^29:35“Thus you are to do for Aaron and for his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; you are to consecrate them⁵⁵ for⁵⁶ seven days. ^29:36Every day you are to prepare a bull for a purification offering⁵⁷ for atonement.⁵⁸ You are to purge⁵⁹ the altar by making atonement⁶⁰ for it, and you are to anoint it to set it apart as holy. ^29:37For seven days⁶¹ you are to make atonement for the altar and set it apart as holy. Then the altar will be most holy.⁶² Anything that touches the altar will be holy.⁶³

Read in Logos

Footnotes

55 Heb “you will fill their hand.”
56 The “seven days” is the adverbial accusative explaining that the ritual of the filling should continue daily for a week. Leviticus makes it clear that they are not to leave the sanctuary.
57 The construction uses a genitive: “a bull of the sin offering,” which means, a bull that is designated for a sin (or better, purification) offering.
58 It is difficult to understand how this verse is to be harmonized with the other passages. The ceremony in the earlier passages deals with atonement made for the priests, for people. But here it is the altar that is being sanctified. The “sin [purification] offering” seems to be for purification of the sanctuary and altar to receive people in their worship.
59 The verb is וְחִטֵּאתָ (véhitte’ta), a Piel perfect of the word usually translated “to sin.” Here it may be interpreted as a privative Piel (as in Ps 51:7 [9]), with the sense of “un-sin” or “remove sin.” It could also be interpreted as related to the word for “sin offering,” and so be a denominative verb. It means “to purify, cleanse.” The Hebrews understood that sin and contamination could corrupt and pollute even things, and so they had to be purged.
60 The construction is a Piel infinitive construct in an adverbial clause. The preposition bet (ב) that begins the clause could be taken as a temporal preposition, but in this context it seems to express the means by which the altar was purged of contamination—“in your making atonement” is “by [your] making atonement.”
61 Once again this is an adverbial accusative of time. Each day for seven days the ritual at the altar is to be followed.
62 The construction is the superlative genitive: “holy of holies,” or “most holy.”
63 This line states an unusual principle, meant to preserve the sanctity of the altar. S. R. Driver explains it this way (Exodus, ): If anything comes in contact with the altar, it becomes holy and must remain in the sanctuary for Yahweh’s use. If a person touches the altar, he likewise becomes holy and cannot return to the profane regions. He will be given over to God to be dealt with as God pleases. Anyone who was not qualified to touch the altar did not dare approach it, for contact would have meant that he was no longer free to leave but was God’s holy possession—and might pay for it with his life (see Exod 30:29; Lev 6:18b, 27; and Ezek 46:20).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Through seven days shall you ordain them, and every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement. Also you shall purify the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall anoint it to consecrate it. Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Do for Aaron and his sons everything I have commanded you, taking seven days to ordain them. Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“This is what you are to do for Aaron and his sons based on all I have commanded you. Take seven days to ordain them. Sacrifice a bull as a sin offering each day for atonement. Purify the altar when you make atonement for it, and anoint it in order to consecrate it. For seven days you must make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. The altar will be especially holy. Whatever touches the altar will be consecrated.

NLTNew Living Translation

“This is how you will ordain Aaron and his sons to their offices, just as I have commanded you. The ordination ceremony will go on for seven days. Each day you must sacrifice a young bull as a sin offering to purify them, making them right with the Lord. Afterward, cleanse the altar by purifying it; make it holy by anointing it with oil. Purify the altar, and consecrate it every day for seven days. After that, the altar will be absolutely holy, and whatever touches it will become holy.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And you will do so for Aaron and for his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; seven days you will ordain them.

“And you will offer a bull for a sin offering every day for the atonement; and you will offer a sin offering on the altar when you make atonement for it, and you will anoint it to consecrate it. Seven days you will make atonement for the altar, and you will consecrate it, and the altar will be a most holy thing. Anyone who touches the altar will be holy.

KJV 1900King James Version

And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.

And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.

Public Domain