Leviticus 16:1–18:30

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT

16The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presenceⁱ of the Lord and died.^{j 2}The Lord said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he may not come whenever he wants into the holy place^k behind the curtain^l in front of the mercy seat^m on the ark or else he will die, because I appear in the cloudⁿ above the mercy seat.^o

³“Aaron is to enter the most holy place^p in this way: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.^{q 4}He is to wear a holy linen tunic, and linen undergarments are to be on his body. He is to tie a linen sash around him and wrap his head with a linen turban.^r These are holy garments; he must bathe his body with water before he wears them. ⁵He is to take from the Israelite community two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.^s

⁶“Aaron will present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household. ⁷Next he will take the two goats and place them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁸After Aaron casts lots^t for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other for an uninhabitable place,^{a 9}he is to present the goat chosen by lot for the Lord and sacrifice it as a sin offering.^{b 10}But the goat chosen by lot for an uninhabitable place is to be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement with it by sending it into the wilderness^c for an uninhabitable place.

¹¹“When Aaron presents the bull for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household, he will slaughter the bull for his sin offering. ¹²Then he is to take a firepan full of blazing coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense,^d and bring them inside the curtain.^{e 13}He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud^f of incense covers the mercy seat that is over the testimony,^g or else he will die.^{h 14}He is to take some of the bull’s bloodⁱ and sprinkle it with his finger against the east side of the mercy seat; then he will sprinkle some of the blood with his finger before the mercy seat seven times.^j

¹⁵“When he slaughters the male goat for the people’s sin offering and brings its blood inside the curtain, he will do the same with its blood as he did with the bull’s blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it. ¹⁶He will make atonement for the most holy place in this way for all their sins because of the Israelites’ impurities and rebellious acts.^k He will do the same for the tent of meeting that remains among them, because it is surrounded by their impurities. ¹⁷No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the most holy place until he leaves after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel.^{l 18}Then he will go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the horns on all sides of the altar. ¹⁹He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse and set it apart^m from the Israelites’ impurities.ⁿ

²⁰“When he has finished making atonement for the most holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar, he is to present the live male goat. ²¹Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess^o over it all the Israelites’ iniquities^p and rebellious acts—all their sins.^q He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness^r by the man appointed for the task.^{C 22}The goat will carry all their iniquities into a desolate land,^s and the man will release it there.

²³“Then Aaron is to enter the tent of meeting, take off the linen garments^t he wore when he entered the most holy place, and leave them there. ²⁴He will bathe his body with water in a holy place^u and put on his clothes.^v Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering; he will make atonement for himself and for the people. ²⁵He is to burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar. ²⁶The man who released the goat for an uninhabitable place is to wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; afterward he may reenter the camp. ²⁷The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the most holy place to make atonement, must be brought outside the camp^w and their hide,^x flesh, and waste burned.^{y 28}The one who burns them is to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.

²⁹“This is to be a permanent statute^z for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month you are to practice self-denial^aa and do no work,^ab both the native and the alien^ac who resides among you. ³⁰Atonement will be made for you on this day to cleanse you,^ad and you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. ³¹It is a Sabbath^ae of complete rest for you,^af and you must practice self-denial; it is a permanent statute. ³²The priest who is anointed and ordained^Aag to serve as high priest^ah in place of his father will make atonement. He will put on the linen garments, the holy garments, ³³and make atonement for the most holy place. He will make atonement for the tent of meeting and the altar and will make atonement for the priests and all the people of the assembly. ³⁴This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement for the Israelites once a year^ai because of all their sins.” And all this was done as the Lord commanded Moses.

FORBIDDEN SACRIFICES

17The Lord spoke to Moses: ²“Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: This is what the Lord has commanded: ³Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters^a an ox, sheep, or goat in the camp, or slaughters it outside the camp, ⁴instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord before his tabernacle—that person will be considered guilty.^Bb He has shed blood^c and is to be cut off from his people.^{d 5}This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices^e they have been offering in the open country. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting and offer them as fellowship sacrifices^f to the Lord. ⁶The priest will then splatter the blood on the Lord’s altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ⁷They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat-demons^g that they have prostituted^h themselves with. This will be a permanent statuteⁱ for them throughout their generations.

⁸“Say to them: Anyone from the house of Israel or from the aliens^j who reside among them who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice ⁹but does not bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to sacrifice it to the Lord, that person is to be cut off from his people.

EATING BLOOD AND CARCASSES PROHIBITED

¹⁰“Anyone from the house of Israel or from the aliens who reside among them who eats any blood,^k I will turn^A against that person who eats blood and cut him off from his people. ¹¹For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for^B your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement.^{l 12}Therefore I say to the Israelites: None of you and no alien who resides among you may eat blood.

¹³“Any Israelite or alien residing among them, who hunts^m down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten must drain its bloodⁿ and cover it with dirt. ¹⁴Since the life of every creature is its blood, I have told the Israelites: You are not to eat the blood of any creature,^o because the life of every creature is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.

¹⁵“Every person, whether the native or the resident alien,^p who eats an animal that died a natural death or was mauled by wild beasts^q is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening; then he will be clean. ¹⁶But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, he will bear his iniquity.”

PROHIBITED PAGAN PRACTICES

18The Lord spoke to Moses: ²“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the Lord your God.^{r 3}Do not follow the practices of the land of Egypt,^s where you used to live, or follow the practices of the land of Canaan,^t where I am bringing you. You must not follow their customs.^{u 4}You are to practice my ordinances^v and you are to keep my statutes^w by following them; I am the Lord your God. ⁵Keep my statutes and ordinances; a person will live^x if he does them.^y I am the Lord.

⁶“You are not to come near^z any close relative^C for sexual intercourse;^aa I am the Lord. ⁷You are not to violate the intimacy that belongs to your father^ab and mother.^D She is your mother; you must not have sexual intercourse with her. ⁸You are not to have sex with your father’s wife;^ac she is your father’s family.^{ad 9}You are not to have sexual intercourse with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s,^ae whether born at home or born elsewhere. You are not to have sex with her. ¹⁰You are not to have sexual intercourse with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for they are your family.^{E 11}You are not to have sexual intercourse with your father’s wife’s daughter, who is adopted by^F your father; she is your sister. ¹²You are not to have sexual intercourse with your father’s sister;^af she is your father’s close relative. ¹³You are not to have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister,^ag for she is your mother’s close relative. ¹⁴You are not to violate the intimacy that belongs to^G your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual intercourse; she is your aunt.^{ah 15}You are not to have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law.^ai She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sex with her. ¹⁶You are not to have sexual intercourse with your brother’s wife; she is your brother’s family.^{aj 17}You are not to have…