Leviticus 16

1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence of the LORD.

And the Lord spoke unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had come near before the Lord, and died:

2 And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail, before the mercy-seat, which is upon the ark, that he die not; for in the cloud will I appear upon the mercy-seat.

3 This is how Aaron is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

With this shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering.

4 He is to wear the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments. He must tie a linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are holy garments, and he must bathe himself with water before he wears them.

A holy linen coat shall be put on, and linen breeches shall he have upon his flesh, and with a linen girdle shall he gird himself, and a linen mitre shall he bind on his head; these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and then put them on.

5 And he shall take from the congregation of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.

And from the congregation of the children of Israel shall he take two goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering.

6 Aaron is to present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household.

And Aaron shall bring near the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.

7 Then he shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

And he shall take the two goats, and place them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

8 After Aaron casts lots for the two goats, one for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat,

And Aaron shall put lots upon the two goats; one lot “for the Lord,” and the other lot “for 'Azazel.”

9 he shall present the goat chosen by lot for the LORD and sacrifice it as a sin offering.

And Aaron shall bring near the goat upon which fell the lot “for the Lord,” and offer him for a sin-offering.

10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement by sending it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.

But the goat on which fell the lot “for 'Azazel,” shall be placed alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, by sending him away to 'Azazel into the wilderness.

11 When Aaron presents the bull for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household, he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering.

And Aaron shall bring near the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and he shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house; and he shall kill the bullock of the sin-offering which is for himself.

12 Then he must take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and take them inside the veil.

And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and both his hands full of incense of spices, pounded fine, and bring it within the vail;

13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the cloud of incense will cover the mercy seat above the Testimony, so that he will not die.

And he shall put the incense upon the fire, before the Lord; that the cloud of the incense may envelop the mercy-seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not.

14 And he is to take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the mercy seat.

And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger above toward the mercy-seat, eastward; and before the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle seven times of the blood with his finger.

15 Aaron shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and bring its blood behind the veil, and with its blood he must do as he did with the bull’s blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it.

And he shall kill the goat of the sin-offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood to within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it above the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat.

16 So he shall make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the impurities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to do the same for the Tent of Meeting which abides among them, because it is surrounded by their impurities.

And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that abideth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

17 No one may be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he leaves, after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel.

And there shall not be any man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out: and so shall he make an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for the whole congregation of Israel.

18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar.

And he shall then go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement upon it; and he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.

19 He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.

And he shall sprinkle upon it of the blood with his finger seven times; and he shall cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

20 When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he is to bring forward the live goat.

And when he hath made an end of atoning for the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: then shall he bring near the live goat.

21 Then he is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man appointed for the task.

And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and he shall send him away by the hand of a man appointed thereto into the wilderness:

22 The goat will carry on itself all their iniquities into a solitary place, and the man will release it into the wilderness.

And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited; and so shall he send away the goat into the wilderness.

23 Then Aaron is to enter the Tent of Meeting, take off the linen garments he put on before entering the Most Holy Place, and leave them there.

And Aaron shall then go into the tabernacle of the congregation, and he shall take off the linen garments, which he had put on when he went into the holy place, and he shall leave them there:

24 He is to bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his own clothes. Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering to make atonement for himself and for the people.

And he shall bathe his flesh with water in a holy place, and put on his garments; and come then forth, and offer his burnt-offering, and the burnt-offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.

25 He is also to burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

And the fat of the sin-offering shall he burn upon the altar.

26 The man who released the goat as the scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.

And he that carrieth the goat to 'Azazel shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.

27 The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; and their hides, flesh, and dung must be burned up.

And the bullock for the sin-offering, and the goat for the sin-offering, the blood of which was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.

28 The one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and afterward he may reenter the camp.

And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.

29 This is to be a permanent statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work—whether the native or the foreigner who resides among you—

And it shall be unto you a statute for ever: in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, ye shall afflict yourselves [by fasting], and no work shall ye do, whether it be one of your own country, or the stranger that sojourneth among you;

30 because on this day atonement will be made for you to cleanse you, and you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

For on that day shall [the high-priest] make an atonement for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins before the Lord shall ye be clean.

31 It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.

It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict yourselves [by fasting], as a statute for ever.

32 The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest shall make atonement. He will put on the sacred linen garments

And the priest, who shall be anointed, and who shall be consecrated to minister as priest in his father's stead, shall make the atonement; and he shall put on the linen clothes, the holy garments.

33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the assembly.

And he shall make an atonement for the holy of holies; and for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar shall he make an atonement; and also for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation shall he make an atonement.

34 This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement once a year for the Israelites because of all their sins.” And all this was done as the LORD had commanded Moses.

And this shall be unto you as a statute for everlasting, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year: and he did as the Lord had commanded Moses.