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.

Yahweh spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they came near before Yahweh, and died;

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)

and Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Most Holy Place within the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark; lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat.

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

“Aaron shall come into the sanctuary with a young bull for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

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.

He shall put on the holy linen tunic. He shall have the linen trousers on his body, and shall put on the linen sash, and he shall be clothed with the linen turban. They are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water, and put them on.

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.

He shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

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

“Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house.

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.

He shall take the two goats, and set them before Yahweh at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

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

Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for Yahweh, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

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

Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for Yahweh, and offer him for a sin offering.

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.

But the goat on which the lot fell for the scapegoat shall be presented alive before Yahweh, to make atonement for him, to send him away as the scapegoat into the wilderness.

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.

“Aaron shall present the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.

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,

He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before Yahweh, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil.

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.

He shall put the incense on the fire before Yahweh, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the covenant, so that he will not die.

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.

He shall take some of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

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,

“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.

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.

He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their sins; and so he shall do for the Tent of Meeting that dwells with them in the middle of their uncleanness.

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.

No one shall be in the Tent of Meeting when he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, and has made atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.

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.

“He shall go out to the altar that is before Yahweh and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the bull’s blood, and some of the goat’s blood, and put it around on the horns 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.

He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and make it holy from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

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

“When he has finished atoning for the Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat.

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.

Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is ready.

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

The goat shall carry all their iniquities on himself to a solitary land, and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

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,

“Aaron shall come into the Tent of Meeting, and shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them 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 shall bathe himself in water in a holy place, put on his garments, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.

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

The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar.

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.

“He who lets the goat go as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into 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 bull for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp; and they shall burn their skins, their flesh, and their dung with fire.

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

He who burns them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into 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.

“It shall be a statute to you forever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no kind of work, whether native-born or a stranger who lives as a foreigner 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.

for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you. You shall be clean from all your sins before Yahweh.

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

It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.

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.

The priest, who is anointed and who is consecrated to be priest in his father’s place, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy garments.

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

Then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary; and he shall make atonement for the Tent of Meeting and for the altar; and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.

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 shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” It was done as Yahweh commanded Moses.