Leviticus 16–18

16TH CHAPTER

The Day for Making Peace with the Lord

¹The Lord spoke to Moses after Aaron’s two sons had come into the Lord’s presence and died. ²The Lord said, “Tell your brother Aaron that he cannot go into the holy place whenever he wants to. If he goes up to the canopy and stands in front of the throne of mercy on the ark, he will die, because I appear in the smoke above the throne of mercy. 

³“This is what Aaron must do in order to come into the holy place: He must take a bull as an offering for sin and a ram as a burnt offering. ⁴He must put on a holy linen robe and wear linen undergarments. He must wear a linen belt and turban. These are holy clothes. He must wash his body and put them on. ⁵He will take two male goats from the congregation of Israel as an offering for sin and a ram as a burnt offering. 

⁶“Aaron must sacrifice the bull as his own offering for sin. By doing this, he will make peace with the Lord for himself and his family. ⁷He must take the two male goats and bring them into the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁸Then Aaron must throw lots for the two goats. One lot will be for the Lord and the other for Azazel.^a9Aaron must sacrifice the goat chosen by lot for the Lord as an offering for sin. ¹⁰But he must bring the goat chosen by lot for Azazel into the Lord’s presence. He will release it in the desert to Azazel in order to make peace with the Lord for himself and his family. 

¹¹“Aaron will bring the bull. He will then slaughter it as his own offering for sin. By doing this he will make peace with the Lord for himself and his family. ¹²He will take an incense burner full of burning coals from the altar, which is in the Lord’s presence, and two handfuls of finely ground, sweet-smelling incense. He will bring them up to the canopy. ¹³Then he will put the incense on the fire in the Lord’s presence. The cloud of incense will cover the throne of mercy, which is over the words of God’s promise, so that he will not die. ¹⁴He will take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the throne of mercy. Then he will sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times in front of the throne of mercy. 

¹⁵“Next, Aaron will slaughter the goat for the people’s offering for sin. He will take the blood inside, go up to the canopy, and sprinkle it on the throne of mercy and in front of it, as he did with the bull’s blood. ¹⁶So he will make peace with the Lord for all the sins the Israelites committed against the holy place. These sins happened because the Israelites were unclean and because they committed rebellious acts. He will do the same for the tent of meeting which is among an unclean people. ¹⁷No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron enters the holy place to do this until he comes out. Aaron will make peace with the Lord for his own sins, his family’s sins, and the sins of the entire assembly of Israel. ¹⁸Then he will go out to the altar that is in the Lord’s presence and make peace with the Lord there for the sins committed. He will take some of the blood from the bull and some of the goat’s blood and put it all around the horns of the altar. ¹⁹With his finger he will sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times. Because the Israelites made it unclean, he will cleanse it and declare it holy. 

²⁰“When he finishes making peace with the Lord at the holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar, he will bring the living goat forward. ²¹Aaron will place both hands on its head. He will confess over it all the sins, all the rebellious acts, and all the things the Israelites did wrong. He will transfer them to the goat’s head. A man will be appointed to release the goat in the desert. ²²The goat will take all their sins away to a deserted place. The man must release the goat in the desert. 

²³“Then Aaron will go to the tent of meeting, take off the linen clothes he had put on to go into the holy place, and leave them there. ²⁴He will wash his body in the holy place and put on his other clothes. Then he will come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and for the people to make peace with the Lord for his own sins and the sins of the people. ²⁵He will burn the fat of the offering for sin on the altar. 

²⁶“The man who released the goat to Azazel must wash his clothes and his body. Then he may return to the camp. ²⁷He must take the bull and the goat outside the camp. These animals were the offering for sin whose blood was brought into the holy place to make peace with the Lord for sins. The skin, meat, and excrement from the animals must be burned. ²⁸Whoever burns them must wash his clothes and his body. Then he may return to the camp. 

²⁹“This will be a permanent law for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month both native Israelites and foreigners must humble themselves. They must do no work. ³⁰On this day Aaron will make peace with the Lord to make you clean. Then you will be clean from all your sins in the Lord’s presence. ³¹This is the most important worship festival there is for you. You will humble yourselves. It is a permanent law. ³²The priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as chief priest in his father’s place will pay for sins. He will put on the holy linen clothes ³³and will make peace with the Lord at the holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar. He will make peace with the Lord for the priests and all the worshipers. 

³⁴“This permanent law tells you how to make peace with the Lord once a year for all the sins the Israelites committed.” 

Aaron did as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

17TH CHAPTER

Eating Sacrifices

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, ²“Tell Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites that this is what the Lord has commanded: ³Any Israelite who slaughters a bull, sheep, or goat inside or outside the camp ⁴is guilty of bloodshed. He has shed blood and must be excluded from the people. Bring the animal to the entrance of the tent of meeting. Offer it to the Lord in front of the Lord’s tent. ⁵⸤This means⸥ that the people of Israel must take the sacrifices they have been making in the open fields and bring them to the Lord. They must bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The people will sacrifice them as fellowship offerings to the Lord. ⁶The priest will pour the blood against the Lord’s altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He will burn the fat as a soothing aroma to the Lord. ⁷The people must stop sacrificing to goat idols and chasing after them as though they were prostitutes. This is a permanent law for the people and for future generations. 

⁸“Tell them: If Israelites or foreigners make burnt offerings or sacrifices ⁹but do not bring them to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer them to the Lord, they must be excluded from the people. 

Eating Blood

¹⁰“If Israelites or foreigners eat any blood, I will condemn them and exclude them from the people, ¹¹because blood contains life. I have given this blood to you to make peace with me on the altar. Blood is needed to make peace with me. ¹²That is why I have said to the people of Israel: Neither you nor foreigners should ever eat blood. 

¹³“If Israelites or foreigners hunt any animal or bird that may be eaten, they must pour out the animal’s blood and cover it with dirt. ¹⁴This is because the life of any creature is in its blood. So I have said to the people of Israel: Never eat any blood, because the life of any creature is in its blood. Whoever eats blood must be excluded ⸤from the people⸥. 

¹⁵“Native Israelites or foreigners who eat the body of an animal that dies naturally or is killed by another animal must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. Then they will be clean. ¹⁶If they don’t wash their clothes and their bodies, they will be guilty of sin.” 

18TH CHAPTER

Forbidden Sexual Practices

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, ²“Tell the Israelites: I am the Lord your God. ³You used to live in Egypt. Don’t live the way the Egyptians do. I am bringing you to Canaan. Don’t live the way the Canaanites do. Never live by their standards. ⁴Follow my rules, and live by my standards. I am the Lord your God. ⁵Live by my standards, and obey my rules. You will have life through them. I am the Lord. 

⁶“Never have sexual intercourse with anyone related to you by blood. I am the Lord. 

⁷“Never have sexual intercourse with your mother. She is your own mother. Never have sexual intercourse with her. ⁸Never have sexual intercourse with your stepmother. She is related to you through your father. ⁹Never have sexual intercourse with your stepsister, whether she is your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter. It makes no difference whether or not she was born in your house. ¹⁰Never have sexual intercourse with your granddaughter, whether she is your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, because she is related to you. ¹¹Never have sexual intercourse with a daughter of your father and his wife. She is your own sister. ¹²Never have sexual intercourse with your father’s sister. She is your paternal aunt. ¹³Never have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister. She is your maternal aunt. ¹⁴Never have sexual intercourse with the wife of your father’s brother. She, too, is your aunt. ¹⁵Never have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife. Never have sexual intercourse with her. ¹⁶Never have sexual intercourse with your sister-in-law. She is your brother’s wife. ¹⁷Never have sexual intercourse with a woman and her daughter or a woman and her granddaughter. They are related. Doing this is perverted. ¹⁸While your wife is living, never marry her sister as a rival wife and have sexual intercourse with her. 

¹⁹“Never have sexual intercourse with a woman while she is unclean during her monthly period. ²⁰Never have sexual intercourse with your neighbor’s wife and become unclean with her. ²¹Never give your children as sacrifices to the god…