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.

The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron's sons when they went into the Lord's presence.

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!

The Lord told Moses: “Warn your brother Aaron not to come into the Most Holy Place whenever he wants, otherwise he'll die. For that's where I appear in the cloud above the atonement cover of the Ark, behind the veil.

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].

These are the instructions as to how Aaron is to enter the sanctuary. He is to come with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

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 is to be wearing the holy linen tunic, with linen underwear. He has to tie a linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are holy clothes. He must wash himself with water before he puts them on.

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].

From the people of Israel he is to bring two male goats for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

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).

Aaron will present the bull as his own sin offering to make himself and his household right.

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

Then he will bring the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

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.

Aaron will casts lots to choose between the goats, one for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.

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

He will present the goat that was chosen by lot for the Lord and sacrifice it as a sin offering.

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.

The goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat is to be presented alive before the Lord to make things right by sending it away into the wilderness as the scapegoat.

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].

Aaron is to present the bull for his sin offering to make things right for himself and his household by killing the bull as his own sin offering.

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].

Then he will fill up a incense burner with burning coals from the altar that is before the Lord, and with his hands full of finely-ground sweet-smelling incense, take them behind the veil.

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]).

In the presence of the Lord he will put the incense on the burning coals, and the smoke from the incense will cover the atonement cover above the Testimony, so that he will 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 will take some of the bull's blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the east side of the atonement cover. He shall also sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times in front of the atonement cover.

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.

Then Aaron will slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and bring its blood behind the veil, and with its blood he must do as he did with the bull's blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it.

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].

This is how he will set right the Most Holy Place and purify it from the uncleanness of the Israelites, their acts of rebellion, and all their sins. He will do the same for the Tent of Meeting which is in the middle of their camp, surrounded by their unclean lives.

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.

No one can be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron enters to purify the Most Holy Place until he leaves, after he has made things right for himself, his household, and all the Israelites.

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.

Then he shall go to the altar that is before the Lord and purify it. He is to take some of the blood from the bull and the goat and put it on all the horns of the altar.

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.

He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to dedicate it and purify it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.

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.

Once Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he is to present the live 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.

Then he will put both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wrongs of the Israelites, all their acts of rebellion, and all their sins. He is to put them on the goat's head and send it away into the desert, taken there by a man chosen to do it.

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

The goat will take upon itself all their sins and go into a distant place, and the man will send it away 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 is to return to the Tent of Meeting, take off the linen clothes he put on before he went into the Most Holy Place, and leave 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 is to wash himself with water in the sanctuary and put on his own clothes. Then he will go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people's burnt offering that makes him and the people right.

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

He also must burn the fat of the sin offering on 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.

The man who went and sent away the scapegoat must wash his clothes and wash himself with water; then he may come back 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.

The remains of the bull used for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to purify it, must be taken outside the camp. Their skin, meat, and waste must be burned.

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

The person who burns them must wash his clothes and wash himself with water; then he may come back 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.

This regulation applies to you for all time. The tenth day of the seventh month is a day of self-denial for you. You are not to do any work. This applies to all who are native-born and also any foreigner who living 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.

for on this day the process of making you right will be done, to make you clean from all your sins, clean 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.

It is a Sabbath of Sabbaths, a day of rest and self-denial. This regulation applies for all time.

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

The priest who is anointed and dedicated to succeed his father as high priest shall carry out the ceremony of making things right, and put on the holy linen clothes.

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].

He will carry out the purification of the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, also making right the priests 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.

This regulation applies to you for all time: once a year the Israelites have all their sins made right.” Moses did everything as the Lord had ordered.