Leviticus 16

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they were destroyed for offering strange fire.

After the two sons of Aaron died because they burned incense to Yahweh [in a manner that was contrary to what Yahweh commanded], Yahweh spoke to Moses/me.

2 And he instructed him, saying: Speak to your brother Aaron, so that he may not, at any time, enter into the Sanctuary, which is within the veil, before the propitiatory by which the ark is covered, so that he may not die, (for I will appear in a cloud above the oracle)

He said to him/me, “Warn your [older] brother Aaron that he must not enter the Very Holy Place inside the curtain that is in the Sacred Tent whenever he wants to, because the cover of the sacred chest is there. That is the place where the priest (makes atonement for/requests me to forgive) sins. I am present in the cloud that is over the cover of the sacred chest. If Aaron goes in that room when it is not the proper time, he will die!

3 unless he will have done these things beforehand. He shall offer a calf for sin, and a ram as a holocaust.

“When Aaron enters the Sacred Tent area, he must bring a bull that [will be killed] to become an offering/sacrifice for sins, and a ram [to be killed] to be an offering that will be completely burned [on the altar].

4 He shall be vested with a linen tunic. He shall conceal his nakedness with linen undergarments. He shall be wrapped with a linen belt, and he shall impose a linen headdress on his head. For these are holy vestments. All of these he shall put on, after he has been washed.

Then he must bathe his whole body, and put on the linen underwear/undershorts and the linen gown. He must tie the linen sash/waistbands around his waist and wrap the turban around his head. Those are his sacred garments.

5 And he shall receive, from the entire multitude of the sons of Israel, two he-goats for sin, and one ram as a holocaust.

The Israeli people must then bring to him two male goats [to be killed] as an offering/sacrifice for sin, and a ram to be [killed and] burned completely [on the altar].

6 And when he has presented the calf, and has prayed for himself and for his own house,

“Aaron must offer the bull [to me] to be a sacrifice in order that (I will forgive his sins and the sins of his family/his sins and the sins of his family will be forgiven).

7 he shall cause the two he-goats to stand in the sight of the Lord at the entrance to the tabernacle of the testimony.

Then he must bring the two male goats to me at the entrance to the Sacred Tent.

8 And casting lots over them both, one is to be offered to the Lord, and the other is to be the emissary goat.

He must (cast lots/throw down stones that have been marked) to determine which goat will be [sacrificed] to me, and which will be the goat that will be set free.

9 The one whose lot fell out to be offered to the Lord, he shall offer for sin.

Aaron must bring to me the goat that was chosen to be sacrificed. It will be an offering for the people’s sins.

10 But the one who is to be the emissary goat shall stand before the Lord, so that he may pour the prayers upon him, and may send him away into the wilderness.

Aaron must also bring to me the other goat, but it is not to be killed. It will be freed while it is still alive. As a result of Aaron sending it into the desert, the people’s sins will be forgiven.

11 After these things have been duly celebrated, he shall offer the calf, and praying for himself and for his own house, he shall immolate it.

“Then Aaron must bring the young bull to me, to be an offering/sacrifice for himself and for his family. He must slaughter that bull to be an offering for their sins, [and he must drain the blood into a basin].

12 And taking up the censer, which he has filled from the burning coals of the altar, and drawing up with his hands the aromatic compound for incense, he shall enter within the veil, into the holy place,

Then he must take some burning coals from the [bronze] altar and put them in the incense burner. Then he must fill his hands with fragrant finely-ground incense. Then he must take the incense and the incense burner inside the curtain into the Very Holy Place [of the Sacred Tent].

13 so that when the aromatics are placed upon the fire, its cloud and vapor may cover the oracle, which is above the testimony, and he may not die.

There he must put the incense on the burning coals, with the result that a cloud of burning incense will rise up over the lid of the sacred chest. If he obeys these instructions, he will not die [like Korah’s two sons did because of offering incense incorrectly] (OR, [because of being in God’s presence]).

14 Likewise, he shall take some of the blood of the calf, and sprinkle it with his finger seven times opposite the propitiatory, toward the east.

Then he must dip his finger into [the basin] and sprinkle some blood on the lid of the sacred chest, and also sprinkle some blood seven times against the front of the chest.

15 And when he has slain the he-goat for the sin of the people, he shall carry its blood within the veil, just as he was instructed to do with the blood of the calf, so that he may sprinkle it away from the area of the oracle,

[“Aaron must then go outside the Sacred Tent] and slaughter the goat to be an offering for the sins of the people. Then he must bring its blood into the Very Holy Place behind the curtain. There he must sprinkle [some of] that blood on the lid of the sacred chest and against the front of the chest, like he did with the bull’s blood.

16 and so that he may expiate the Sanctuary from the uncleanness of the sons of Israel, and from their prevarications and every one of their sins. According to this rite, he shall act toward the tabernacle of the testimony, which is fixed among them in the midst of the filth of their habitation.

By doing that, he will purify the Very Holy Place. And he must sprinkle more of the blood on the Sacred Tent, because the tent is in the midst of the camp of the Israeli people who have become unacceptable to me [because of their sins].

17 Let no man be in the tabernacle when the high priest enters the Sanctuary in order to pray for himself, and for his house, and for the entire assembly of Israel, until he exits.

When Aaron goes into the Very Holy Place [in the Sacred Tent] to purify it, no one else is permitted to enter [the other part of] the Sacred Tent. Only after Aaron has performed rituals to enable me to forgive him and his family, and all the Israeli people, is any priest permitted to enter the Sacred Tent.

18 And when he has exited to the altar which is before the Lord, let him pray for himself, and taking the blood of the calf, and of the he-goat, let him pour it upon its horns all around.

“Then Aaron must go outside the tent to purify my altar. He must do this by smearing some of the blood from the bull and some of the blood from the goat on each of the projections at the corners of the altar.

19 And sprinkling with his finger seven times, let him expiate and sanctify it from the uncleanness of the sons of Israel.

Then Aaron must dip his finger into the [basin of] blood and sprinkle some of the blood over the altar seven times. By doing that, he will cleanse it from being unholy [because of the sins] of the Israeli people, and it will become holy again.

20 After he has cleansed the Sanctuary, and the tabernacle, and the altar, then let him offer the living goat.

“When Aaron has finished purifying the Very Holy Place [inside the Sacred Tent] and all of the Sacred Tent and the altar, he must bring the goat that was chosen to be set free.

21 And placing both hands upon its head, let him confess all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all of their offenses and sins. And calling these down upon its head, he shall send it away, by means of a man prepared to do so, into the desert.

He must put both of his hands on the head of the goat and confess all the sins [DOU] of the Israeli people. By doing that, he will put [the guilt of] their sins on the head of the goat. Then he must give the goat to a man who is chosen, and that man will send the goat out into the desert.

22 And when the goat has carried all their iniquities into a solitary land, and has been released into the desert,

[It is as though] the goat will carry away into the desert [the guilt for] the sins of all the people.

23 Aaron shall return into the tabernacle of the testimony. And placing aside the vestments, which he had worn before when he entered into the Sanctuary, and leaving them there,

“When Aaron approaches the Sacred Tent, he must take off the linen clothes that he wore when he [previously] entered the Very Holy Place, and he must leave those clothes there.

24 he shall wash his flesh in the holy place, and he shall be clothed in his own garments. And departing afterwards, he shall present his own holocaust and that of the people: he shall pray as much for himself as for the people.

Then he must bathe in a sacred place, put on his regular/ordinary clothes, and sacrifice the animals that will be burned completely on the altar for his own sins and for the sins of the Israeli people. By doing that he will enable me to forgive him and them.

25 And the fat which is offered for sins, he shall burn upon the altar.

He must also burn on the altar all the fat of the bull and the goat that were sacrificed.

26 Yet truly, he who has sent away the emissary goat shall wash his clothes and his body with water, and so he shall enter into the camp.

“The man who was chosen to send the other goat into the desert and free it there must afterwards wash his clothes and bathe. Then he may return to the camp.

27 But the calf and the he-goat, which were immolated for sin, and whose blood was brought into the Sanctuary to complete the expiation, these shall be carried outside the camp and be burned with fire: as with their skins, so also with their flesh and dung.

The carcasses of the bull and the goat that were slaughtered to be an offering/sacrifice for the people’s sins, whose blood was taken inside the Very Holy Place to enable Yahweh to forgive the Israeli people, must be carried outside the camp and burned. The hides/skins of the animals, the inner organs, and the dung must also be burned.

28 And whoever will have burned them shall wash his clothes and flesh with water, and so he shall enter into the camp.

The man who burns those things must then wash his clothes and bathe before he returns to the camp.

29 And this shall be to you an everlasting ordinance. In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and you shall do no work, neither someone native born, nor the newcomer who sojourns among you.

“On (October/the month after the dry season ends), on the day that I have appointed, you all must (fast/abstain from eating food) and not do any work. This is a rule/law that will never end. It must be obeyed by you people who have been Israelis all your lives, and also by foreigners who are living among you.

30 On this day, there shall be atonement for you, and also a cleansing from all your sins. You shall be cleansed in the sight of the Lord.

On that day, Aaron will perform rituals to enable me to forgive you all, and then I will cleanse/free you all from [the guilt of] all your sins and you will become acceptable to me.

31 For it is a Sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls as a perpetual observance.

That will be a day for you to rest and not do any work, like the Sabbath days, and you must (fast/abstain from eating food) all that day. That is a permanent command/law for you all to obey.

32 And the priest who has been anointed, and whose hands have been consecrated to exercise the priesthood in the place of his father, shall make atonement. And he shall be clothed with the linen robe and the holy vestments.

In future years, [after Aaron has died], this ritual/ceremony to enable me to forgive you all [DOU] will be performed by the Supreme Priest who is anointed [with olive oil] and appointed to serve instead of his ancestor Aaron. He must put on the sacred clothes made of linen

33 And he shall expiate the Sanctuary and the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar, likewise the priest and all the people.

and offer sacrifices to purify the Very Holy Place, all of the Sacred Tent, the altar, the priests, and all the Israel people [like Aaron did].

34 And this shall be to you a perpetual law, that you pray for the sons of Israel, and for all their sins once a year. Therefore, he did just as the Lord had instructed Moses.

This will be a permanent command/law for you to obey once every year, to enable me to forgive you Israeli people for the sins that you have committed.” Moses/I obeyed all those instructions/commands that Yahweh had given to him/me.