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Leviticus 16

The Day of Atonement

1The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they came near before the LORD, and died;

2and the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Most Holy Place within the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark; lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat.

3“Aaron shall come into the sanctuary with a young bull for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

4He shall put on the holy linen tunic. He shall have the linen trousers on his body, and shall put on the linen sash, and he shall be clothed with the linen turban. They are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water, and put them on.

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

6“Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house.

7He shall take the two goats, and set them before the LORD at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

8Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

9Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD, and offer him for a sin offering.

10But the goat on which the lot fell for the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement for him, to send him away as the scapegoat into the wilderness.

11“Aaron shall present the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.

12He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil.

13He shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the covenant, so that he will not die.

14He shall take some of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

15“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.

16He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their sins; and so he shall do for the Tent of Meeting that dwells with them in the middle of their uncleanness.

17No one shall be 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 household, and for all the assembly of Israel.

18“He shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the bull’s blood, and some of the goat’s blood, and put it around on the horns of the altar.

19He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and make it holy from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

20“When he has finished atoning for the Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat.

21Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is ready.

22The goat shall carry all their iniquities on himself to a solitary land, and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

23“Aaron shall come into the Tent of Meeting, and shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there.

24Then he shall bathe himself in water in a holy place, put on his garments, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.

25The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar.

26“He who lets the goat go as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

27The 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 outside the camp; and they shall burn their skins, their flesh, and their dung with fire.

28He who burns them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

29“It shall be a statute to you forever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no kind of work, whether native-born or a stranger who lives as a foreigner among you;

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

31It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.

32The priest, who is anointed and who is consecrated to be priest in his father’s place, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy garments.

33Then he shall make atonement for the Holy 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“This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” It was done as the LORD commanded Moses.

Leviticus 16 establishes the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), Israel's most solemn holy day, following the deaths of Aaron's sons in chapter 10. The chapter details elaborate rituals whereby the high priest enters the Most Holy Place once yearly to make atonement for himself, his household, and all Israel through blood sacrifices and the symbolic scapegoat ceremony. These ceremonies provided the means for cleansing the sanctuary from Israel's accumulated sins and maintaining God's presence among his people.

Context

This chapter directly responds to the deaths of Nadab and Abihu in chapter 10, establishing proper protocols for approaching God's holiness in the sanctuary.

Key Themes

Outline

  • 1-5
    Preparation and Offerings God commands specific preparations, garments, and sacrificial animals following Aaron's sons' deaths
  • 6-10
    The Two Goats Aaron casts lots to designate one goat for sacrifice and another as the scapegoat for the wilderness
  • 11-19
    Blood Ritual in the Holy Place The high priest sprinkles sacrificial blood on the mercy seat to atone for the sanctuary and people
  • 20-22
    The Scapegoat Ceremony Aaron confesses Israel's sins over the live goat before sending it into the wilderness
  • 23-28
    Cleansing and Completion Final purification rituals for the priest and those involved in the ceremony
  • 29-34
    Perpetual Ordinance The Day of Atonement is established as an annual statute for Israel's ongoing atonement

The Day of Atonement

16:1–16:34
law instruction solemn

The Day of Atonement ritual involving the high priest's entry into the Most Holy Place and the scapegoat ceremony. This annual ceremony provided atonement for all Israel's sins and cleansed the sanctuary.

person_contrast

Moses, typically the lawgiver commanding obedience, here becomes the mediator of divine mercy, instructing Aaron in rituals that transform God's wrath into forgiveness through sacrificial blood.

Insights

Insight Character Study

Moses, typically the lawgiver commanding obedience, here becomes the mediator of divine mercy, instructing Aaron in rituals that transform God's wrath into forgiveness through sacrificial blood.

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Interlinear

Word-by-word original language

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