Exodus 29

1 “This is what you must do to dedicate Aaron and his sons to serve me [by being] priests: Select one young bull and two rams that do not have any defects.

This is what you are to do to make them holy, to do the work of priests to me: Take one young ox and two male sheep, without any mark on them,

2 Bake three [kinds of bread] using finely-ground wheat flour, but without yeast: Bake some loaves that do not have any olive oil in them, bake some loaves that have olive oil in the dough, and bake some thin wafers that will be smeared with olive oil [after they are baked].

And unleavened bread, and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and thin unleavened cakes on which oil has been put, made of the best bread-meal;

3 Put them in a basket and offer them [to me] when you sacrifice the young bull and the two rams.

Put these in a basket and take them, with the ox and the two sheep.

4 Take Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Sacred Tent, and wash them [ritually].

And let Aaron and his sons come to the door of the Tent of meeting, and there let them be washed with water.

5 Then put the special clothes on Aaron—the long-sleeved tunic/gown, the robe that will be worn underneath the sacred apron, the sacred apron, the sacred pouch, and the sash/waistband.

Take the robes, and put the coat and the dress and the ephod and the priest's bag on Aaron; put the band of needlework round him,

6 Place the turban on his head, and fasten to the turban the ornament that has the words ‘Dedicated to Yahweh’ engraved on it.

And let the head-dress be placed on his head and the holy crown on the head-dress.

7 Then take the oil and pour some on his head to (dedicate him/set him apart).

Then take the oil and put it on his head.

8 Then bring his sons and put the long-sleeved tunics/gowns on them.

And take his sons and put their robes on them;

9 Put the sashes/waistbands around their waists and the caps on their heads. That is the ritual by which you are to (dedicate them/set them apart) to be priests. Aaron and his male descendants must serve me [by being] priests forever.

And put the linen bands round Aaron and his sons, and the head-dresses on them, to make them priests by my order for ever: so you are to make Aaron and his sons holy to me.

10 “Then bring the young bull to the entrance of the Sacred Tent. Tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the head of the young bull.

Then let the ox be taken in front of the Tent of meeting: and let Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head.

11 Then, while they do that, kill the young bull [by slitting its throat], and catch/drain the blood in a bowl.

And you are to put the ox to death before the Lord at the door of the Tent of meeting.

12 Take some of that blood with your finger and smear it on the projections of the altar. Throw/Splash the rest of the blood against the base of the altar.

Then take some of the blood of the ox, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, draining out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

13 Take all the fat that covers the inner organs of the young bull, the best part of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them, and burn all these on the altar [as an offering to me].

And take all the fat covering the inside of the ox, and the fat joining the liver and the two kidneys with the fat round them, and let them be burned on the altar;

14 But the meat of the young bull and its hide and intestines must be burned outside the camp. That will be an offering to forgive the guilt of your sins.

But the flesh of the ox and its skin and its waste parts are to be burned outside the circle of the tents, for it is a sin-offering.

15 “Then select one of the rams, and tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the head of the ram.

Then take one of the sheep, and let Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head.

16 Then kill the ram [by slitting its throat]. Catch/Drain some of the blood and splash it against all four sides of the altar.

Then let it be put to death, so that the sides of the altar are marked with its blood.

17 Then cut the ram into pieces. Wash its inner organs and its rear legs and put those with the head

Then the sheep is to be cut up into its parts, and after washing its legs and its inside parts, you are to put them with the parts and the head,

18 and burn those pieces [completely] on the altar with the rest of the ram. That will be an offering to me, Yahweh, and the smell will please me.

And let them all be burned on the altar as a burned offering to the Lord: a sweet smell, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

19 “Take the other ram [that was selected for these rituals], and tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the ram’s head.

Then take the other sheep; and after Aaron and his sons have put their hands on its head,

20 Then kill the ram by slitting its throat, and drain the blood [into a bowl]. Smear some of the blood on the lobe of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Throw/Splash the rest of the blood against the four sides of the altar.

You are to put the sheep to death, and take some of its blood and put it on the point of Aaron's right ear, and of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and the great toes of their right feet, dropping the rest of the blood on the sides of the altar.

21 Wipe up some of the blood that is on the altar, mix it with some of the oil for anointing, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his clothes, and on his sons and their clothes. By doing that, you will dedicate them and their clothes [to me].

Then take some of the blood on the altar, and the oil, and put it on Aaron and his robes and on his sons and on their robes, so that he and his robes and his sons and their robes may be made holy.

22 “Also, cut off the ram’s fat and its fat tail and the fat that covers the inner organs, the best part of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh.

Then take the fat of the sheep, the fat tail, the fat covering the insides, and the fat joining the liver and the two kidneys with the fat round them, and the right leg; for by the offering of this sheep they are to be marked out as priests:

23 Take also one of each of the kinds of bread [that was baked]—one made with no oil, one with oil, and one thin wafer.

And take one bit of bread and one cake of oiled bread and one thin cake out of the basket of unleavened bread which is before the Lord:

24 Put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. [Then tell them to] lift them up [high] to dedicate them to me.

And put them all on the hands of Aaron and of his sons, to be waved for a wave offering before the Lord.

25 Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar, on top of the other things [that were placed there]. That [also] will be an offering to me, and its smell will please me.

Then take them from their hands, and let them be burned on the burned offering on the altar, a sweet smell before the Lord, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

26 Then take the meat of the ribs of the second ram that was killed, and lift it up [high] as an offering to me. But then this part of the animal will be for you [to eat].

Then take the breast of Aaron's sheep, waving it before the Lord; and it is to be your part of the offering.

27 Then take the meat of the ribs, the other thigh of the first ram that was sacrificed to (dedicate/set apart) the priests, and the ram whose other parts were lifted high to show that they were an offering to me; and set the meat of the ribs and thigh apart for Aaron and his sons, for them to eat.

So you are to make holy the breast of the sheep which is waved and the leg which is lifted up on high, that is, of the sheep which is offered for Aaron and his sons;

28 In the future, whenever the Israeli people present to me, Yahweh, offerings to maintain fellowship with me, the ribs and the thigh [of animals that they sacrifice] will be for Aaron and his male descendants [to eat].

And it will be their part as a right for ever from the children of Israel, it is a special offering from the children of Israel, made from their peace-offerings, a special offering lifted up to the Lord.

29 “After Aaron [dies], the special clothes that he wore will belong to his sons. They are to wear those clothes when they are (set apart/dedicated) [to become priests].

And Aaron's holy robes will be used by his sons after him; they will put them on when they are made priests.

30 Aaron’s son who becomes The Supreme Priest and enters the Sacred Tent and performs rituals in the Holy Place must [stay in the Sacred Tent], wearing these special clothes, for seven days.

For seven days the son who becomes priest in his place will put them on when he comes into the Tent of meeting to do the work of the holy place.

31 “Take the meat of the other ram that was sacrificed to (set apart/dedicate) Aaron and his sons, and boil it in the courtyard.

Then take the sheep of the wave offering and let its flesh be cooked in water in a holy place.

32 After it is cooked, Aaron and his sons must eat it, along with the bread that is left in the basket, at the entrance of the Sacred Tent.

And let Aaron and his sons make a meal of it, with the bread in the basket, at the door of the Tent of meeting.

33 They must eat the meat of the ram that was sacrificed to forgive them for [their sins] when they were dedicated to do this work. They are the only ones who are permitted to eat this meat. [Those who are not priests are not allowed to eat it], because it is dedicated to me.

All those things which were used as offerings to take away sin, and to make them holy to be priests, they may have for food: but no one who is not a priest may have them, for they are holy food.

34 If any of this meat or some of the bread is not eaten that night, no one is permitted to eat any of it the next day. It must be completely burned, because it is sacred/dedicated to me.

And if any of the flesh of the offering or of the bread is over till the morning, let it be burned with fire; it is not to be used for food, for it is holy.

35 “Those are the rituals that you(sg) must perform during those seven days when you dedicate Aaron and his sons for this work. You must do everything that I have commanded you.

All these things you are to do to Aaron and his sons as I have given you orders: for seven days the work of making them priests is to go on.

36 Each of those seven days you must also sacrifice a young bull as an offering to me, in order that I may forgive sins. Also, you must make another offering (to make the altar pure in my sight/in order that I will consider the altar to be pure). You must also anoint the altar with olive oil, to (set it apart/dedicate it).

Every day an ox is to be offered as a sin-offering, to take away sins: and by this offering on it, you will make the altar clean from sin; and you are to put oil on it and make it holy.

37 Perform these rituals every day for seven days, to (set apart/dedicate) the altar and make it pure. If you do not do that, anyone or anything that touches the altar will become taboo.

For seven days you are to make offerings for the altar and make it holy, so that it may become completely holy, and anything touching it will become holy.

38 “You must also sacrifice lambs and burn them on the altar. Each of those [seven] days you must sacrifice two lambs.

Now this is the offering which you are to make on the altar: two lambs in their first year, every day regularly.

39 One lamb must be sacrificed in the morning, and one must be sacrificed in the evening.

One lamb is to be offered in the morning and the other in the evening:

40 With the first lamb, also offer (2 pounds/1 kilogram) of finely-ground wheat flour mixed with one quart/liter of the best kind of olive oil, and one quart/liter of wine as an offering.

And with the one lamb, a tenth part of an ephah of the best meal, mixed with a fourth part of a hin of clear oil; and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink offering.

41 In the evening, when you sacrifice the other lamb, offer the same amounts of flour, olive oil, and wine as you did in the morning. This will be an offering to me, Yahweh, that will be burned, and its smell will please me.

And the other lamb is to be offered in the evening, and with it the same meal offering and drink offering, for a sweet smell, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

42 You [and your descendants] must continue making these offerings to me, Yahweh, throughout all future generations. You must offer them at the entrance of the Sacred Tent. That is where I will meet with you and speak to you.

This is to be a regular burned offering made from generation to generation, at the door of the Tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will come face to face with you and have talk with you.

43 That is where I will meet with the Israeli people, and the brilliant light of my presence will cause that place to be holy/sacred.

There I will come face to face with the children of Israel, and the Tent will be made holy by my glory

44 I will dedicate the Sacred Tent and the altar. I will also dedicate Aaron and his sons to serve me [by being] priests.

I will make holy the Tent of meeting and the altar: and Aaron and his sons I will make holy, to be my priests

45 I will live among the Israeli people, and I will be their God.

Among the children of Israel I will make my living-place, and I will be their God.

46 They will know that I, Yahweh their God, am the one who brought them out of Egypt in order that I might live among them.”

And they will see that I am the Lord their God, who took them out of the land of Egypt, so that I might be ever with them: I am the Lord their God.