Leviticus 16

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

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

2 and the LORD 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.

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

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 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.

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 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 “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.

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

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

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 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.

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 “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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 “He shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD 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.

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 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.

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

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

21 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.

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

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 “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.

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 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.

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

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

26 “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.

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 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.

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

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

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

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

32 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.

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 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.

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 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 the LORD commanded Moses.

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.