Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible

Leviticus Chapter 16 (Revised Standard Version)

Leviticus 16

    1 The LORD spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD and died;
2 and the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron your brother not to come at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy seat which is upon the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
3 But thus shall Aaron come into the holy place with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, and shall have the linen breeches on his body, be girded with the linen girdle, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water, and then put them on.
5 And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
6 "And Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.
7 Then he shall take the two goats, and set them before the LORD at the door of the tent of meeting;
8 and Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Aza'zel.
9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD, and offer it as a sin offering;
10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Aza'zel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Aza'zel.
11 "Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house; he shall kill the bull as a sin offering for himself.
12 And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small; and he shall bring it within the veil
13 and put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat which is upon the testimony, lest he die;
14 and he shall take some of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times.
15 "Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood within the veil, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat;
16 thus he shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel, and because of their transgressions, all their sins; and so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which abides with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.
17 There shall be no man in the tent of meeting when he enters to make atonement in the holy place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel.
18 Then he shall go out to the altar which is before the LORD and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar round about.
19 And he shall sprinkle some of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.
20 "And when he has made an end of atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat;
21 and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.
22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities upon him to a solitary land; and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.
23 "Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting, and shall put off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there;
24 and he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.
25 And the fat of the sin offering he shall burn upon the altar.
26 And he who lets the goat go to Aza'zel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.
27 And the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be carried forth outside the camp; their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be burned with fire.
28 And he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.
29 "And it shall be a statute to you for ever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves, and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you;
30 for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the LORD.
31 It is a sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; it is a statute for ever.
32 And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father's place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments;
33 he shall make atonement for the sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.
34 And this shall be an everlasting statute for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins." And Moses did as the LORD commanded him.