Leviticus 16

1 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.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they were slain upon their offering strange fire:

2 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!

And he commanded him, saying, Speak to Aaron thy brother, that he enter not at all into the sanctuary, which is within the veil before the propitiatory, with which the ark is covered, lest he die, (for I will appear in a cloud over the oracle, )

3 “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].

Unless he first do these things: He shall offer a calf for sin, and a ram for a holocaust.

4 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.

He shall be vested with a linen tunick, he shall cover his nakedness with linen breeches: he shall be girded with a linen girdle, and he shall put a linen mitre upon his head: for these are holy vestments: all which he shall put on, after he is washed.

5 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].

And he shall receive from the whole multitude of the children of Israel two buck goats for sin, and one ram for a holocaust.

6 “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).

And when he hath offered the calf and prayed for himself, and for his own house,

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

He shall make the two buck goats to stand before the Lord in the door of the tabernacle of the testimony:

8 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.

And casting lots upon them both, one to be offered to the Lord, and the other to be the emissary goat:

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

That whose lot fell to be offered to the Lord, he shall offer for sin:

10 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.

But that whose lot was to be the emissary goat, he shall present alive before the Lord, that he may pour out prayers upon him, and let him go into the wilderness.

11 “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].

After these things are duly celebrated, he shall offer the calf, and praying for himself and for his own house, he shall immolate it:

12 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].

And taking the censer, which he hath filled with the burning coals of the altar, and taking up with his hand the compounded perfume for incense, he shall go in within the veil into the holy place:

13 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]).

That when the perfumes are put upon the fire, the cloud and vapour thereof may cover the oracle, which is over the testimony, and he may not die.

14 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.

He shall take also of the blood of the calf, and sprinkle with his finger seven times towards the propitiatory to the east.

15 [“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.

And when he hath killed the buck goat for the sin of the people, he shall carry in the blood thereof within the veil, as he was commanded to do with the blood of the calf, that he may sprinkle it over against the oracle,

16 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].

And may expiate the sanctuary from the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and from their transgressions, and all their sins. According to this rite shall he do to the tabernacle of the testimony, which is fixed among them in the midst of the filth of their habitation.

17 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.

Let no man be in the tabernacle when the high priest goeth into the sanctuary, to pray for himself and his house, and for the whole congregation of Israel, until he come out.

18 “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.

And when he is come out to the altar that is before the Lord, let him pray for himself, and taking the blood of the calf, and of the buck goat, let him pour it upon the horns thereof round about:

19 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.

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

20 “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.

After he hath cleansed the sanctuary, and the tabernacle, and the altar, then let him offer the living goat:

21 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.

And putting both hands upon his head, let him confess all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their offences and sins: and praying that they may light on his head, he shall turn him out by a man ready for it, into the desert.

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

And when the goat hath carried all their iniquities into an uninhabited land, and shall be let go into the desert,

23 “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.

Aaron shall return into the tabernacle of the testimony, and putting off the vestments, which he had on him before when he entered into the sanctuary, and leaving them there,

24 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.

He shall wash his flesh in the holy place, and shall put on his own garments. And after that he has come out and hath offered his own holocaust, and that of the people, he shall pray both for himself, and for the people:

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

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

26 “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.

But he that hath let go the emissary goat, shall wash his clothes, and his body with water, and so shall enter into the camp.

27 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.

But the calf and the buck goat, that were sacrificed for sin, and whose blood was carried into the sanctuary, to accomplish the atonement, they shall carry forth without the camp, and shall burn with fire, their skins and their flesh, and their dung:

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

And whosoever burneth them shall wash his clothes, and flesh with water, and so shall enter into the camp.

29 “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.

And this shall be to you an everlasting ordinance: The seventh month, the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no work, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you.

30 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.

Upon this day shall be the expiation for you, and the cleansing from all your sins: you shall be cleansed before the Lord.

31 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.

For it is a sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls by a perpetual religion.

32 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

And the priest that is anointed, and whose hands are consecrated to do the office of the priesthood in his father’s stead, shall make atonement; and he shall be vested with the linen robe and the holy vestments,

33 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].

And he shall expiate the sanctuary and the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar, the priest also and all the people.

34 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.

And this shall be an ordinance for ever, that you pray for the children of Israel, and for all their sins once in a year. He did therefore as the Lord had commanded Moses.