The great day of atonement
1Yahweh spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the presence of Yahweh.
2Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell your brother, Aaron, not to enter at any time he pleases the Most Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy Seat which is on the ark, lest he die, for I appear in the cloud over the mercy Seat.
3This is how Aaron will enter the Holy Place with a bullock for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4He is to put on the sacred linen tunic and linen undergarments next to his body; he is to have the linen sash around him and wear the linen turban. These are sacred garments, so he must bathe in water before he puts them on.
5The assembly of the Israelites has to give him two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. 6Then Aaron shall offer the bullock for a sin offering for himself to make atonement for himself and for his household. 7He shall take the two male goats and present them to Yahweh at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 8He is to cast lots for the two goats, one lot for Yahweh and one lot for Azazel. 9Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot fell for Yahweh as a sin offering. 10But the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel will be placed alive before Yahweh to make atonement by being sent into the wilderness as a scapegoat.
11Aaron will then bring the bullock as a sin offering for himself to make atonement for himself and his household and he shall slaughter the bullock for the sin offering which is for himself. 12Then he shall take a censer full of coals from the fire above the altar before Yahweh and two handfuls of powdered, fragrant incense and take them inside the veil. 13He shall put the incense on the fire before Yahweh and the cloud of incense will cover the mercy Seat that is on the ark of the Statement, so that he will not die. 14He will take the blood of the bullock and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy Seat to the east and also in front of the mercy Seat he shall sprinkle blood seven times. 15Then he shall slay the goat for the sin offering of the people and take its blood inside the veil and do with its blood what he did with the blood of the bullock. He shall sprinkle it on the mercy Seat and in front of it. 16In this way he shall make atonement for the Holy Place because of the uncleanness of the Israelites and because of all their sins. And he shall do the same for the Tent of Meeting which stands among them in the midst of all their uncleanness.
17No one shall be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes to make atonement until he comes out. After he has made atonement for himself, for his household and for the whole assembly of Israel, 18he shall go out to the altar before Yahweh and make atonement for it. Then he shall take some of the bullock’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. 19He shall sprinkle it with blood seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.
20When he has finished making atonement for the Holy Place, for the Tent of Meeting and for the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. 21He shall lay his hands on the head of the goat and confess over it all the wickedness of the sons of Israel and all the sins they have committed against me. So he will charge them on the head of the goat and send it away to the wilderness by the hand of an assistant. 22So the goat will carry away all their wickedness to an arid land, when the man releases it in the wilderness.
23Then Aaron is to go into the Tent of Meeting and take off the linen garments he had put on before he entered the sacred place. He shall leave them there, 24bathe himself with water in a sacred place and put on his clothes. After that he will come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people to make atonement for himself and the people. 25The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar.
26The man who releases the scapegoat to Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, after which he may re-enter the camp. 27The bullock of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be brought outside the camp and they shall burn their hides, their flesh and their dung in the fire. 28The one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, after which he may re-enter the camp.
29This shall be a lasting ordinance for you: on the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and do no work — neither the native nor the stranger living among you — 30for on this day atonement will be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be cleansed of your sins before Yahweh. 31It is a sabbath of solemn rest when you must deny yourselves. It is a lasting ordinance. 32The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father will make atonement. He shall put on the linen garments, the holy garments, 33and will make atonement for the Holy Place, for the Tent of Meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for the priests and all the people of the assembly. 34This shall be for you a lasting ordinance to make atonement for the people of Israel once a year, because of all their sins.”
And Moses did as Yahweh commanded him.
