Leviticus

Contains rules and instructions for rituals, offerings, and how to live a holy life.

Chapter 16

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died;

*And God spoke to Moses after Aaron's two sons died while offering before Him.

2 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.

*And God told Moses, "Tell your brother Aaron not to enter the holy place inside the curtain, especially near the cover on the ark. Do this so he won't die, because I will show myself in the cloud above the cover."

3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

*Aaron should enter the sacred area like this: bringing a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burning offering.

4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.

*He will wear the sacred linen coat, have linens pants on his body, tie a linen belt around his waist, and wear a linen head covering. These clothes are holy, so he must clean his body with water before wearing them.

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

*He will choose two young goats from the Israelites group for a guilt offering and one ram for a burning offering.

6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.

*Aaron will bring a special cow for a sin offering just for him and his family. He will perform a ritual to cleanse himself and his home from any wrongdoings.

7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

*He will take the two goats and show them to God at the entrance of the meeting place's tent.

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

*Aaron will choose between the two goats by using a method called "casting lots." One goat will be chosen for God, while the other goat will be the scapegoat.

9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.

*Aaron will bring the goat chosen by God and offer it as a sacrifice to make up for sins.

10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

*But the goat chosen as the scapegoat must be brought alive in front of God. It helps make up for mistakes by sending the goat away into the desert as the scapegoat.

11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:

*Aaron will bring a special cow for a sin offering to forgive himself and his family. He will then sacrifice that cow.

12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:

*He will take a censor with hot fire coals from the altar in front of God, along with his hands filled with finely crushed fragrant incense, and carry it behind the curtain.

13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:

*He will place incense on the fire for the LORD, so the incense smoke covers the special seat above the important object, to prevent his death.

14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

*He will use blood from the bull to sprinkle on the mercy seat in front of it, using his finger, seven times.

15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:

*Then, he will sacrifice the goat for the people's sin offering, take its blood to the veil, and use it like the bullock's blood. He will sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of it.

16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

*He will cleanse the holy place for the impurity of the Israeli people and their sins. He will also cleanse the tent where the congregation stays, which is still present amidst their impurity.

17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

*No one can be inside the tent while the priest is making sacrifices for everyone; they must wait outside until the ritual is done for them, their family, and all the people of Israel.

18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.

*He will go to the altar in front of God and cleanse it. He will then take blood from a bull and a goat, and put it on the altar's horns all around.

19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

*He will put some blood on it with his finger seven times, cleaning and making it holy from the impurity of the Israeli people.

20 And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:

*When he finishes reconciling the sacred area, the tent for the group, and the altar, he will bring a living 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 children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

*Aaron will place his hands on the live goat's head and admit to all the wrongdoings of the Israelite children. He will transfer their sins to the goat, then send it away into the desert by someone strong and suitable.

22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

*The goat will carry all their wrongdoings to an uninhabited land, then release it into the wilderness.

23 And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:

*Aaron will enter the meeting tent and take off the white clothes he wore when going inside the sacred area, leaving them there.

24 And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.

*He will clean himself with water in the special area, wear his clothes, come out, give his burning offering for himself and the others, and make up for mistakes for himself and the people.

25 And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.

*And burn the fat from the sin offering on the altar.

26 And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.

*And the person who releases the goat for the sacrifice shall wash their clothes, clean themselves with water, then enter the camp.

27 And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.

*The bull and goat used for sin offerings, which had their blood brought inside to make atonement in the holy area, must be taken outside the camp by someone. Then, their skin, meat, and waste must be burned in a fire.

28 And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

*And the one who burns them must wash their clothes and clean themselves with water. Then they can enter the camp.

29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:

*This means that every year, during the seventh month, on the tenth day, you must not work and should show sadness. This applies to both people from your country and those who live with you but come from somewhere else.

30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

*On that day, the priest will purify you by making amends, so you're free of all your wrongdoings in the eyes of God.

31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.

*This will be a day of rest for you, and you must show sorrow, as a rule that lasts forever.

32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:

*The priest chosen by anointing and set apart for serving will make amends and wear the sacred linens for their duties.

33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.

*He will cleanse the sacred place, the tent where the group meets, the altar, the priests, and everyone in the group.

34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

*This means that this rule will always be in effect for the people of Israel. Every year, they must do something to forgive their mistakes. Moses followed God's instructions on how to do this.

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