Leviticus 16–18

1Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence of the LORD.

2And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

3This is how Aaron is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

4He is to wear the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments. He must tie a linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are holy garments, and he must bathe himself with water before he wears them.

5And he shall take from the congregation of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.

6Aaron is to present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household.

7Then he shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

8After Aaron casts lots for the two goats, one for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat,

9he shall present the goat chosen by lot for the LORD and sacrifice it as a sin offering.

10But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement by sending it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.

11When Aaron presents the bull for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household, he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering.

12Then he must take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and take them inside the veil.

13He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the cloud of incense will cover the mercy seat above the Testimony, so that he will not die.

14And he is to take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the mercy seat.

15Aaron shall then 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.

16So he shall make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the impurities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to do the same for the Tent of Meeting which abides among them in the midst of their impurities.

17No one may be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in 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.

18Then he shall 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 all the horns of the altar.

19He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.

20When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he is to bring forward the live goat.

21Then he is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man appointed for the task.

22The goat will carry on itself all their iniquities into a solitary place, and the man will release it into the wilderness.

23Then Aaron is to enter the Tent of Meeting, take off the linen garments he put on before entering the Most Holy Place, and leave them there.

24He is to bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his own clothes. Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering to make atonement for himself and for the people.

25He is also to burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

26The man who released the goat as the scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself 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 taken outside the camp; and their hides, flesh, and dung must be burned up.

28The one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and afterward he may reenter the camp.

29This is to be a permanent statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work—whether the native or the foreigner who resides among you—

30because on this day atonement will be made for you to cleanse you, and you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

31It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.

32The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest shall make atonement. He will put on the sacred linen garments

33and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the assembly.

34This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement once a year for the Israelites because of all their sins.” And all this was done as the LORD had commanded Moses.

1Then the LORD said to Moses,

2“Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them this is what the LORD has commanded:

3‘Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp or outside of it

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 man shall incur bloodguilt. He has shed blood and must be cut off from among his people.

5For this reason the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they have been offering in the open fields. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and offer them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD.

6The priest will then splatter the blood on the altar of the LORD 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 to which they have prostituted themselves. This will be a permanent statute for them for the generations to come.’

8Tell them that if anyone from the house of Israel or any foreigner living among them 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 man must be cut off from his people.

10If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people.

11For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.

12Therefore I say to the Israelites, ‘None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner living among you eat blood.’

13And if any Israelite or foreigner living among them hunts down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten, he must drain its blood and cover it with dirt.

14For the life of all flesh is its blood. Therefore I have told the Israelites, ‘You must not eat the blood of any living thing, because the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.’

15And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean.

16But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, then he shall bear his iniquity.”

1Then the LORD said to Moses,

2“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the LORD your God.

3You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.

4You are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God.

5Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.

6None of you are to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.

7You must not expose the nakedness of your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her.

8You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; it would dishonor your father.

9You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.

10You must not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for that would shame your family.

11You must not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.

12You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.

13You must not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s close relative.

14You must not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations with her; she is your aunt.

15You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sexual relations with her.

16You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would shame your brother.

17You must not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. You are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sexual relations with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved.

18You must not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.

19You must not approach a woman to have sexual relations with her during her menstrual period.

20You must not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife and thus defile yourself with her.

21You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

22You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.

23You must not lie carnally with any animal, thus defiling yourself with it; a woman must not stand before an animal to mate with it; that is a perversion.

24Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for by all these things the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves.

25Even the land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.

26But you are to keep My statutes and ordinances, and you must not commit any of these abominations—neither your native-born nor the foreigner who lives among you.

27For the men who were in the land before you committed all these abominations, and the land has become defiled.

28So if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it spewed out the nations before you.

29Therefore anyone who commits any of these abominations must be cut off from among his people.

30You must keep My charge not to practice any of the abominable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.”