Leviticus 1

1 And the Lord called Moses again and spoke to him out of the tabernacle of witness, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say to them,

While Moses/I was [standing near the entrance] to the Sacred Tent, Yahweh called to him/me from inside the tent. He said to Moses/me,

2 If [any] man of you shall bring gifts to the Lord, you shall bring your gifts of the cattle and of the oxen and of the sheep.

“Tell this to the Israeli people: ‘When any of you brings an offering to Yahweh, bring one of your sheep or goats or cattle.

3 If his gift be a whole burnt offering, he shall bring an unblemished male of the herd to the door of the tabernacle of witness, he shall bring it as acceptable before the Lord.

‘If what you are offering is a bull that will be completely burned [on the altar], it must not have any defects. You must take it to the entrance to the Sacred Tent, in order that it will be acceptable to Yahweh.

4 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering as a thing acceptable for him, to make atonement for him.

You must lay your hands on the head of the bull. When you do that, Yahweh will accept [its death in your place] to forgive/pardon you for the sins that you have committed.

5 And they shall kill the calf before the Lord; and the sons of Aaron the priests shall bring the blood, and they shall pour the blood round about on the altar, which [is] at the doors of the tabernacle of witness.

You must slaughter the bull in front of Yahweh. Then Aaron’s sons, who are priests, will bring the blood and sprinkle it against all sides of the altar near the entrance to the Sacred Tent.

6 And having flayed the whole burnt offering, they shall divide it by its limbs.

You must remove the skin of the animal and cut the animal into pieces. You must wash the inner parts and the legs of the bull.

7 And the sons of Aaron the priests shall put fire on the altar, and shall pile wood on the fire.

Then Aaron’s sons will put wood on the altar and light a fire.

8 And the sons of Aaron the priests shall pile up the divided parts, and the head, and the fat on the wood on the fire, [the wood] which is on the altar.

Then they will arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood.

9 And the entrails and the feet they shall wash in water, and the priests shall put all on the altar: it is a burnt offering, a sacrifice, a smell of sweet savour to the Lord.

Then one of the priests will completely burn all of it on the altar. And the aroma will be pleasing to Yahweh.

10 And if his gift [be] of the sheep to the Lord, or of the lambs, or of the kids for whole burnt offerings, he shall bring it a male without blemish.

‘If you are offering a sheep or a goat, it must be a male without any defect.

11 And he shall lay his hand on its head; and they shall kill it by the side of the altar, towards the north before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron the priests shall pour its blood on the altar round about.

You must slaughter it in front of Yahweh, on the north side of the altar, [and drain all the blood into a bowl]. Then Aaron’s sons will sprinkle the blood against all sides of the altar.

12 And they shall divide it by its limbs, and its head and its fat, and the priests shall pile them up on the wood which is on the fire, on the altar.

You must cut the animal into pieces. You must wash the inner parts and the legs of the animal. Then the priests will arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood.

13 And they shall wash the entrails and the feet with water, and the priest shall bring all the [parts] and put them on the altar: it is a burnt offering, a sacrifice, a smell of sweet savour to the Lord.

Then one of the priests will take all of it and completely burn all of it on the altar. And the aroma as it burns will be pleasing to Yahweh.

14 And if he bring his gift, a burnt offering to the Lord, of birds, then shall he bring his gift of doves or pigeons.

‘If what you are offering to Yahweh is a bird, you must offer a dove or a young pigeon.

15 And the priest shall bring it to the altar, and shall wring off its head; and the priest shall put it on the altar, and shall wring out the blood at the bottom of the altar.

The priest will take it to the altar and wring/twist off its head. Then he will burn the head on the altar. He will drain out the bird’s blood onto the side of the altar.

16 And he shall take away the crop with the feathers, and shall cast it forth by the altar towards the east to the place of the ashes.

Then he will remove the bird’s (craw/food-grinding pouch) and what is inside it, and throw it on the east side of the altar, where the ashes are thrown.

17 And he shall break it off from the wings and shall not separate it, and the priest shall put it on the altar on the wood which is on the fire: it is a burnt offering, a sacrifice, a sweet smelling savour to the Lord.

Then he will grasp the bird’s wings and partially tear the bird open. Then he will burn it completely in the fire on the altar. And the aroma will be pleasing to Yahweh.’