UST LEV Chapter 16

◄ LEV 16 ► ║ ©

16 After Aaron's two sons, Nadab and Abihu, died, Yahweh spoke to Moses. Aaron's sons died in Yahweh's presence when they burned incense over coals that were not holy, as Yahweh said they should be, but came from a common, everyday source. 2 Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter into the Most Holy Place inside the curtain where the Sacred Chest and its Lid are located. Because I am present in that place in a cloud that hovers over the Lid of the Sacred Chest, if Aaron goes into that room, he will die.

3 But when it is time for Aaron to enter the Most Holy Place in the sacred tent, this is how he should do it. He should acquire a bull from the people's livestock and a ram. He should select the bull to offer as a purifying sacrifice and the ram as a wholly burned sacrifice. 4 Aaron should first bathe himself thoroughly and then put on the sacred articles of clothing. He should make sure that the linen undergarments are under his clothing, on his bare skin. Aaron should then clothe himself with all the sacred articles of clothing, including the sacred linen embroidered tunic, and he should tie the linen waistband around himself. Likewise, he should wrap the linen turban around his head. These are Aaron's sacred articles of clothing that he is to wear. 5 Then Aaron should acquire two male goats and a ram from the flocks of the Israelite community. He should select the goats to offer as purifying sacrifices and the ram as a wholly burned sacrifice.

6 Then Aaron should present the bull that he selected to offer as a purifying sacrifice. He should offer this bull for his own sake. When he does this, I will remove Aaron's sins and the sins of his family from them. 7 Then Aaron should bring the two goats that he selected, and he should make them stand in my presence in the entrance of the sacred tent. 8 Aaron should then roll a pair of small stones representing the two male goats. One stone will determine which goat belongs to me, to Yahweh, and the other will determine which goat the priests should send off into the wilderness. 9 After Aaron rolls the small stones, he should offer the goat that the stones designated belonged to me, to Yahweh. He should prepare it as a purifying sacrifice. 10 As for the goat that the stones determined the priests should send off into the wilderness, Aaron should make it stand in my presence while it is still alive in order to ensure that I can use the goat to remove the people's sins from them. I will accomplish this by sending the goat off into the desert wilderness.

11 Aaron should then present the bull that he selected for himself to be a purifying sacrifice. By presenting it, Aaron will ensure that I will remove Aaron's sins and the sins of his family from them. Once he has presented it to me, Aaron should kill the bull and drain off some of its blood in a bowl. 12 Then he should take a tray in which the priests burned incense and fill it with burning coals from the altar that is in the precincts of the sacred tent where I, Yahweh, live among the Israelites. He should also grab a handful of sweet-smelling and finely ground incense and bring both the incense and the burning coals inside the sacred curtain. 13 Once inside the sacred curtain and in Yahweh's presence, Aaron should place the incense over the burning coals. As it burns, the incense will produce a smoke cloud that will obscure the Lid that sits on the Sacred Chest. The cloud of incense will ensure that Aaron will not see my presence in that place so that he will not die. 14 Having also brought the bull's blood inside the sacred curtain, Aaron should take the blood and, with his finger, he should flick the blood onto the front of the Lid of the Sacred Chest, that is, on its eastern side. He should do this seven times.

15 Aaron should then leave the sacred tent. He should kill the goat that he selected to offer as a purifying sacrifice and drain off some of its blood into a bowl. He should offer the goat as a sacrifice on the people's behalf. Having done this, Aaron should then bring the goat's blood inside the sacred curtain and do with the goat's blood exactly what he did with the blood of the bull that he offered for himself—he should flick the goat's blood onto the front side of the Lid of the Sacred Chest seven times. 16 By doing this, I will purify the Most Holy Place from anything that the people of Israel have done to cause it to become impure and defiled. I will also purify it from any wrongdoing that the people of Israel may done, even if they have openly defied what I have told my people to do. Regardless, Aaron should do these things so that Yahweh can purify his sacred tent that is located in the midst of the people of Israel who are often impure and do wrong. 17 While Aaron is inside the sacred tent doing these things in the Most Holy Place so that I will remove the people's sins from them, no one else may enter the sacred tent until Aaron comes out again. Remember, when Aaron flicks the blood of the bull and the goat in the Most Holy Place, I will remove Aaron's sins, the sins of his family, and the sins of the entire community of Israel from them.

18 Aaron should then go out of the Most Holy Place to the altar that is in the sacred precincts of the sacred tent where I, Yahweh, live among the Israelites. To purify the altar and remove anything that has made it impure or defiled, he should take some of the blood of both the bull and the goat and daub it onto the four projected corners on every side of the altar. 19 Aaron should also flick some of the animals' blood onto the altar seven times with his finger. By doing this, he will cleanse the altar from anything that the people of Israel have done to make it impure, and he will set it apart for my purposes alone.

20 When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place, the sacred tent, and the altar, he should present the goat that is still alive, the one that the small stones determined should belong to the goat demon of the wilderness, Azazel. 21 Aaron should place both of his hands on the head of the living goat. He should then say aloud (so that everyone can hear) all the ways the people of Israel have done wrong intentionally, all the ways they have openly defied what I have told my people to do, and any other ways that they have done wrong. By saying these things aloud, Aaron will place the guilt for these actions onto the goat's head. Once he has done this, Aaron should send the goat off into the desert wilderness by handing it off to a person who is standing by ready to lead the goat away. 22 By sending the goat away into the desert wilderness, the goat will carry all of the guilt for the ways the people of Israel have done wrong into a place in the wilderness that no one will be able to access.

23 After having sent the goat away, Aaron should go back into the sacred tent and remove the sacred linen clothing that he was wearing when he first entered the Most Holy Place. He should leave all those articles of special clothing in the sacred tent. 24 Aaron should then bathe himself thoroughly in a place that the priests have set apart for such sacred purposes. He should then put on his everyday clothes and go out of the sacred tent. Having done this, Aaron should prepare the animals that he has selected to offer as wholly burned offerings for himself and for the people. When Aaron offers these animals, I will remove Aaron's sins and the sins of all the people from them. 25 To do this, Aaron should burn the fat portions of the purifying sacrifice on the altar in such a way that it causes smoke to go up.

26 The person who leads the goat away into the wilderness where the goat demon Azazel lives should return, wash his clothes, and bathe himself thoroughly. After he has done this, he may enter the camp again. 27 But, because Aaron brought their blood into the Most Holy Place so that I might remove the peoples' sins from them, someone else must remove the remains of the bull that Aaron selected to offer as a purifying sacrifice and of the male goat that he selected to offer as a wholly burned sacrifice and take them outside of the camp. There, he should burn them completely—their skin and all their other meat, including the meat on the animals' heads, their legs below the knee, their other internal organs, and any excrement. 28 The person who burns the remains of the animals should wash his clothes and bathe his body thoroughly. After he has done this, he may enter the camp again.

29 This should be a permanent and enduring practice for the people of Israel: on the tenth day of the seventh month of the year, the people of Israel must participate in activities that practice submitting themselves to me. Neither the native-born Israelite nor the immigrant living among them should do any work. 30 This is because, on this day every year, I will remove the sins of the people from them in order to cleanse them from all the ways that they do wrong. Because I do this, the people will be pure in his presence. 31 The people of Israel should consider this day to be the most important Sabbath day. They must participate in activities that practice submitting themselves to me. The people should always remember to observe this practice. 32 No ordinary priest should perform this practice. Only the priest whom I appoint and give the responsibilities of the priesthood to succeed his father as the high priest should offer the sacrifices that I will accept so that I will remove the people's sins from them. That priest should make sure to wear the sacred linen clothing when he performs this practice. 33 By doing all these practices, the priest will ensure that I will purify the Most Holy Place, the sacred tent, and the altar. He will also ensure that I will remove from them the sins of the entire priesthood and the entire community of Israel. 34 This should be a permanent and enduring practice for the people of Israel. Doing these things will ensure that I will remove from them all of their wrongdoings every year at this time.”

Moses did exactly as Yahweh told him to do.

◄ LEV 16 ► ║ ©

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