. 28 So you are not to let the land vomit you up because of your uncleanness as it is vomiting the nations that were here before you. 29 Anyone who does any of these detestable things—whoever the person[z] may be—is to be eliminated from contact with his people.[aa] 30 Therefore, keep my injunctions so that you won’t practice these detestable things that have been done before you, and so that you won’t be defiled in them. I am the Lord.”
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